Booking a Venue or Class Through huodong.com

If you landed on a huodong.com venue page from a search, you might have assumed you were on the venue's own website. You're not, and that's worth knowing before you message us asking for a court. Here's what we are, what you can book through us, and what you'll need.

What huodong.com is

huodong.com (活动网, Huódòng Wǎng) is a directory of venues and events in China's major cities. Venue pages cover sports courts, gyms, studios, climbing walls and a lot more. Each city has its own page, like /venue/shanghai for venues and /event/shanghai for upcoming events.

Every venue on the site is run by its own business. We list it; the people who can tell you whether the court is free on Saturday are the venue's owner or front desk.

Which venues you can book online

Online booking is something each venue switches on. When it's on, you'll see a 预约 (book) button in the contact card on desktop, in the bar at the bottom of the screen on a phone, and next to each class in the 本周课表 (this week's schedule) section.

If there's no 预约 button, the venue isn't taking bookings through us. Use the phone number or WeChat ID on the page instead; the companion article covers how that usually goes.

The two ways a booking can work

Each venue picks how its bookings are handled, and it can differ from class to class.

Needs the venue to confirm (需要商家确认). You pick a time and send the request. It's a request, not a booking yet. The venue reviews it and confirms a time, and you get a text message when they do. They might also just call you. If the venue doesn't get to it in time, the request closes on its own and you'll see that in your account; at that point it's worth calling them directly.

Booked instantly (约上即成立). This is the familiar class-booking setup. If there's a spot, you're in the moment you submit. If the class is full, you may be able to join a waiting list (排队, páiduì) and get moved in if someone drops out.

A few things to keep in mind:

• There's a limit on how far ahead you can book and on how many people one booking can cover. The booking form shows both. For a bigger group, use the 其他时间 / 只留意向 ("other time / just leave a request") option and write how many of you there are.
• Class spots, "full" labels and cancelled sessions update live, so if the page looks off, reload it.

What you need

A mainland China (+86) mobile number that can receive SMS. This is the one hard requirement. You log in with a six-digit code sent by text, and your first login creates your account. There's no password. Booking without being logged in works the same way: you enter your number, type in the code, and your booking goes through and you're logged in at the same time. Right now we can only accept 11-digit mainland numbers, so a foreign number won't get a code.

Text messages and the site itself are in Chinese. Your browser's translate feature handles the site well.

Your name and phone number go to that venue only, so they can contact you about the booking.

Optional: WeChat. Two things in WeChat make life easier, both called 活动网助手 (Huódòng Wǎng Zhùshǒu, "huodong.com assistant"). You'll find both QR codes in the page footer.

• The official account (服务号). Follow it to get class reminders and booking updates as WeChat messages.
• The mini program (小程序). Log in with the same phone number and you'll have your schedule, membership cards and messages in WeChat. When you arrive for a class, scan the venue's in-store QR code to check yourself in. Check-in opens a while before the class starts and closes when it ends.

Your account

Click 我的 ("me") once you're logged in to see:

• 日程 (schedule) with your upcoming bookings, each with a button to add it to your phone's calendar. Inside WeChat's built-in browser this gives you a link to open in your regular browser instead, since WeChat can't open calendar files.
• 会员卡 (membership cards) issued to you by venues. This tab appears once you have one.
• 消息 (messages) about bookings, cards and answers to your questions.
• 收藏 (favorites), the venues you've saved.
• 我的提问 (my questions) you've asked.

Membership cards

Membership cards (会员卡, huìyuán kǎ) are how most studios and gyms in China sell classes. Some are a set number of sessions, some cover a period of time, and some hold a stored balance.

On huodong.com, cards are issued by the venue, linked to your phone number. You buy the card from the venue itself, the same way you normally would, and the venue records it here. We don't sell cards and we don't take payments for them.

Once you have a card, it shows up in your account, and when you book a class at that venue, the booking form adds a 用卡 (use card) row with your card selected. The session is deducted from the card according to the venue's rules.

Private coaching

Some venues list coaches under 私教 (sījiào, private coaching), with the courses each coach teaches and how long a session runs. Tap 约私教 (book a private session), then pick the coach, the course if there's more than one, a date, and a time. Only times the coach is actually available show up.

Private sessions usually need the venue to confirm, and each venue sets how far in advance you have to book. If a slot is taken, pick another one, since private sessions don't have a waiting list.

Asking the venue a question

Verified venues have a 常见问答 (Q&A) section. You can ask a question there once you're logged in. The venue's answer is public, so it helps the next person too. Your phone number stays hidden, and you'll get a message when they reply.

Cancelling

Open the booking in 我的 and tap 取消预约 (cancel booking). If you used a membership card, the session or amount goes back onto the card.

How late you can cancel is up to each venue. Once the cutoff has passed, the cancel button disappears and the booking tells you to contact the venue, so reach them by phone or WeChat if you can't make it.

What we don't do

So you know what to expect:

• We aren't the venue. We can't check court availability, hold a slot, or book on your behalf.
• No payments happen on our site. You pay the venue the way they ask, usually at the front desk with WeChat Pay or Alipay.
• Logging in and booking need a mainland +86 number for now.

If something on a page looks wrong, or you're stuck, we're happy to point you in the right direction. We just can't answer for the venue itself.

Contacting us

• Email: service@huodong.com
• WeChat: follow the 活动网助手 official account from the QR code in the footer.

For anything about a specific booking, like times, prices, or whether they have rackets to rent, contact the venue using the phone number or WeChat ID on its page.