Bed, Chopsticks and Backpack in China

Accommodations for the independent backpacker exploring China are increasing. Hostelling International, the worldwide youth hostel association, has 13 locations offering economical lodgings in major Chinese cities.

Some of the facilities are in a separate section of a regular hotel. For example, the 150-bed Shanghai Hostel is in the historic Pu Jiang Hotel, a Victorian building near the Garden Bridge in Shanghai.

Although it can’t compete with the high-rises of modern Shanghai, the hotel has an intriguing history. The building, originally known as the Richards Hotel and featuring high Roman arches and delicate carvings, was opened in 1846 by John Richards, an Englishman. In 1882 seven electric lamps were introduced at the hotel. The Shen Gazette reported that swarms of people came to admire the brightness from the miracle “moon.” By 1901, the Richards Hotel telephone number was listed in Shanghai’s first business directory. This was one of the earliest recorded uses of modern telephone equipment in Shanghai.

The hotel amply meets the needs of foreign students, travelers and workers by offering dormitory accommodations for $6.50 per bed per night. Information is posted on the HI Internet site at https://www.iyhf.org.

Travel writer Ruth Lor Malloy, author of “China Guide” (Open Road Books, $21.95), recently visited the hotel and found it clean. But, she notes, as at other HI facilities in China, don’t expect the staff to speak much English.

Pu Jiang Youth Hostel is at 15 Huang Pu Road, Shanghai 200080; telephone 011-86-21-632-46388, fax 011-86-21-632-43179.

The 148-bed Beijing International Youth Hostel is opposite the Beijing Railway Station in the heart of the city at 9 Jian Guo Men Nei Da Jie; tel. 011-86-1-0651-26688, fax 011-86-10-652-29494. The hostel offers dormitory rooms for $6. It’s five minutes from Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

The 140-bed Zhaolong International Youth Hostel is in a business and shopping area that’s in walking distance of many embassies, pubs and other places of interest. Rooms are shared by two to eight travelers. Overnight charges in a dormitory are $6 to $7.25.

The hostel is at 2 Workers Stadium Road North, Chao Yong District; tel. 011-86-1-0659-72299, fax 011-86-1-0659-72288.

*

Lucy Izon is a Toronto-based freelance writer. https://www.izon.com.