Xu Weiwan, director of the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration told the Shanghai news website Eastday that the city is monitoring the development of two pilot districts, Pudong and Jinshan, which have introduced minsu licenses and guidelines.

These regions have already published the guidelines and issued 10 licenses, Xu and these projects are usually fully-booked during weekends and holidays.

Over at Fengshou village in Minhang district, a tourism project which includes many minsu projects, was due to open in August, Shanghai Observer reported.

Airbnb, the US home-sharing platform, told China Daily that it has seen a big increase in the number of shared B&B homes and guests over the past few years.