Far West China

THIS HOSTEL IS NOW CLOSED

The Baolu Youth Hostel is located about as far north in Urumqi as you can possibly get. If you need a cheap place to stay the nice during a layover, that’s great since it’s not far from the airport.

But in terms of actually visiting Urumqi, the location is awful. Just to get to Hong Shan, which is considered the center of the city, will take you about an hour by bus. And that’s if you have good traffic.

There’s a bus stop right next to the hostel, but the bus goes nowhere useful. You’d have to transfer a couple times just to get to anywhere a tourist would want to go.

Atmosphere

Of all the hostel options in Urumqi, the Baolu is by far the cleanest and most up-to-date. The place is a renovated hotel which means the amenities are quite nice and the common area is large.

Because this hostel isn’t widely known by foreigners (it’s not mentioned in Lonely Planet or any of the other guides), most of your fellow travelers will be Chinese. For some people this might be a draw as it offers great practice for the Mandarin speaker.

There’s not much help when it comes to travel, though. Whereas most hostels have information on nearby cities to help guide you on your journey, the Baolu is content just being a place for you to lay your head.

Room Options

The Baolu International Youth Hostel offers dorm rooms, singles, doubles and even a suite. There’s a bathroom in all the singles and doubles while the dorm rooms all share bathrooms and showers. The bathrooms are moderately clean but I wasn’t very impressed with the showers that were in disrepair (see my photo above right).

All rooms are equipped with air-conditioners/fans and a heater. There’s wi-fi throughout the property. Every room (not the dorms) have a TV with basic Chinese channels.

Pricing is about average for a hostel room but the single and doubles beat most hotels in the city. Again, you’re sacrificing location for cleanliness.