Hotels & the 24-hour Rule

The legal baseline (Exit-Entry Administration Law, Article 39)

• Staying in a hotel or hostel: the property registers you at check-in — hand over your passport, done.
• Staying anywhere else (Airbnb-style apartment, guesthouse, rented flat, a friend's home): you or your host must report to the local police station within 24 hours of arriving.
• Non-compliance is treated as illegal residence: fines of CNY 500 per day up to CNY 10,000, or detention in serious cases.
• Hotel front desks follow strict rules too: ID must match the person, details recorded truthfully, suspicious cases reported.

Booking: check "accepts foreign guests" first

• Many budget hotels and some guesthouses are not licensed to host foreign guests — a top complaint from foreign travelers.
• Before booking a cheap chain or an apartment, check reviews or message the host: "Do you accept foreign passport holders?"
• International chains, mid-range and above almost always accept foreign guests.

How the 24-hour report works

1. Find the local police station (派出所) for where you stay — your host will know, or search the address on a map app.
2. Bring passport and the host's address (a lease or the host coming along helps).
3. It takes minutes; you may get a registration slip — keep it, some visa applications want it.

Practical tips

• Losses and fines are avoidable: this is paperwork, not hostility — hosts in tourist areas do it routinely.
• Keep your passport with you; hotels hold it briefly for registration but must return it.