Only in China!

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  • #38606
    Avatar photoDavid_PA
    Participant

    Crazy shit that I just have to share…

    After spending two weeks in my wife’s brother’s tiny unheated shitty apartment in northwest Chengdu, I was so excited to spend the next week in a hotel.  It was right next to the Walmart and McDonalds, so there were lots of shops and a spa next door also.  We checked in at 3:00 PM and then went to dinner with the family.

    When we got back to the room, we were getting ready to go to sleep when there was a knock on the door (9:30 PM).  It was the police – the hotel did not have a license and we had to leave immediately. WTF?

    My wife went down to the front desk while I hurriedly packed everything up.  The police also said this hotel was not allowed to host laowai.  I got the bags down to the front desk and it was absolute bedlam.  There were about 20 people trying to get refunds and figure out where they were going to stay this late at night.

    My wife got her money back and we went to the Starbucks next door which was just about to close.  We used their wifi to find another hotel and my wife’s brother drove us about two miles to the other hotel.  After tonight at this hotel, we will try to find another place to stay.

    We knew the original hotel had opened about two months ago and wasn’t on some web sites yet, but we booked it through ctrip.com and thought it was legit.  Crazy shit that I think could only happen in China…

    #38608
    Avatar photoCharlie
    Keymaster

    They have to kick you out at 9:30pm instead of the next day? Sounds pretty crazy, although I have seen hotels that have “no foreigners” signs in both China and Japan. I’ve actually passed through entire villages in China where foreigners were “not allowed” (which resulted in going to the local peasant police station and being interrogated). There are certainly few places that are as backwards as China, coming from the developed Western world. Sochi Russia might be one of those.

    #38610
    Avatar photoVincent
    Participant

    When I was backpacking through China, the license thing seemed pretty standard. Like, normally you would need to ask for a special receipt in every hotel and use it to register your residence at the police station (even on a tourist visa I think).

    The cheaper hotels can’t do this, thus you are not allowed to stay there officially. Someone probably tipped them off, or they forgot to pay the police.

    Afaik only the nicer, more expensive hotels can legitimately receive foreigners.

    #38612
    Avatar photoraschmidt
    Participant

    Which hotel was it?  I live right next to that area you’re talking about.  I stayed at a hotel down the street from Ito for a week and never had any trouble, but I’m guessing the one you were staying at was across the street from SM City?

     

    In defense of China, I’ve seen plenty of places in rural America where I’ve seen the “we don’t take kindly to your type around here” people.

    #38638
    Avatar photoDavid_PA
    Participant

    In English it was the “Xingrui Pretty Hotel” right next to the McDonalds.  Everyone in the hotel was evicted, not just me because I was a foreigner.

    In defense of America, there’s a difference between bad service/redneckism and getting shut down by the police.  While you can get bad service anywhere, getting the doors taped shut by the police seems to be a China-specific phenomenon.

    Anyway we ended up at the Liwan International Hotel and it has been great.  Really top-notch hotel and service, just in a bad location lacking any restaurants or shops.  We’re moving on to the Gao Xin district today, so I’m hoping for good luck with the next hotel.

    #38693
    Avatar photoCharlie
    Keymaster

    In defense of China, I’ve seen plenty of places in rural America where I’ve seen the “we don’t take kindly to your type around here” people.

    Really, I cannot remember experiencing that on any of the cross-country road trips I’ve been on. Many times I’ve been struck with a “wow, this is an amazingly backwater place” but was never treated with unfriendliness as an outsider.

    I’ll never forget one time in Southern Alabama I was lost at 2am and pulled into a gas station since there were literally no other people or cars anywhere. As I got closer I could see that the gas station was actually closed but there were three cars pulled up and 5 black guys sitting on the hoods drinking 40’s. I asked for directions and they were incredibly nice.

    Another time I was in the middle of nowhere Florida in a convenience store and the guy in front of me had a trucker hat with a fish on it. I asked him about the fish and he went into great detail about the fish, where it’s found, what’s unique about it, etc.

    I may have been lucky but I’ve encountered some of the friendliest people anywhere in rural, backwater America.

    #38713
    Avatar photoshinichi
    Participant

    新瑞福大酒店?

    Have heard that some hotels do not have the qualifications of the hotel reception for foreigners, rivals will find trouble.

    but  🙁

    The Ministry of Public Security news – Declare the registration for foreigners

    http://www.mps.gov.cn/n16/n1237/n2131945/2133719.html

    外国人申报住宿登记须知

    外国人在宾馆、饭店、旅店、招待所、学校等企业、事业单位或者机关、团体及其他中国机构内住宿,应当出示有效护照或者居留证件,并填写临时住宿登记表。在非开放地区住宿还要出示旅行证。
    外国人在中国居民家中住宿,在城镇的,须于抵达后24小时内,由留宿人或者本人持住宿人的护照、证件和留宿人的户口薄到当地公安机关申报,填写临时住宿登记表;在农村的,须于72小时内向当地派出所或者户籍办公室申报。
    外国人在中国的外国机构内或者在中国的外国人家中住宿,须于住宿人抵达后24小时内,由留宿机构、留宿人或者本人持住宿人的护照或者居留证件,向当地公安机关申报,并填写临时住宿登记表。
    长期在中国居留的外国人离开自己的住所临时在其他地方住宿的,按上述情况履行登记手续。
    外国人在移动性住宿工具内临时住宿,须于24小时内向当地公安机关申报。为外国人的移动性住宿工具提供场地的机构或者个人,应于24小时前向当地公安机关申报。

     

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