staying with a friend

If I have a Chinese tourist visa, and i want to go to china for tourism but would rather stay with my friend then spend money on hotel, am i allowed to do that? Also in the application for my L type i handed in a letter from my friend along side a copy of their Chinese id card and other info that they may want. so in this case when i arrive at china would this be allowed or do i still need to pay for a hotel?