From what I understand, it seems like CERTAIN HongKies (possibly only Southern California HongKies) refer to ChangPing affectionately as "CP"
This city is crazy. In the heart of the city, every block there is at least one nice hotel. Within every nice hotel, there is a sauna and a "night club." Within every sauna and night club, there is at least 50 - 300 girls. EVERY NICE HOTEL IS LIKE THIS!
Outside of the hotel entertainment, there are stand alone Karaoke places that likewise have between 50-200 girls. You can't walk 2 blocks without seeing a place that has plenty of girls for the choosing. My guides say that 60% or more of the girls you see in the city are hookers at one of the karaokes, saunas, or other spots.
Money
100RMB=about $12US. $100US = about 800RMB. The largest denomination bill they have is the 100RMBnote, which will probably make your wallet look way fatter and richer than you are. This can get downright inconvenient, and you may want to look into a money clip. Beware though of the little bills that are about half the size of the other bills and have pictures of weird natives on them, those aren't RMB, but "cents."
Though everything is preferred to be on a cash basis, the hotels will take credit cards for the karaoke bills and for the sauna rooms. I believe the girls tips/fees must be in cash though (this is their sole salary, as they not only don't get paid, they have to pay 500RMB monthly just to work there).
Serivces generally involve a house fee, about 300RMB for Sauna Rooms, and at least a variable minimum room rate for Karaoke Rooms, though we usually spent about $50-$75 US each between 4 guys. One night with just two guys though, we ran the bill up to 1300RMB (about ~$162US) without even drinking too crazily. After that, payment to the girl for services, even legitimate ones, is between you and the girl, and is usually a standard fee, which will not be upsold, even to foreigners (or so I hear).
Nobody tips here. The payment you make to the girls may seem like a tip, but like I said, it's their salary. Even at the legitimate massage place I went (perhaps the only legitimate massage place in the city), the 30RMB (about $4 US) you give them is their only salary for a damn good 2 hour massage. I have had hundreds of Korean Accupressure massages, but these girls got some POWER in their little hands. I swear, they must all be training in the off season for the Chinese Olympic team or something. If you go, and they do good, please pay more, as these girls are usually hard working, nice and trying to make a decent living while avoiding the hooker route.
Types of girls
This city in particular seems to cater to 18-23 year old girls. Of the 7-800 girls I saw, maybe only about 10 were above 25, and maybe only about 10 were so bad that I wouldn't even touch them. Generally, there weren't too many taller girls, but within every place I went, there was maybe 5-6. I don't care what your type is, you go to two karaokes, I gaurantee you will find it... unless you're into fat girls or non asian girls or something.
Another good thing is, they all do the normal Western style make up and dress now. In 2000 in Fuzhou, there were girls without makeup in slippers, and cheap cotton dresses. No such thing here; all nice clothes and professionally done make-up. Supposedly, there is one mall where all the girls get their makeup done, and if you hang out there at like 5pm, you can see ALL the beautiful girls in the city there and do some advance scouting.
Language
Language is a big problem since there is almost nobody who speaks English in CP. Suprisingly, even at the nicer hotels there was only one or two staff who could KIND of speak a little English. If I didn't speak the little Chinese I did, I would have been very assed out. I found NOBODY who was fluent in English in CP (I about cried once I got to Hong Kong and heard the women speaking her majesty's royal English). Though it is GuangZhou, only about 50% can speak Cantonese... maybe 65% can understand it. This is understandable since, like the factory workers, the working girls come from all over China. As a matter of fact, many working girls are EX factory girls.
Dining
Eating out would be impossible without knowing Chinese as well. The hotel has english menus, but the food sucks and is overpriced, and the waitress will only understand if you point at what you want. Well I did see a McDonalds or two, every other restaurant I went to had pure chinese menus, with no pictures. When I was leaving I saw a English publication called "Here!" which listed favorite ex-pat spots, though I think they cater more to the city of Dong Cheng. According to the magazine, they should have a website up next month, though you might want to try a web search for that.
