Cost of living in China – 2015

Beijing
Around 4000 RMB for a small studio between 4 and 5 ring in Chaoyang district
Subway: 300 per month
Electricity: about 100 per month
Gas (water heater): about 50 per month
Internet: 1500 annualy (6 mbit)
Mobile: around 100 rmb (use lots of 4G)
Good menu in restaurant: depends. less than 100 for two person in a North-East Chinese restaurant in a 5-minute walking from home, and around 200 near Tiananmen (for things you can actually eat, without 浪费)
Coffee: starting from 12 per cup in "85度咖啡"
Cinema tickets: you may see prices around 100 per ticket, but if you purchase a "VIP Card", or use specific bank card, it will cost like 25-35 RMB.

Suggestion: put together a survey via Survey Monkey and collect information that way. Asking via the forum doesn't make any sense. I'm not inclined to share my family's information via a public forum.

Benxi City, Liaoning Provence / Population around 2,000,000 - Tier 4 City
Apartment: Price for your furnished accommodation runs 1,800 - 2,500 RMB for a one or two bed bedrooms respectively. Apartments here are easy to acquire both the Mingshan and Pingshan districts.

Transportation: Buses run ¥1 anywhere and the most you'll pay for a taxi is ¥8. Trains to the capital city of Shenyang run 7-14 RMB depending on what time of day you leave. Buses to Shenyang run ¥24 to the city center and ¥35 to the airport. Each take about one hour in travel time.

Utilities: Electricity runs about ¥200 per month. Gas runs around ¥15 if you plan to cook. Most of the time food eaten is done outside of the home due to to cheap and abundant chioces. Water runs ¥30 on the high end per month if you shower twice a day.

Extras: Internet runs ¥600 annualy for 5 Mbps and your mobile should be no more than 50 RMB. I also purchased a year's contract for delivered water and dispenser at ¥18 per 5 gallon bottle. Total for this expense was 700 RMB.

AROUND BENXI: Great menu in local quizine running less than ¥60 for two persons.  Chinese restaurants in most areas are less than a three minute walk from home. Western restaurant selection is minimum. Three restaurants offer good selections, USB Cafe, Alsace Coffe and Europaer. Cost is substantially more running around ¥160 for two people. You can however be so inclined to visit KFC and McDonald's if you hunger fast food. Coffee runs ¥10 per cup at Holiland Bakery or 20-35 RMB at Alsace Coffee or several private coffee shops. Cinema tickets run ¥50 per ticket at the New Mart. No English cineama is available here in Benxi. Take a trip to Shenyang and visit many of the Wanda Plazas there for current english movies. Shopping is easy here with markets everywhere. Costs for monthly food for at home use run around ¥500 for two people.

Activities: Plenty of indoor gyms for basketball and working out. Central mountain park is awesome for getting away from the hassle of the city life. Great memorial for those who battled against the Japanese during WWII. Benxi water cave is a must see, running around ¥100. Make a friend at its free. The locals love taking foreigners here to show the beauty of the area. The small city and mountains in this area are very relaxing and wonderful. Also the Prince River runs through the northern part of the city and has excellent trails for biking and walking.

Please bare in mind that this is a tier 4 city and is continually growing. This also was the industrial capital of China and has some environmental issues. Most of the time the air quality here runs under 100ppm but it has a lot of days that run in the 200-300 range due to the industry here. Buy a mask and do as the Romans do!

Peace and happiness during your travels,
justaheut

Hi All,

Below are my expenses with living in China, you may like them as I live in Central China which is totally different than living within or near major coastal cities like most.

> accommodation prices: ZERO I built our family western Villa on family farm land, so all I had to obtain was planning permition from local government. But for local accommodation prices is cheap here yearly price for 1 bedroom apartment is roughly 2-3,000 rmb a YEAR.

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.) : Only buses and local taxis here, local bus prices to town 1-way is 2 rmb per person. Bus price to local city 25km away is 8 rmb each way. Local taxi is nominal 5 rmb per km anywhere. Taxi to local city is 50 rmb, or if you opt to share the taxi, its around 10 rmb for a 25km ride.
We have our own family car, fuel prices is roughly 6.4 rmb per liter, which is less than half price of UK prices last time I was their that is.....
Car insurance for me and the wife being fully comprehensive is 5,800 a year.

Their are the slow trains also, never use them, takes hours to get anywhere but I did notice the building of the new high speed train tracks being constructed, I'll let you know as and when.

