While I was traveling around in China I found that the nicest, cheepest, funnest places to stay were the hostles. There are so many opprotunities to meet many different kinds of people. The hostle that I used the most in China was called the International Youth Hostle. They are clean, their staff know English and are extremely helpful, and best of all, you can find them in most any city you are in. Just go to http://www.iyhf.org/ and you can get directions to hostles in the city you will be in, reserve rooms, and check prices. Its great. I highly recomend them.