China currently has more than 320,000 rooms in over 2100 hotels, about half of which fall within the star system of international classification.
Hotels in the cities most popular with tourists are up to international standards but although the facilities in the top hotels are often very good, complete with air conditioning, telephones, satellite TV, swimming pool, bar, business centre, laundry service, etc. the service can still fall short of expectations. You must not drink the water from the tap in China, so it is standard hotel practice to supply guests with flasks of boiled hot water and China teacups with teabags or small tins of green tea in their room.
Some hotels impose an additional, often exhorbitant, surcharge on foreigners, while others may accept only Chinese guests.
An effort is made in the starred luxury hotels to provide a variety of entertainment in the evening, and the big hotels have discos and bars.
The hotels for foreign visitors listed below in alphabetical order are from various categories providing accommodation to suit individual requirements, with the starred luxury hotels offering exceptional comfort. The Chinese pronunciation follows the name of the hotel in brackets.
Since most Chinese towns and cities can now be reached by international direct dialling the area codes in brackets are given below the place names in the margin. The international code for China is 86 and when dialling from abroad the first zero of the area code is omitted.
Very large, centrally situated hotel of considerable history, somewhat in need of renovation; new luxury wing; famous banqueting halls used at one time for state receptions Capital Hotel (Shoudu Binguan), 3 Qianmen Dong Dajie, 296 r.; tel. 512 99 88, fax. 512 03 09
Conveniently located between the station and Tian’anmen Square; business centre, variety of restaurants, sauna, swimming pool, tennis courts, billiards, bowling; garden
