Drinking Water in China

[digby]

I know one should generally drink bottled water when out and about in China, but was wondering if it could be used from the tap in major 5 star hotels in Beijing and Hong Kong? Do they treat it enough to be safe to drink and use for ice?

[digby]

Sorry this was posted more than once. I keep getting a message that it had not gone through!

[digby]

Sorry this was posted more than once. I keep getting a message that it had not gone through!

[greatam]

I know one should generally drink bottled water when out and about in China, but was wondering if it could be used from the tap in major 5 star hotels in Beijing and Hong Kong? Do they treat it enough to be safe to drink and use for ice?

 

I just got back from China, Vietnam and Cambodia in November. I stayed at the Beijing and Peninsula hotels in Beijing, both 5*. Both provided boiled water and dispensers to boil more. I did have iced drinks in both bars. I either drank the boiled water (and brushed my teeth) or used bottled water.

 

I wouldn't want to get sick in SE Asia, so I will not drink any water that is not either boiled by me or bottled. And you have to watch where you get your bottled water. Lots of street vendors reuse the bottles and refill from who knows where. They are pretty good at putting the caps back on, so you don't notice that it is refilled. I would only buy from a hotel or convenience type store, not from street vendors.

[MSN-Travelers]

I wouldn't want to get sick in SE Asia, so I will not drink any water that is not either boiled by me or bottled. And you have to watch where you get your bottled water. Lots of street vendors reuse the bottles and refill from who knows where. They are pretty good at putting the caps back on, so you don't notice that it is refilled. I would only buy from a hotel or convenience type store, not from street vendors.

 

Bottled water is available everywhere in China and it is extreemly inexpensive. Digby, don't take a chance with drinking tap water in China. Your next best friend will be a small bottle of hand sanitizer. Paper products are in short supply throughout China. It will be highly unlikely that you will find anything to wipe your hands after using the restroom and you will also be hard pressed to find any TP in a restroom outside the hotels. :eek: Never leave the hotel without your own personal supply of TP. ;)

 

We spent a little over two weeks in China with a group of 30+ people. We are glad to have made the trip but doubt that we would go back on our own.

[deck 9 001]

Hi Digby, yes, do heed the comments from the above posters.

I have been living and working in Taiwan and China for over 20 years.

My stomach and immune system must be well hardened by now, but I still would never drink tap water.

Buy bottled water from stores, as mentioned earlier and do keep some small packs of TP with you at all times. Never know where or when nature may call:eek: and TP is not readily available at public toilets or restaurants.

Just be cautious and have a great trip.

Mike--in Taipei

[digby]

Thanks for the advice. How will I order a martini without ice being used? LOL!

[deck 9 001]

Ah,,,,,a Martini,,,,,,a person after my own heart:D

Just stick to the major hotels and you'll be fine.

These hotels use a sophisticated filtering system in their ice machines.

So far I never had any problems.

 

Enjoy! Cheers!

 

Mike--in Taipei

[smeyer418]

In every hotel I stayed in China except one free bottled water and a thermos of boiled water was provided. In the one that didn't provide it, they claimed they filtered and processed their own water. I still used bottled water(left over from the other hotels). Most native Chinese don't drink the tap water either.

[andydee]

Heed the above posters. Bottled water is very cheap but some of my fellow travelers took a chance and ended up with " Beijing Belly", much to their regret.

Cheers,

Andy

ps. We had a great time in that fascinating city.

[silkismom]

We were on a tour in China for about 3 wks, the beer is cheap & very good, drank more of that than water (except teeth brushing etc)