Fancy staying in a bed and breakfast hostel in Beijing? It may soon be an option.
Foreigners visiting the capital will soon have alternative choices to staying in designated star-rated hotels. Zhang Jiawang, deputy director of Beijing's Public Security Bureau, has said the city would remove all restrictions on where foreigners may stay. They may even experience the hospitality of local people by staying in their homes.
As Beijing evolves into an international city, the number of foreign visitors has risen steadily, making the regulations which limit where they may stay outdated, he announced at the Beijing People's Congress on Tuesday.
Under World Trade Organisation regulations, foreigners are entitled to the same treatment as Chinese nationals.
Beijing will upgrade its hotel management system to record and process the details of foreign guests. As for bed and breakfast hostels, the city will unveil regulations for registration and operation at a future date.
Local hostels, which charge 100 to 200 yuan (HK$94 to HK$188) a night, are currently not allowed to receive foreign guests including those from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
