B&Bs
THE SPOTLIGHT
14
| Bed IN
& Breakfast
News | Summer 2017
B&Bs
in China
As regular readers know, for over ten years we have had an occasional ‘B&B in the Spotlight’
feature. This is the first time it has featured a property outside Britain – and we are turning
the spotlight on China, after our recent visit at the invitation of the Chinese for their first
B&B Conference (see page 7) in Shanghai. During our trip we visited B&Bs in the rural part of
Pudong, and in the Moganshan mountains.
It was an eye-opening experience.
The B&Bs were more expensive than hotels:
some £200 per night. And far from being
rustic or quaint, inside they were airy,
modern, architect-designed and full of the
latest technology - but preserving details
like original wood or stone.
The surprises started with our first visit -
arriving at an office block in an industrial
estate, we went to a brand new reception
centre alongside, then were handed
life jackets. As we stepped through the
reception lounge and out of the other side,
the reason became clear: via a jetty, we
boarded a speedboat for a fast trip up rivers
and canals to the waterside B&B (above)
in a remote farming village.
More surprises followed - the stylish modern
open-plan interior (above), and the fact that
guests were offered different activities. Yes,
within minutes of arrival in a Chinese rural B&B,
we were making pizza, of all things! That was
followed later by throwing pots on a wheel, in a
tiny local pottery just a few minutes’ walk away.