BEIJING has announced that families can open guesthouses for foreigners, a move that will give ordinary Chinese an unprecedented opportunity to interact with overseas visitors on a personal level.
Xinhua said the move was aimed at bolstering the economy by attracting the kind of tourists who did not want to stay in luxury hotels.
China's tourism industries in Shaanxi, Zhejiang, Hunan, Hainan and other provinces have already started to look for people to manage the first family-run hotels.
But they have been encouraged to open to mainland tourists first. The service will be extended to foreigners when the guesthouses have proved their service standards and language abilities are sufficient to receive foreign guests.
'Family guesthouses must prove that they can house at least four people, can provide safe accommodation, adequate service, sanitary conditions and good meals, and be willing to accommodate the requests of their guests,' an official said.
The report quoted Xian city resident Wei Lixing as saying: 'I hope that in the near future I can open up my home to accommodate foreigners.