Checking into a hotel in China
Two things surprise visitors at a Chinese hotel desk, and neither is language. You will be asked for a refundable cash or card deposit (押金, yājīn), and your passport will be scanned and registered with the police — a legal requirement for every foreign guest, not a suspicion about you.
What actually happens
Chinese hotels are efficient and the check-in script barely varies: booking, passport, deposit, room card. The deposit is the part that catches people out — typically ¥200–500 per night, taken by card pre-authorisation or in cash, and returned when you check out and the room has been inspected. Cash deposits are refunded in cash at the desk, so don't check out at 5am and expect it in your bank account.
The passport scan is a legal registration, not hotel bureaucracy. Every foreign visitor in China must be registered with the local police within 24 hours of arrival, and hotels do this automatically. (If you stay in a private home or an apartment rental you must do it yourself at the local station — the hotel route is the easy one.) A small number of budget hotels are not licensed to register foreigners at all and will turn you away; this is why booking on an international site is worth the small premium.
Everything after check-in is ordinary hotel language, with one exception worth learning: 坏了 (huài le — "broken"). Attach it to any noun and you have reported a fault. 空调坏了, 电视坏了, 灯坏了 — the pattern does more work than any polite full sentence.
What they'll say back to you
Understanding the reply is the half of the conversation phrasebooks skip. These are the lines you will actually hear in this situation — learn to recognise them, not to say them.
What to say
At the desk
Deposit, keys and practicalities
When something is wrong
Checking out
The bit that isn't language
Take a photo of the hotel's business card, or of the sign over the door, the moment you check in. It gives you the Chinese name and address for the ride home — the exact information you cannot look up when you are lost and your phone has no data.
Quick quiz — 5 questions
Five questions built from the phrases above: you get the English, you pick the Chinese. No sign-up, no score kept — just a check that they have stuck.
How do you say this?
Common mistakes
| ✗ What visitors do | ✓ What works | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Assuming the deposit is a scam | Asking for the receipt and keeping it | The 押金 is standard practice at every hotel in the country. Keep the slip; it is what you exchange for the refund at check-out. |
| Booking the cheapest local-only listing | Booking somewhere licensed for foreign guests | Hotels that cannot register foreigners will turn you away at the door, sometimes at midnight. International booking sites only list licensed properties, which is what you are paying the small premium for. |
| Leaving before the room is inspected | Waiting the two minutes at the desk | The deposit is released after housekeeping checks the room. Walk out early and a cash deposit is simply gone. |
Hotel check-in — frequently asked questions
What is a 押金 (yājīn) at a Chinese hotel?
A refundable deposit against damage and extras, usually ¥200–500 per night, taken in cash or as a card pre-authorisation at check-in. You get it back at check-out once the room has been checked — in cash if you paid cash, so don't leave before the desk has finished.
Why do Chinese hotels scan your passport?
Because every foreign visitor must be registered with the local police within 24 hours of arrival, and hotels do this on your behalf. It takes a minute at the desk and is entirely routine. If you stay in a private rental instead, you are responsible for registering yourself at the local police station.
What do I do if a hotel says it can't take foreigners?
Nothing you can argue — the hotel simply lacks the licence to register foreign guests. Ask 附近有可以接待外宾的酒店吗？(fùjìn yǒu kěyǐ jiēdài wàibīn de jiǔdiàn ma) — "is there a hotel nearby that can take foreign guests?" Booking through an international site avoids this entirely.
How do I say something is broken in Chinese?
Put 坏了 (huài le) after the thing: 空调坏了 (the air-con is broken), 电视坏了 (the TV is broken), 灯坏了 (the light is broken). It is the single most efficient pattern for reporting a problem, at a hotel or anywhere else.
Next
Before you fly
Work through the whole trip in Ready for a trip to China in 30 days, play Travel Survival Sprint to make the phrases automatic, practise saying them aloud in Airport Roleplay, or look up anything else in the Chinese → Pinyin translator.