[chrischen]

I traveled frequently, for short and longer trips (months at a time), as well as having lived there (albeit not on a foreign passport when I lived there).

Most 4-5 star hotels are still dirt cheap in China. We’ve stayed in budget hotels (by Chinese standards) in non first-tier cities with no problem.

I’d say if you got turned away it’d be some combination of obviously looking like a foreigner (in which you could get them reported for some infractions) and not being licensed to accept foreigners.