> food prices (your monthly budget): All vegetable and rice is grown locally with family and friends so its ZERO cost. All other food items works out for our family about 500 rmb per month tops, and we eat meat every day. Lots of outdoor markets selling all fruits vegs and meats, funny thing here Chinese pay the same price for pure fat and bone same as for meat.

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance) Only insurance I can obtain is in HK so basically I do not bother with it, I opt all for local Chinese ways and doctors/local hospital treatments, it works fine for the Chinese so it's fine for me.

> education prices (if you need to pay) ZERO I am thick as shit.
For my wife's daughter local schooling works out about 3,000 rmb per yr.

> energy prices (oil, electricity) : Electric is paid every 2 months and we are the highest bill here in town, we pay on average 500-700 every 2 months.

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone) Internet incl local land-line is 179 rmb monthly, which includes 50 rmb for mobile calls for free, also includes 3mb net connection, and for the TV we pay yearly for all local channels etc and they plug in a new set top box for free yearly fee 200 rmb

> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant: Chinese only restaurants here, some good some not lol. Good places you can spend up to 1,000 rmb for a group of 12 people, which is around 12 courses. All local foods though.
In the not so good clean places, you pay on average around 300 rmb for same meals for 12 people. Excluding alcohol, You also have hundreds of small type cafes serving local dishes for as little as 3 rmb per dish.

> price for a coffee or a drink : Not many coffee bars here at all, but a few, which only dish out plastic cup coffee machine type 10 rmb a cup, but its ok.
Bars clubs few popping up around town now, usually it is a price per person to enter with a free drink added, starting at 20 rmb up to 200 rmb depending if you want a karaoke type bar or full blown nightclub scene

> price for cinema tickets : Never use the cinema, especially when China have PPS for free.

Our local city is Leshan, the place where you find the worlds giant Buddha carved into the mountain itself, lovely remarkable engineering went into it, also nearby is Emei, largest mountain peak around here I think just over 3,000 ft with large monestary on the top, kills you to climb the thousands of steps though but well worth it. Also has chair lift half way for the needy.

Leshan shopping has now a few very large shopping centers and malls, everything you could ever think of is their. Incl KFC and MacDonald, also Pizza hut type.
Our local town Jiajiang is building its first shopping mall park, will be completed in a few years and its awesome.
Emei also has a fantastic water theme park with all the thrills within, great for a fun day out especially with the wave machine and terrifying water slides.

All in all, you get more for your hard earned money in China and much better service, quality of sanitary I dare not go into but you know what I mean, but the new places are becoming more and more cleaner in respect to the sanitary side of things. In the coastal cities where its mainly westernized, is virtually the same as EU, but you also find local Chinese getting westernized which really SPOILS it all don't you think. Myself I prefer central China towns and cities where the real china still lives on. Anyone wishing to come over here send me a message, I am happy to help anyone with all local things even put you up for the night for free, we have a very large villa lots of space and empty rooms lol.

Ningbo.
3500 APARTMENT (top quality) 90 sq.m. Centre of city.
200 Gas, electricity, water
100 Transport...bus, taxi bus 1.2 a ride with buscard. Taxi start at 10
750 Groceries and household items
20 - haircut
8 Dumplings for breakfast
1000 internet - year 16MB
1000 satellite tv - mostly American movies but HBO
Takeaways - U.K. prices
35 Cinema
40 beer in Waitan (touristy)
Clothes - only buy in U.K. each visit home
80 average - each person if eating out

How much does it cost to live in China?

Shanghai

> accommodation prices
6,800 CNY per month for a 110 m^2 2 bedroom apartment next to Lujiabang Road metro (Line 8 and Line 9).
> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.)
2.7-3 CNY for a train, 2 CNY for a bus, taxi starts from 14 CNY.

> food prices (your monthly budget)
40 CNY for lunch, around 3000-4000 CNY per month on meals.

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)
Around 5-6,000 CNY for annual medical insurance that covers Chinese hospitals.

> education prices (if you need to pay)

> energy prices (oil, electricity)
Around 8 CNY per litre for petrol, around 100-150 CNY per month on electricity.

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
100 CNY per month for internet.
Around 200 CNY per month on mobile phone.
no ongoing costs for television or land-line.

> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant
Local Chinese food should be no more than 100 CNY for a very good meal per person.
Western food can be between 300-600 CNY for a good meal per person (not including alcohol).

