Where to stay in Dalian

Dalian ( dah-LYEN) is a major prefecture-level, sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang and Harbin).

Dalian, as a city, is young by Chinese standards, dating from 1898, though smaller settlements had long existed in the area. Like Hong Kong, Shanghai and Qingdao, Dalian's development stemmed from colonial occupation, in this case by Russia. Under Russian rule Dalian, or Dalny as it was known, became the southern tip of the Trans-Siberian Railway and the main port of the eastern Russian Empire. Following the Russian defeat in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904–5, the city was transferred to Japanese control and renamed Dairen.

Dalian encompasses 6 districts, 3 county-level cities and one county. Visitors are likely to spend time in only 5 of the city's 8 districts (and none of the sub-cities). The wider Dalian administrative area encompasses 2 further districts, 3 county-level cities (北三市 Běisān​shì three northern cities) and one county​​. Jinzhou District and Lushunkou District are the other 2 districts. Changhai County, a small group of islands east of the Liaodong Peninsula, is the only county Dalian administrates. Wafangdian, Pulandian, and Zhuanghe represent the 3 county-level cities within the municipal territory of Dalian.

Budget accommodation options in Dalian, as in the rest of China, are fairly limited for overseas travelers as most of the really inexpensive hotels do not accept foreigners. The best bet for non-Chinese visitors looking for a bargain are youth hostels or university guest houses. Some universities offer foreign student dormitories to travelers during school holidays. Some (for example Liaoning Normal and DUT) also have hotels on campus which offer rooms year-round. (See the Learn section for contact details). Mid-range 3- or 4-star Chinese-run hotels typically offer clean, decent sized rooms, good quality restaurants and but English-staff is spotty.

Getting around

Taxis are plentiful in Dalian and flagging one down is rarely a problem except in the more remote parts of the city (where high car ownership exists or large numbers of those who would have trouble paying a taxi fare)--or in rush hour. Rates start at ¥10 (¥13 after 22:00) for the first 3 km and ¥2 for each additional kilometre. For idle time, tack on ¥0.3/minute. Round all taxi fares to the nearest whole number as drivers do not accept any coinage less than ¥1 (e.g., ¥11.60 would round up to ¥12).

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.