Troubles staying in hotel with your foreign girlfriend/wife/boyfriend/fiance/husband?

[miss_China_so_much]

Does anybody ever have problems staying in hotels in China (expecially small cities) with your foreign girlfriend/wife/boyfriend/fiance/husband?

Me and my fiance will be visiting China this summer. I am Chinese and he is a westener. It's his first time visiting China. I plan to show him arround and we would like to avoid big cities. I've heard that stories like if you are chinese, expecially woman, and you are possibly not allowed to stay with your foreign boyfriend/fiance or even husband in the same room in hotels. You have to book two rooms. Even worse, you are the target of those robbers pretending to be police, or get ill treatment from 居委会大妈.

So, what's your experience?

[gougou]

I traveled China one and a half years ago with my Chinese girl friend (me Westerner), we never had any troubles. However, the smallest city we stayed in was Suzhou, not sure if it would be any different in the countryside. My guess is that anywhere where there is more than one (vacant) hotel, you'll be ok.

[miss_China_so_much]

Thank you very much. Hopefully we'll be OK.

We will be visiting Beijing and Sichuan. I came from Sichuan and I would like to show him the countryside and several places on the way to Tibet.

[Kare]

I have been to China 4 times with my chinese girlfriend and have met both extremly hospitable persons and others less inclined to make you feel welcome.

Many hotels do not accept foreigners as guests, others do but will not allow you to check-in to the same room. Worst case you will be called or treated as a "professional".

My positive experiences far outweigh the less enjoyable ones so dont be discouraged, just remeber to always have a backup plan and extra cash available.

[roddy]

Generally you won't have any problems. However, if you are planning to go overland Sichuan to Tibet you're likely to be going through areas that are not yet open to foreigners, and may have trouble in that respect.

[amo]

Dear Miss_China.

I am Western and I live in Chengdu with my chinese wife. Even before we got married we travelled around in small places in Sichuan (up in the mountains to Huang Long and other even smaller places). We stayed in many different hotels and we never had any problems what so ever.

Good luck and welcome back (home). Sichuan is getting warmer these days

[miss_China_so_much]

That's really good news for me!

We will definitly visit Huang Long and Jiu Zai Gou. Other places we will be going are Le Shan, Emei Mountain and my small hometown never heard by foreigners. One of my school friends is now an archaeologist and she is digging somewhere in the countryside. We are going to see her, haha

Chengdu is my all-time favorite city in China. I can't wait for enjoying the food there again!

I am Western and I live in Chengdu with my chinese wife. Even before we got married we travelled around in small places in Sichuan (up in the mountains to Huang Long and other even smaller places). We stayed in many different hotels and we never had any problems what so ever.

Good luck and welcome back (home). Sichuan is getting warmer these days

[roddy]

I don't think you'll have any trouble in those places - maybe some grumpy old clerk will complain in one hotel, but the next one will be happy to take your money. And I'm sure you won't have any trouble in your hometown, except maybe from your mum:wink:

[mr.stinky]

had no trouble in jianshui in two hotels. one asked for my passport, but accepted a

photocopy. the other asked for no id, for laowai me or my chinese girlfriend.

if they don't want you in the same room, just say it's too expensive, and get a room with

two beds.

[liuzhou]

I've travelled pretty much all over China with Mrs Liuzhou, who is of the Chinese persuasion and the only time we have been refused permission to share a room was in Shanghai.

Even though we ARE married!

[aeon]

In the year we spent in China, my wife and I also never had any problems with being refused a room. Then again, as we travelled with our (then) 4 year old son, I guess that even if anyone was inclined to be awkward they'd have to be resigned to the fact that the deed had been done... (sh)

:mrgreen:

[Yang Rui]

A couple of years ago I went travelling with my then girlfriend (Chinese) and although most of the time we were ok, it certainly wasn't all plain sailing. We had trouble in Nanjing, but the worst place by far was Beijing. In my experience, the more "backward" places are less hassle.

A cautionary tale, though: once when i was staying in Xi'an with a couple of male friends, the police came into our room in the middle of the night checking for prostitutes. According to some Chinese friends, if two people are not married, and are caught sleeping in the same room, the woman can be accused of being a prostitute. And as police in China have the power to determine guilt (not just to investigate), you do leave yourself open to some b*st*rd copper landing you with a heavy "fine".

Although most of the time you should be ok, it's best to be aware of the small risks.

[wushijiao]

I had all sorts of troubles in Beijing with my then Chinese girlfriend and me, a Westerner. However, some places will rent you a room with two single beds.

[johnd]

I don't think you'll have any trouble. We've been to lots of big cities and obscure places, and IMHO I never noticed a check-in clerk bat an eyelid. We carried our wedding certificate after we first got married, but nobody ever asked to see it. Now we don't bother.

[parasite]

the main thing is to let the non-chinese looking person do all the handling / arranging and just stand there, if they try to say anything ot you, reply in the most fluent and fast english you possibly can (if you are a native speaker (you didnt say) then don't worry aobut it at all, just do NOT let any chinese words slip out and don't understand ANYTHING) then he can say you are Japanese or Korean or anything else... the only law is concerned about Chinese with non-Chinese, they could give a crap if a Japanese gerl and Western boy or any such combination.

[gougou]

then he can say you are Japanese or Korean

As a foreigner, wouldn't she have to show her passport then?

[parasite]

Yeah they might ask for it if you say she is Japanese or Korean or something else... but one passport is good 'enuff for filling in the papers. Just say she forgot it back at the "school dormitory" (if you look under 30) in a city (whatever is on the other side of the country)... then say no other hotel has given you trouble...

Anyway it doesn't really matter --- there are 100's upon 100's of hotels in every city. If your strategy doesn't work in the first, move right along, and don't stress about it. I always got sick of finding nice hotels with REASONABLE prices (~160RMB instead of this INSANE 300+ rmb stuff), and going in only to be refused because the hotel isn't licensed to allow foreigners. Finally I went in the best looking one to try yet a 3rd employee, and the lady at the desk didn't know about that ... I made my reservation and showed up a couple hours later with all my bags. By that time another worker was there, and tried to refuse me, but I insisted I don't have money to live in the 400yuan skyscraper next door, and I had most importantly already made my reservations and paid taxi fare to carry all must stuff over from the hotel I moved out of...

A little bit or arguing and a phone call to management later I was allowed to stay. It wouldn't be worth the hassle for one night -- but I stayed 2 weeks at the 160yuan rate, and the place is damn NICE.

-parasite

[Lugubert]

Would there be any similar aspects to be ware of for a tall Swedish Swede and a petite obviously Han Swede?

[roddy]

As mentioned above, you're very unlikely to have any problems, and when the petite Han Swede pulls out a foreign passport you'll have none at all.

[miss_China_so_much]

Thank everybody! Parasite, your idea is interesting - if we meet troubles and we have no other ways to solve it, then I will give it a try.