> price for a coffee or a drink
20 CNY for a small latte at my local cafe (better and cheaper than Starbucks).  I think Starbucks is 38 CNY or something ridiculous.

> price for cinema tickets
Last time I went 120 CNY.  Apparently can get 60 CNY if you book online.  Who goes to the cinema when you can buy the latest DVDs for 12 CNY at the local DVD store?

Changsha Hunan Province

Accommodations: Well, if I worked for an employer who offered housing as part of the contract, I didn't have to pay, but for the last employer, here is the cost.
Small 2 bedrm/1bath, mini kitchen, livingrm/dining area -3,600 rmb per month (1 yr leasing contract only). Management fees, etc were separate each month (around 175-200 rmb).

Public transportation: Buses : mostly 1-2 rmb, Taxis: Starts at 6 rmb. (Subway costs unknown.

Food costs: Groceries per month -Between 600-1000 rmb, plus eating out (restaurants, fast foods, or street vendors 500-600 rmb. Easily, I could spend 2500 rmb per month if I splurge, but I usually cook at home to keep cost low.

Health prices (for those who need medical insurance): Well, this gets tricky. My employer offers the medical insurance, but you cannot use it for anything other than inpatient care and they never really answer my questions about the plan or provided a card.They seem to try to avoid the conversation altogether! (*eye roll*) I take medicine daily and have to check my BP every now an then, but I have to pay out of pocket for the 3 types of meds I take and the insurance company in Changsha (I was told by my employer) doesn't reimburse for the cost of meds. When employed in Zhejiang Province, my employers did! SO I guess it depends on whether the employer purchased a really cheap insurance plan!  I paid around 350 rmb per month for my prescribed medicines. For the outpatient hospital visits I had, I paid about 300-400 rmb for check up and labs. X-ray and ultrasound took the cost to about 900 rmb for one visit. Again, no medical reimbursement from the insurance company.

Education cost: Didn't apply to me

Energy costs (oil, electricity): 300 rmb per month

Common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone): Paid for Internet annually 1320 rmb, mobile phone - 100-140 rmb per month, Cable - didn't get it,cost too much. Bought an Android TV box instead for 289 rmb.


Price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant : When I did eat out, which was so rare in Changsha, the cost for the food was too expensive and the food was not good. For 2 people, for an upscale "Hot Pot" restaurant, we paid 367 rmb! For the Japanese restaurant, we paid 295 rmb for 3 persons. At a "western" restaurant (called Helen's), we paid almost 380 rmb for the WORST steaks I ever tasted! Since I didn't like the food in Changsha, I opted to cook more often.

Price for a coffee or a drink : Coffee from Starbucks 28 rmb for a small cup. Drinks (regular fruit, etc) about 10-12 rmb. Alcoholic beverages: Between 25-45 for a cocktail depending where you go.

Price for cinema tickets: I really don't know. I refused to go to a cinema in China because I was told that  most times there is talking or chatter going on during the movie. That is a huge pet peeve of mine, so I watch movies at home with my husband.

I've lived in China for 6 years and the costliest of them all was the last year in Changsha. The others were not as bad. I did have an apartment in Hangzhou for 4500 rmb per month, but it was during the summer vacation when I didn't have to work and I was changing employers. The cost was a bit steep!

I hope this will help.

Cheers!

How much does it cost to live in China?

> accommodation prices: we live in an expat area in Shanghai, in Jinqiao. Houses here range from 60,000 a month for a Western-style 4-bedroom detached villa to around 8,000 for a Chinese 2-bedroom apartment. The higher end here also includes maintenance of everything in the house, maintenance of the garden and a guard who regularly bikes around the compound.

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.): taxis start at 14 rmb and are relatively cheap and vey easy to find. The subway system is amazing and the price ranges from 3-6 rmb depending on the length of the trip. Buses are even cheaper but have the problem of the destination being only written in Chinese characters.
On that note, most expats I know have a car with a driver, since they make it quite difficult for Westerners to drive here. So we don't take taxis very often. Besides, this part of Shanghai (Pudong) has many dedicated bicycle lanes so it's very easy to go about on your bike.

> food prices (your monthly budget): for a family of 4 you should count on spending around 2,000 rmb every week, depending on whether you buy just local produce (contaminated, polluted, sprayed with insecticides) or imported stuff, which obviously is much more expensive.

