Better to just take a risk and get fined IMO. Having to register at a police station within 24 hours is ridiculous. I only registered once in my entire time in China, in 2015, and I was not always living on a university campus.

This is 2017, not 2015. The risk of being found out may well be much higher these days. When FTs currently employed in China, signed their contracts, they agreed to obey China's laws. So they should follow them to the letter. So should you, Silverboy if you were still teaching in China.

Once a policewoman came to my privately rented flat in Nanning and asked me if a woman was living with me. I was a bit pissed off, it's none of her business. I was living alone at the time, but a few months earlier my GF was living with me.
Strangely enough, I always found university campuses in China the best place to bring girls back to your flat. Nobody cared, and I was very open about it.

For security reasons, and to live rent-free near the classrooms, I always felt privileged living on campus. And I didn't mind gate curfews as I was not a person who enjoyed hanging out in bars or dancing the night away, unlike Silverboy.

It's probably better to not have a girlfriend living with you because it queers your pitch if you unexpectedly bump into another bit of skirt you want to be free to bring back.

No comment, Taffy. Each to their own. If I had one girl following me, that was enough for me!

As for the police- I think they size you up when you initially visit them and if they think you look trouble they will visit you- well one told me that.

Taffy, they are obliged to check out your accommodation and rental contract/house purchase contract when you apply for your Residence Permit or change your address. I don't mind them turning up here at any time as I've nothing to hide.

What it can amount to for many of us is no less than being under 'House Arrest' Sod that for a game of soldiers. If you put up with that you have no self-respect.

Taffy, you exaggerate. Hardly 'house arrest'! You can explore your county. You can bus it to neighboring counties without having to show your passport. However, boarding a train, even just for a short provincial train ride, requires passport inspection at the train station in advance.