The dollar peg in Hong Kong, combined with dramatic devaluations in other Asian nations, make a trip to the South China coast prohibitively expensive. Hotel rates have fallen, and dining and other prices have come down as well. For most visitors not on expense accounts or part of a tour group, Hong Kong's most popular type of lodging is the hostel. On the Kowloon side, hostels are on practically every block. You'll often need to look carefully for the signs, but they are there.
Hostels offer wide range of accommodations.
Bunk rooms are common. But so are single rooms with communal baths, as well as single and double rooms with their own baths and toilets. Quality varies, too, though this isn't always obvious from outside appearances. To reach a hostel, you may need to step sideways through a damp cement walk, then risk riding up ten floors in an elevator no US building would be permitted to operate. But the end result may well be a comfortable place to clean and crash, with a friendly manager supervising a competent staff.