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance): we have an expat insurance, which is also expensive (around 8,000 euros per year for my husband and me). It has proven worth it, though. But, it seems that if you go to a Chinese hospital with a 'Westerners wing', the moment you walk in the staff's eyes changes into dollar signs.

> education prices (if you need to pay): the International schools in Shanghai are very expensive. The last year of IB in an international British school was 225,000 rmb. For ONE student.

> energy prices (oil, electricity): we generally pay in between 600-1,500 for electricity on a monthly basis. Water is around 250 rmb per month. Gas bills vary from 25 in summer to 500 in winter because we have 2 gas fires in the villa. Bear in mind that this is a detached house, which of course uses much more energy than an apartment.

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone): Internet 25 rmb per month, TV free, land line 25 rmb per month, mobile I have a pre-pay and generally buy 100 rmb card every 2 months.

> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant: Chinese food is cheap and aplenty. The Western place are much more expensive, although you can have a decent meal at any Mexican or American place for around 100 rmb per person.

> price for a coffee or a drink: I never drink coffee outside home or work but I think Starbucks is around 25 rmb per cup. Alcohol is expensive in western places, beer in Chinese restaurants not so much.

> price for cinema tickets: as someone mentioned before, why fork out over 100 rmb for a cinema ticket if you can buy the DVDs for 12 apiece. I never go to the cinema here.

I realise that we are at the high end of the expat spectrum but thought it might be good to see that as well. All in all I find grocery shopping cheaper in Holland, where I am from, but that may be because we drink imported wine and eat imported stuff like muesli, yoghurt etc.

Hello everyone,

Thank you all for sharing these information with us.
__________________________________________________________________________

@ michaelvenske > Welcome to the China forum.

Actually, the team decided to start this thread so that future expats thinking of moving to China can get an idea of the cost of living there and hence plan accordingly. The idea here is to have the information right here on the blog so that all the members can have access to it. It won't exactly be helpful if we direct someone who is already here to yet another site to fish for information.

Far from us wanting any personal information on any members, any one is free to participate or not.

Thank you,

Shaazia
Expat.com Team

Without going into details , it will cost around 10000 RMB per month , which is a lot for one person .!!!1

We are living in Shenzhen, GuangDong Province, China.  We feel, after living in China for 13 years, that the cost of living has sky rocketed in the last 10 years.

As an expat family we shop differently than the locals, but we also shop locally and have noticed the same or even higher increase in food prices.

Local ramen noodles on the street RMB8 average

Local la mien noodles in a decent clean street restaurant RMB30 average

Dumplings (mantou, xiao mai, jiaouzi) RMB3 each average

Meat - A local tenderloin costs RMB150 per Kilo.

Eggs - local and not organic RMB 1 per Unit.

Seasonal Fruit - local and not organic RMB24 per Kilo average.

I bought a passion fruit in the beginning of the season and was shocked when the vendor asked me for RMB23 per unit.

Organic Vegetables: seasonal basket costs RMB36 per Kilo, delivered to our home.

International School:  SIS - the most expensive RMB175,000 tuition only (not including extra curricular, transportation or food or the USD10,000 capital levy to join the school).

Any other international school average RMB110,000 tuition only.

Rent:  in local apartment building, not in an international apartment building or international neighborhood:  185m2 apartment RMB10,000 per month.

Apartment Management Fees - HOA: RMB800 per month.

Utilities: water, gas, electricity average RMB1,300  average per month (4 in the household).

Ticket to the movie theater: RMB75

Nails: Average RMB180 (manicure + pedicure)

Hair Cut: Average RMB200 local salon with an international professional for short hair

Hair Color or Highlights: Average RMB350  local salon with an international professional for short hair

Massage: Full body oil: RMB160 average
                Foot massage: RMB70 average

Local Qindao Beer: RMB30 per bottle

Imported Beer:  RMB60 per bottle

Glass of Wine: RMB55 per glass (imported wine not local Chinese wine)

Western Restaurant: RMB200 per person average.

Car rental per month: Nissan Livina 2014 basic RMB3,600 per month (long term contract)

Gas: 92 OCTANES RMB5.68 per liter - RMB300 average for a full tank

Fitness: RMB6,500 for a year membership at a good fitness club

Classes:  Private tutors for Math, Language, etc..  AVERAGE for foreign tutors RMB350 per hour, for a local piano teacher RMB180 per hour.

If I think of anything else, I am happy to contribute.

