Cuesta in Mongolia (Photo/Shanghai Daily)
Backpacking has become a popular travel choice of footloose young people who want to see the world before settling down into jobs and family life. This popular tourism mode made its way to China in the 1990s, and Shanghai now caters to shoestring travelers.
At the Mingtown Etour Youth Hostel on Jiangyin Road in the downtown Huangpu District, a bunk bed in a dormitory can be had for as little as 80 yuan ($12.3) a night. Private rooms cost up to 300 yuan a night.
Xing Xiaoyun, who works as front desk manager at the hostel, said 40 percent of her customers are foreigners, and a large number of them are backpackers in their 20s and 30s.
"Backpackers chose our hostel mainly because it's cheap and the location is convenient," she told Shanghai Daily.
The hostel, which has been open for four years, is easily found in travel guides such as Lonely Planet and TripAdvisor. During the popular summer season, its 20 standard rooms and 70 bunk beds are almost fully booked.
The 35-room, two-star accommodation is on a quiet side street, only a five-minute walk from People's Square. It features free Wi-Fi, a garden courtyard, laundry facilities, self-service kitchen, air-conditioned rooms and an on-site Chinese restaurant. Staff provides assistance in organizing excursions to popular sightseeing attractions.
"Youth hostels have only about 20 years of history in China," Xing said. "And now more Chinese youngsters are starting to try backpacking and hitchhiking. However, domestic hitchhikers tend to prefer places known for natural landscapes, like Yunnan Province or Tibet, rather than big cities like Shanghai."
In Shanghai, she said, most backpackers take the Metro or taxis to travel around the city. Language is a barrier to taking city buses, she said.
Xing loves communicating with her customers. She has met people from all over the world. Some are hitchhikers; some are bicyclists. Many consider Shanghai a "rest stop" in their travels, she said.
