Tourists to southwest China's Chengdu this summer have a new accommodation choice: dorms offered by a local university at very low prices.
Southwest Minzu University in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, opened its 41 vacant dorms with 164 beds to the public in mid-July.The dorms have hosted more than 700 guests so far.
Each 20-square-meter dorm has a bathroom, an air conditioner, toiletries and a tea table. The dorms were decorated according to distinctive designs by students of different ethnic groups at the university.
The university charges tourists 25 yuan (3.74 U.S. dollars) each bed per day. College students and this year's graduates can have their first day free.
Lyu Qingyun, 23, and her sister from Ziyang City, Sichuan, are among the guests of this special "hotel." She noticed the information of the dorms online when she prepared her trip to Chengdu.
"It is safe, cozy and very cost-effective," she said. The sisters arrived in Chengdu on Tuesday.
"You can have meals in the dining hall of the campus," said Cheng Dahui, one of the six university students in charge of the dorms during the summer vacation.
Individual tourists, college students and families are among the clients of the dorms.
The program, funded by Chengdu's Shuangliu district government, was an exploration attempt to open university facilities to the public, said a senior university official.
The library, dining halls and sports fields are also open to visitors during the summer, according to the official.
The dorms will be all taken back for students when the new semester begins.
