Discovered: Jan 6, 2026 18:32 (UTC) ME:: I doubt I’ll ever go to mainland China but if I do I’d find a hotel in an ‘old town’ ; Steph+Chris:: Chinese Cooking Demystified:: What’s a Chinese City actually like?

QUOTE:

For travelers, I suggest trying to find a hotel in either an old town or a ‘medium’ town. Often the latter can be a better choice, but it can sometimes be a bit difficult to parse exactly where said ‘medium’ town is without getting your feet on the ground first. The satellite and Baidu street view can only tell you so much.

Note that fancy western hotel chains often tend to be located within the new town. A local Chinese hotel chain, ‘Jinjiang’, is our usual go-to and tends to have hotels in a diversity of neighborhoods. Because it can sometimes be difficult to tell where exactly is most interesting to be located, a decent idea if you’re staying in one city for a while is to only book two nights at first. This way you can easily change hotels if you find a neighborhood you prefer.

For living, as I said before, I find those older ‘commie blocks’ livable enough and would totally live in one again in a pinch. However, for me at least, the best of all worlds is to find a newer development that’s flanking a ‘medium’ town, an old town, or an urban village. This way you can get a little more light and space, while having all the benefit of being in a walkable neighborhood.

Leave a comment on github