Wuyishan Shanchahua Youth Hostel

This small, family-run hostel was perfect for us and we wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone visiting Wuyishan. Its best features were: - the place itself: a traditional house, beautifully decorated, with a homely feel - the service: Xiao Wu was absolutely fantastic in helping us with everything. She provided us with a map of the area, booked our tickets for us and delivered them to our room, booked our taxi, and gave us advice on good places to eat. All for free! She also cooked a delicous, traditional breakfast every morning, careful to make it look as beautiful as it tasted, and adapting to our preferences. Most importantly, she speaks enough English to be able to communicate, which is a rarity in Wuyishan (even at the big expensive hotel in town, where we asked the way, nobody spoke English!). - the location: the hostel is situated just across the bridge from town, a 10-minute walk to the main food street, and a 10-minute walk (in a different direction) to the main stop where all the shuttle buses to the main sites start from. It is an ideal situation, quiet and yet close to everything. The room itself was very basic, but it was more than enough for our needs. We had an ensuite bathroom, where we had to remember to switch on the heater half an hour before we wanted to shower in order to ensure hot water. The beds were very hard, as is the case all over China, but the hostel happily provided some extra blankets to put on the 'mattress'. All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would go back to Shanchahua any time.