OTOH, if hotels do it for you, most tourist wont even know that such a law exists.

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There are just different kinds of paranoia. On my first Amtrak train ride in the USA I almost got caught out because they wouldn't let me buy a ticket without some official ID. I just had time - best part of an hour - to retrieve my passport from the safe in my hotel.room, which is where I think it belongs in a "modern tourist economy". Then there's all the fingerprinting at US immigration, etc. etc.

Nowhere is truly free from hassle now, though the open borders in the EU are welcome proof that bureaucracy can be dismantled without the sky falling in.

In any case, although it is conventional to ascribe sinister motives to such manifestations of Chinese bureacracy, a simpler explanation is that they do have a lot of people they have to find jobs for. I wouldn't be surprised if the US Department of Homeland Security was likewise largely a job creation scheme.

No doubt the UK also gives tourists a hard time, but I obviously have no direct experience of that. We certainly have our share of bureaucratic jobsworths.

Bearing all that in mind, I'd advise Sol strongly not to try to take the moral high ground. Best to admit to an honest mistake and praise the jobsworth for his "efficiency".

In this case, we're happy to throw stones in our own little glass house.

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Occupy Babel!

I spent 4 weeks in China with the Experience Go program and I completely forgot to register at a police station. I remembered it on my last day and thought there might be trouble getting through customs at the airport but nothing happened Guess I got lucky I wasn't caught earlier.

I don't really think China wants a tourist economy, though they may be interested in a tourist industry.

Anyway, 99% of tourists in China are Chinese. Those 1.3 billion people are a much more attractive market than us westerners, especially since they (mostly) speak the language.

And, as you quoted: "If you are staying in a hotel, the staff will automatically register you."

That covers 99% of the foreign tourism market too, since the number of foreign tourists that are going to stay at a private residence is pretty much negligible.

20 years ago, I was advised to register with the Italian police within 7 days of arrival when I was there for a short term visit. The law there is apparently still on the books, so perhaps such a policy is not so unusual.

In any case, it's hard to know all local laws, customs or traditions of an unfamiliar environment, and it can be pretty uncomfortable going afoul of them. I hope it breezes over, and becomes a good story to tell in your old age. Good luck!

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Patience, grasshopper.

When any Chinese embassy issues a visa and returns your passport to you, there is a slip of paper inside reminding you to register at a police station within 24 hours of your arrival.

In any case, it is quite common for people to forget to do so, or simply choose not to. It is only a serious problem if for any reason you will later need to extend your current visa or apply for a new one in country - in which case it is a required document. The potential fines seem scary but they are uncommonly issued here in Beijing; most of the time the police are just happy that you have come in to take care of it, even if it's months after you've arrived, because it's less work for them that way.

As per the bit that Joaz pulled from the US State Department's website about carrying your passport and the registration paper everywhere you go, no one actually does that. I've registered quite a few times with the police department during my time here; sometimes the police have followed up with a one time visit to my house, to confirm that I do actually live there, but that's about it. It was a bit more of a hassle back when the Olympics were in play.