How to Book China Hotels with Trip.com
- Topic
- Hotels & Travel· Essential
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time needed
- 10-20 minutes
- Last updated
- Aug 5, 2026
Quick answer
- Book on Trip.com — the English version of Ctrip. It lists far more Chinese hotels than the international booking sites, especially outside the biggest cities, and takes foreign cards.
- Before you pay, confirm the hotel accepts foreign guests. Not every Chinese property is registered to check in a foreign passport.
- Save the address in Chinese and bring your original passport. A photo or photocopy will not get you a room key.
Step-by-step guide
Step 1
Install Trip.com
Trip.com is the international arm of Ctrip, China's largest travel platform. It carries by far the largest Chinese hotel inventory available in English, including small-city properties the international sites simply do not list. Install it before you leave home, or update an older version.
Step 2
Open the Hotels tab
Tap Hotels on the home screen. Booking.com and Agoda also operate in China, but they show a fraction of the domestic supply. If you are staying somewhere like Suzhou, Taicang, or Zhuhai rather than central Beijing or Shanghai, compare — Trip.com will usually have options the others do not.
Step 3
Enter the city, dates, and rooms
Type the city name. Trip.com shows the province beside it, which matters because several Chinese cities share a name in English. Set your check-in and check-out dates, then the number of rooms, adults, and children, and tap Search.
Step 4
Filter results, and check the hotel takes foreign guests
Each result shows a rating out of 10, the review count, distance from your search point, and the total price for the whole stay including taxes. Use Location to pull the search toward a metro line or district, and Filters for price, star rating, and facilities. This is also the screen where you confirm the property accepts foreign passports.
Step 5
Fill in the guest details
Enter the guest's given names and surname as they appear on the passport, plus an email and mobile number for the confirmation. Get the country code right — this is the number the hotel calls if it cannot find your booking or you arrive after midnight. Any promo code or first-booking discount is applied further down the page.
Step 6
Choose a payment method and book
Pay by new credit or debit card, Apple Pay, or another supported method. The accepted-card row shows Mastercard, Visa, UnionPay, JCB, American Express, and Diners Club. Check the total at the bottom left, then tap Book. Your confirmation arrives by email and appears under My Trips.
Step 7
Save the address in Chinese before you travel
Open the hotel page and look at the address block under the name. Screenshot it, and tap View on map to see exactly where the hotel sits relative to the metro and the places you are visiting. Chinese addresses are long, and taxi drivers will not read the English version.
Step 8
Show your original passport at check-in
Every hotel in China is legally required to register foreign guests with the local police, so the front desk needs your original passport — not a photo, not a photocopy. They scan it and hand it back within a minute. Most hotels also take a refundable deposit by card or cash, released a few days after checkout.
Keep going
Related practical guides
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Book international and domestic China flights on Trip.com with a foreign card: search a route, pick the right airport, enter passport details correctly, and pay without a Chinese bank account.
How to Set Up Alipay as a Foreigner in China
Set up Alipay before you arrive: register, verify your passport, and link a foreign card so you can pay by QR code from your first day in China.
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Before you rely on it
Q&A
Do I need a Chinese bank account or Alipay to book a hotel?
No. Trip.com accepts foreign credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, and other international methods directly. A Chinese account is not required to book.
Why do some Chinese hotels refuse foreign guests?
Hotels must register foreign guests in a police system, and not every small or budget property is set up for it. It is an administrative limitation, not a judgement about you. Larger and international chains are almost always registered.
How do I check before booking whether a hotel takes foreigners?
Look for a foreign-guest label in the listing, prefer large chains, or message the hotel through the app and ask directly before you pay. Reviews written in English are also a good sign that foreign guests have stayed there.
What happens if a hotel turns me away at the desk?
Contact Trip.com support through the app rather than arguing at the front desk. They can usually rebook you at a nearby licensed property the same evening, and the original booking is normally refunded.
Why does the front desk need my original passport?
Chinese law requires hotels to register foreign guests with the local police, and the registration is done from the physical document. A photo or photocopy will not be accepted.
Will the hotel take a deposit?
Most do, by card or cash, often a few hundred yuan. It is refundable and released after checkout, though a card refund can take several days to appear on your statement.
Should I prepay or pay at the hotel?
Prepay online where you can. Pay at Hotel means presenting a foreign card at a Chinese front desk, which occasionally fails on older terminals and is harder to resolve at 11pm after a long flight.
Do I need to print my booking confirmation?
No, but screenshot it. You may arrive before your phone has working data, and airport Wi-Fi in China often requires a Chinese phone number to register.
Can someone else book a room for me?
Yes, but the guest name on the booking must match the passport of whoever checks in. Hotels register the person staying, not the person who paid.
Is Booking.com or Agoda better than Trip.com in China?
For international chains in major cities the choice matters little. For domestic hotels, small cities, and anywhere off the main tourist route, Trip.com lists far more properties because it is the English face of the largest Chinese platform.