Hostels in Xinjiang, China

I stayed here for many days and extended my stay several times. The location is right in the center of the western part of the old town. There's a rooftop terrace where you can see snow-capped mountains on clear days. Downstairs, there's a century-old tea house, and almost every day around 6 PM, you can often catch free local dance performances, like the 'Princess of the Western Regions Riding a Camel', right outside.

Nice quiet hostel where it is easy to relax. The bed is comfy, no gas to cook but there is hot water a microwave and a few other appliances you can use. It's a bit away from the ancient city but there are plenty of other shopping streets nearby. I left my bike outside the door because it's a very safe area. There were some very friendly people in the hostel who helped me navigate the Chinese way of doing things. It's really good value staying here, would recommend. Message them if you have difficult finding the place.

I was hesitant before booking this place because it's far from the city center but close to the train station. However, taxis in Yining are incredibly easy to hail and super cheap! (I usually take public transport whenever possible, but Xinjiang, apart from Urumqi's Line 1, doesn't have a subway, and buses are hard to wait for, though you can if you're patient. This Backpacker's Ten Years hostel is also close to a bus stop.) I don't know if I was just lucky, but all seven or eight times I took a taxi, it was a female driver, and the cars all smelled great – it made the whole experience fantastic. The exterior of this Backpacker's Ten Years hostel is designed like a 'Red Dust Inn' (a style of ancient Chinese inn). The common areas are incredibly spacious, with billiards, computers, projection screens, TVs, and a pair of super friendly cats. The bed was enormous, I'd say 1.5m (I'm not sure if that's exact, but I was genuinely shocked when I first saw it). It was off-season, and I booked a 10-bed dorm. The front desk lady said if the bottom bunks in the 10-bed dorm were full, she'd put me in a bottom bunk in an 8-bed dorm, which was a nice gesture. The bathroom had plenty of hooks and a waterproof curtain, which was great. I didn't wash any large items of clothing since it was winter, so I can't comment on the drying area.

My friend recommended this place. He mentioned the location was good, and it's indeed close to Wanda Plaza, with a convenience store right downstairs. The hostel provides drinking water and disposable toothbrushes, but towels are not included. Additional drinking water is also available in the lobby. The bed in the room was genuinely large and comfortable, which was a real plus, though the bathroom was quite small. The lobby officially closes at 1 AM, but when I went there at 12:25 AM, they were already cleaning and clearing out the area. Urumqi Station is also quite close; I just walked there. I hope the management pays a bit more attention to things. On two separate occasions, other guests were eating takeout in their rooms, and the smell was quite strong. However, I don't blame the hostel for this; it's the inconsiderate guests who are at fault.

Welcoming, fun and central place to stay near Liuxing Street! The owner speaks English well and is super friendly and interesting. His love for travel and his culture is displayed around the hostel with the beautiful and quirky decor, and it is easy to see that lots of love and thought went into this place. His family were around and they are lovely too. They gave me a free coconut coffee which was delicious! The female shared room was clean and modern, with a comfortable bed with a curtain. There was a  cupboard for each bed. There is a little shared kitchen which had a fridge/freezer, a hot water dispenser and things for cooking and eating (although I didn’t cook there). The shared female toilets had a few toilets and a few shower stalls - a down side for me was the toilets are all squat toilets and there was no toilet paper when I was there so I had to bring my own (maybe I did not see it, I did not ask). There were shared living spaces where you could sit at the tables and chairs, an outdoor courtyard area with a nice little garden, a lovely quiet reading room area with the owner’s books, and a rooftop area with tents. It’s a really cool, international place. I would love to come back again.

The ladies in the youth hostel are very nice and enthusiastic. There are ice watermelons to eat every day. The location of the youth hostel is also very good. Next to it is Grandpa's noodle shop. The room and public toilet are very clean. It is the best youth hostel I have ever stayed in

Located on the edge of the old city's west district, it's very convenient for commuting to the east district. The single king-size room was right next to the public bathroom, but still relatively quiet. The front desk even created a group for us so we could plan carpools or meals together.

Really nice hostel and the owner will do his best to help you. They proposed great tours that I recommend. You have shops and restaurants around and close to the railway station, which is nice because it is the picking up point of the tours.

The accommodation is generally good, but there are two minor points. 1. When asking the staff how much the minimum extension fee is, the staff said 80, but it is 75 yuan when booked online. It is not reasonable to point out this situation. The female staff member was very loud and emotional and repeatedly said to the resident: I am just a worker, I don’t know much; some people even booked more than 90, why don’t you say; if you think it is cheaper online, go and book online, don’t ask me to book. This is not a normal staff at all, the basic work quality should be; there should be no emotions in life, but they should not be brought into work; 2. In summer, it is normal to have some mosquitoes in the room. The mosquitoes here may bite cattle and horses. People can’t stand it when they are bitten, and the swelling is very big. Go to the hospital; Youth Hostel does not have any medicine, and it is recommended that subsequent residents bring their own mosquito repellent and other medicines;

My trip to Yining was a last-minute decision, so the accommodation booking was quite rushed. Initially, the photos looked good. Let's get straight to the pros and cons! Pros: The price was reasonable, and the location on Liuxing Street is excellent. Although there's no elevator, the front desk staff were very helpful with luggage, and since it's not many floors up, climbing wasn't strenuous. There's a large terrace upstairs, which was very convenient for drying clothes. The water heater provided quick, strong water flow. Despite facing the street, it was surprisingly quiet. Cons: The first room we were given had dirty bedsheets, and the drawers contained dust and hair. The owner attributed it to oil from a previous guest's takeout and promptly moved us to another room. It's baffling why a room, if not properly cleaned, would be offered to a new guest, regardless of the mess's origin. The bed in the new room was clean, and while there was still some dust in corners, it wasn't too bothersome. However, at night, I noticed the toilet paper dispenser was full of white powdery dust, which was quite off-putting. The guesthouse itself is quite new, and the location is excellent. However, the owner seriously needs to get on top of the cleaning!