I want to sleep in your womb, Shanghai

January 17, 2008 8:09 PM

Following up on my last question, what is the most reasonable accomodation I can get in Shanghai for 100 Yuan a night?

Ideally, I'd like to be in a room on my own with no restrictions as to my coming and going. Less ideally, a shared hostel room. I'll be in shanghai for close to a month, so perhaps a room rental would also work. However, most of the material online seems to be in chinese, making it a bit inaccessible.

Anyone have any experience with this? Any personal recomendations?

posted by markesh to travel & transportation (3 comments total)

1. It seems... highly unlikely that you'll get anything for 3000 RMB a month given the current housing market there. Preliminary Googling says so, at least.

2. That said, my Shanghai-nese friend says you might be able to get somewhere far out in the suburbs for a bit cheaper, if you're willing to travel. Whereabouts will you be?

/hasn't been back to Shanghai in a while. As in, a few years.
posted by Phire at 8:14 PM on January 17

I traveled around China in late 2005 and I gotta say, the accommodation situation in Shanghai was an egg we never managed to crack. My wife and my Chinese isn't too bad, but we still got rejected at any of the cheaper Chinese places in the hotel areas. It was one of the only cities in the scores we visited that seemed to want to stick to the (outdated) rules. Consequently it was the most expensive city for us to stay in all of China. If you are staying there for a month, chances are you must have a connection in the city. Ask them to try to find you something--use the guanxi!
posted by pantagrool at 12:18 AM on January 19

You might try Craiglist for a one-month sublet. Also, you could ask around in the expat community in Shanghai. I know a friend of mine in Beijing rents out two rooms in his apartment, and you never know who might be willing to do the same for you, or who might know of a good place to stay. Not sure what forums are out there (besides the Craigslist forums) for Shanghai expats. I think places of learning can sometimes have ideas of where foreigners can stay, also, and it never hurts to ask them. There's this learning center for Westerners that might know of a place to stay in the city that is inexpensive.
posted by lorrer at 5:32 AM on January 26