An abundance of accommodations is available in China for most of the year, despite the rapid growth in domestic travel. Four- and five star hotels, sometimes run by foreign hotel chains, are plentiful in the major cities and tourist destinations. In other cities and towns, there are numerous mid-range hotels and budget options with basic facilities to choose from. Generally, there is no need to book in advance, unless you are traveling during one of the high seasons – the first week of May and October, and the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival). Although you may want to book some of your stay (the first few nights, for example, to ease your arrival), it is perfectly feasible to turn up at your hotel of choice, bargain cheerfully, and book yourself a room at a sizable discount.

Visitors in search of international standards of comfort and service should stick either to five-star hotels managed by familiar Western chains, or the Singapore- and Hong Kong-based luxury companies. Several international chains such as Hyatt, Shangri-La, Sheraton, and Sofitel have some new hotels in development; check their websites to see if the new properties have opened up. Bear in mind, though, that the rapid expansion in China’s hotel industry has resulted in a continuous shortage of trained staff, so even familiar hotel chains have difficulty maintaining quite the same standards that they are able to maintain elsewhere.

Chinese-run hotels do their best to emulate Western operations. The published rack rates of Chinese four- and five- star hotels are indeed comparable. There is a willingness to please, however, especially away from the main tourist areas.