Water filtration in China?

[asterroc]

I'm going to China with my mother this summer for 3 weeks, and my mother informed me that I can't drink the tap water. We will be staying in hotels (4 stars mostly), but traveling both in urban and rural areas. So if there are any environmentally friendly frugal jet-setters reading this,

* Is that true that I can't drink the tap water?
* Should I just buy water everywhere?
* What about some sort of filtration/sterilization for tap water instead?

Comments

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, unfortunately it says not to use where water is microbiologically unsafe. I'll check camping store websites though and see if there are other bottle-based solutions.

Edit:
I'm aware of the pills too. I guess one of my questions is just whether it's worth investing in some sort of filtration for convenience (what if I wake up thirsty in the middle of the night and realize I forgot to buy a fresh bottle before going to bed?) rather than relying on purchasing bottles all the time.

[rubicat.livejournal.com]

There are bottles out there, though, that are used for recovery zones where water is unsafe. Those bottles cost a lot more, but peace of mind (and body) is tantamount here, especially amid concerns that many places are just using tap water to fill bottles!

Is this one enough?
http://www.amazon.com/Positive-Power-Nutrition-PureGo-Bottle/dp/B001AXWTC8

This one seems popular, too:
http://www.mcnett.com/Aquamira-Water-Bottle-with-Microbiological-Filter-P216.aspx

Good luck! I've had giardia, and......not fun.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, exactly (on bottling tap water w.o purifying). I'm leaning towards a filter-based system. It'd be good to have around the house in case of a boil order or zombie apocalypse anyway.