Located just 10 minutes walk from Tianfu Square and just a couple hundred meters from the river, the Soma youth hostel is a bit of a secret in Chengdu. Fang Chao Yang, the Yi minority owner of the hostel, is extremely proud of the clean rooms and bathrooms as well as his honest staff at the hostel. The hostel has a large common room on the top floor with a pool table, free internet, DVD player, free coffee, and very cheap beer for sale. There is even a rooftop balcony adjacent to the common room.

The hostel has been open for more than 13 years and features a staff of entirely Yi and Tibetan ethnic minorities. The word Soma is the name of a flower which grows in Yunnan, Sichuan, and Tibet in the region where the Yi people live.

The staff of the Soma can pick you up at the train station or at the Minshan hotel at the terminus of the 303 airport bus if you contact them in advance, so please do so.

Dorm beds, which are not cramped, cost 20 Yuan. The nicest double rooms with bathrooms cost up to 128 Yuan for 2 people. There are a range of prices for accomodation with and without bathrooms in between.

Directions: Walk south a few hundred meters and turn left onto HongZhaoBi. Stay on the left side of HongZhaoBi and then make the next left onto NanDaJie. The hostel is a few hundred meters down NanDaJie on the left side, you will see a sign.

Since opening its doors in March 2005, Mix Hostel has wasted little time in becoming the busiest and most popular youth hostel in Chengdu. The hostel contains 105 beds in 35 rooms. Rooms with air conditioning incur an extra fee of Y10 per night. There are no private bathrooms in any of the singles, doubles, or dorms at Mix which is part of what keeps the price so low. Laundry is Y10 per load, there are 20 gigs of music stored on the computer, and the hostel also boasts wireless internet. There is a well-stocked DVD room, a bar, and a small restaurant serving up Western dishes and some Sichuan treats for Y5-20.

The hostel was opened by a young Chinese couple named Mix and Gigi, who just wanted to give back to the travel community they love so much. The atmosphere reflects the passion for travel of the owners, as the tastefully decorated lobby is constantly bustling with travelers sharing a drink and a story.

Note: Mix is a great place to meet travelers, relax, and book tours. The only catch is that it is a bit far from most of the nightlife in the southern part of the city, so expect a relatively large taxi fare when you head home at night.

How to get there: IF YOU BOOK AT MIX IN ADVANCE THEY WILL ARRANGE TO PICK YOU UP AT THE TRAIN STATION. Mix is easy to find from the north train station. Chengdu’s main road. From the train station, take bus 16 or 55 and get off at the third stop and head left down Xinghui Xilu. The hostel is on the left side. If you cross the Fu river, you’ve gone too far. From the airport, take the 303 bus to its terminus at the Minshan Hotel. Then walk across the street and catch the 16 bus headed up town. After a few kilometers, you will pass the Wenshu Monastery and Fu river. Get off and turn right down Xinghui Xilu.