Best Hotel Bets

Dunhuang Shanzhuang (Dunhuang): The finest hotel on the Silk Routes, with views of the Mingsha Shan Dunes, this imposing fortress is surrounded by stylishly renovated courtyard houses.

Lusong Yuan Binguan: Of all Beijing's traditional courtyard-style hotels, this former imperial residence has the most character, recalling the opulence of China's "feudal" era, but with a more lived-in feel than you'll find elsewhere.

Longmen Guibin Lou (Harbin): Built by the Russian-controlled Chinese Eastern Railroad in 1901, the Longmen has served as a hospital, the Russian embassy, and a cheap hostel for migrant workers. In the 1930s and 1940s, it was part of the illustrious Japanese-owned Yamato Hotel chain. The Chinese Railway Bureau renovated the building in 1996, preserving the original Russian woodwork and restoring much of its turn-of-the-20th-century atmosphere. Rooms are palatial and decorated with period furniture.

Seman Binguan (Kashgar): Set on the grounds of the former Russian consulate, this has merely two government-issued stars and poor service, but standard rooms and suites in the original and beautifully decorated consulate buildings, with their high ceilings and dramatic oil paintings, can be bargained down to low prices. This is the nearest you'll get to experiencing some "Great Game" ambience.

Deju Yuan & Tian Yuan Kui (Pingyao): These are the top two courtyard guesthouses in a town full of ancient architecture. The Deju Yuan has rooms decorated with calligraphy and furnished with dark wooden Ming-style tables and chairs and traditional heated brick beds. The Tian Yuan Kui also offers occasional opera performances on hot summer nights when the guesthouse is full and the performers available.

Ye Baihe Binguan (Night Lily Guest House) (Gulang Yu): One of the latest, and certainly one of the most successful conversions of early colonial architecture. A fascinating combination of Qing dynasty furniture and modern interior-design styles, although the antique beds have been causing a few problems for very tall foreign visitors whom they were definitely not designed for in the first place.

The Peninsula (Hong Kong): Built in 1928 and retaining the atmosphere of its colonial past, The Peninsula has long been the grand old hotel of Hong Kong. It boasts an ornate lobby popular for people-watching, some of Hong Kong's best restaurants, and gorgeous rooms with sweeping views of Victoria Harbour.

Yangshuo Shengdi (Mountain Retreat) (Yangshuo): Situated in one of the area's most picturesque settings, this small hotel is a world away from the usual trials and tribulations of traveling in China. This is the kind of place where you will want to extend your holiday indefinitely.

The Peace Hotel, the best of Shanghai's historic hotels -- built in 1929 as the Cathay Hotel -- features a lobby that is an Art Deco masterpiece, and splendid public areas. Rooms have been modernized, but the service has lapsed. Go for lunch or a drink. A night in a several-hundred-year-old earthen fortress is as authentic as it gets, but don't expect luxuries (or even necessities).