Transportation
You would be nuts or suicidal to try and drive in this city, as pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcycles, cabs, cars, dogs, kids, old guys with carts, and just about everything else that moves roams the highway freely. The lines on the street are taken as a suggestion, as are the idea of "one way streets" (shiver). How I did not see an accident in the one week I was there can only be called a mircale of Chinese cultural development. Everything from cars, to dogs, to pedestrians seem to have built in radars that warn of impending dangers from behind, and allow them to move accordingly without being fazed.
While there are some "real" taxis around town, the transportation of choice seems to be private operated mini-van taxis. Supposdly, every one of those mini vans you see (about half the size of those old Toyota Mini Vans) is a taxi, and will take you whereever you need to get in Chang Ping for 15-20RMB ($2.40 US). There are also motorcycle taxis, I think you can spot them by a orange safety vest they wear. I wouldn't dare ride one of those, but many many of the girls do (and no, it's not like Vietnam where you can solicit them from the bikes... they just trying to get somewhere, not advertise).
Living
Outside of the entertainment area, are huge residential buildings, some of them downright nice (though small) available for the low price of 1800RMB (US $225) a month.
The place I stayed at, the Peninsula Hotel (which everybody knows as Ban Dao - Chinese for Peninsula) cost me about 280RMB a night (~$36US) though I might have been getting a special rate since my company books there often. From what I understand, this is the general rate for hotels of that caliber in CP (including Hui hua and Miraton). There were fancier hotels, but the rooms are not supposedly noticably nicer, nor are the girls any prettier.
There was no convenience store inside the hotel, but there was a fake 7-11 called 168 that stays open 24 hours that has drinks, condoms, fake Viagra (which I don't recommend taking), etc and even offers money changing services, located across the street. The couple can't speak English, but you can point, and they will type out prices on the calculator for you. I believe the husband is a Hong Kong ex-pat.
Miraton had a REAL 7-11 next door (which was pretty tiny by US standards), and was also walking distance from Hui Hua.
Safety
Generally, I felt safe in CP, and didn't have any beggars bugging me (the 4 beggars I saw were 2 OLD couples and for sure they are REALLY just trying to survive), nor karaoke girls trying to steal stuff from my hotel rooms. I think everybody is so scared of losing their jobs, that they don't dare mess around. The street girls might be another issue though.
Well I did have many people stare at me as I spoke English from across the room, I never got worried that someone would try to rob me or steal my passport. That is, it felt like the "criminal mind" was not as devious there as it is in other parts of the world, or even the US. To give you an idea, half the time, we didn't lock the car doors when we went places, since the parking attendants/security guards are always on duty. I was told, it's not like the US or other parts of the world where you can get killed for a certain amount of money. Worst case, you might get beaten up a bit. I guess the poor people here have learned to accept there are many people richer than them, and don't look for a shortcut to wealth by robbing people. Plus the police probably would treat them like hell since business tourism is the #1 source of income.
I could be wrong on that though. On first glance, I do look Chinese, and in places like this I tend to walk around purposely looking a bit meaner than I normally would. I don't know if it would be a different story for a older caucasian guy who walked around looking lost and confused.
Contact Info:
Miraton Hotel (Mei Yi Dang)
Zhongyuan Road, Changping Town, Dongguan City,
Guangdong Province, PR China
PC:523560 (I have no idea what a PC is)
Tel: 86-769.3028888
www.miratonhotel.com
Hui Hua International Hotel
No. 2 Changping Ave., Changping Town, Dongguan City,
Guangdong, PRC
PC:523560
Tel: 86-769.83938888.3388
www.huihuahotel.cn
CP Peninsula hotel (Ban Dao)
The Crossing between Dongxing Road & Beihuan Road,
Changping, Donguan, Guangdong, PRC
PC: 523562
Tel:86-769.8398.8888
www.3s3c.cn
Royal Clubhouse (LEGITIMATE Day Spa for around $25 (?))
Royal Clubhouse of Changping Road Town,
Dongguan City
Tel: 86-769.83029888
Pictures: Miraton Hotel (Mei Yi Dang), Entrance of Hui Hua Hotel next door, CP Peninsula Hotel entrance (Ban Dao), Royal Clubhouse - the only LEGITIMATE massage spa I know of in the whole city