Ahhh all expat members here are rocks!! Thanks for the info!!

Shanghai
Housing - 2700 a month (shared with two other girls so a total of 8000)
Food - approx 1000 a month
Public transport - approx 50 a week (for metro and buses. Taxi's were used about once a month and cost about 55)
Energy bills/common bills - 152 per two months (around 600 total for all living in the house)
Price for a good meal - about 45, sometimes more and sometimes less.
Price for a coffee or drink - coffee is around 30RMB in starbucks/costa for a small. Teas/bubble tea is around 8.
Mobile - between 50 and 100 a month. It just depended!

This is an awesome topic. thank you all for the replies.
Still, there is one thing I can't figure out for myself, how much we might need to spend for groceries. In US we shop only at Wholefoods and the local organic stores, so our monthly budget for two people is around $1,000. Is it somehow comparable to chinese prices for food for two people, if we shop for local organic produce, meat and some of the imported 'comfort' foods?

For Qingdao:

> accommodation prices- Downtown 40,000/yr, suburbs 30,000+

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.)- no subway. Bus 1-2 RMB, taxi 9-30 RMB

> food prices (your monthly budget)- 300 RMB/ week on groceries

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)- municipal hospital 21 RMB/ visit

> education prices (if you need to pay)- expensive, about 100,000 RMB/yr

> energy prices (oil, electricity)

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)

> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant 30-80 RMB per dish

> price for a coffee or a drink 30+

> price for cinema tickets

Shanghai
Housing - 8000 per month
Food - approx 1000 a month
Public transport - approx 60 a week (for metro and buses.)
Energy bills/common bills - around 300 per  month
Price for a good meal - about 80, sometimes more and sometimes less.
Price for a coffee or drink - coffee is around 30RMB in starbucks/costa for a small. Teas/bubble tea is around 8.
Mobile - between 300 and 500 a month. It just depended!

Xiamen - Haicang ( Xiamen is an Island, Haicang a district od Xiamen is just cross the brige on the mainland. )

Most imported products I buy on internet, delivery is usually very fast from all over China to Xiamen.

80m2 2 bedroom apartment, good condition: 2200 / Month
( if want to buy 18'000 to 20'000 per m2 in central Haicang, up to 20'000 to 50'000 on the Xiamen island )

Bus: 1 RMB ( 2 RMB if cross the bridge )

Ferry to the center: 2 yuan

Taxi is starting at 8 rmb

Taxi to airport is about 50 rmb.

Fast train to Shenzhen, 1st class, 181 rmb, 4h., therefore the total cost to get to Hongkong is less than 250rmb in about 5h.

Mobile phone: 88 /month : 150 minutes, 650 mb, free incoming calls, ( all is valid for whole China, not limited to the province or city. there are cheaper offers, with this kind of limitations)

Internet: 300 for 6M, 600 for 12M ( ISP: China Mobile )

Electricity: I never payed more than 50 /month even in summer with airconditioning on, sometimes I think the counter has to be broken.

Haircut: 15 to 50, depends how fancy they decorate the shop. The price does not necessary impact the quality.. I have mine usually cut for 15 or 20 RMB and I'm happy with the result.

Top end food massage: 150 / 90min

"Muslim" noodles (西北拉面) 13 to 18 RMB

Local beef noodels 10-15 RMB

Setmeal, rice: 10-15 RMB

Meet Baozi (stuffed steamd bread): 1.5 to 3

Mantou, steamed bread: 1

Fried rice: 8 - 10

Best setmeal in Town: 80 to 100 RMB ( ShiTing 石庭 Restaurant)

Coffee: Amercian: 10-15RMB, Mokka: 17-20RMB.

Beer in the Shop: German beer starting at 10 RMB / 500ml, local beer 3 /500ml

Cinema: 30-40 yuan ( online ), 30-100 directly in the Cinema

Australian Beef in Supermarket starting at 85 RMB /kg

Farmland chicken eggs: starting at 1.5 a pcs

Local fresh milk: 4 / 225ml pack (good for 5 days)

Duran starting at 9 / 500g

Local Mango starting at 3 / 500g

Pumpkin starting at 0.8 / 500g

How about Nanchang, Jiangxi?

Update on the cost in Xiamen:
Data as stated on the bill:
first 0-200kwh per month: 0.49 RMB/kwh
200-400kwh: 0.54/kwh
everything above 400kwh: 0.79/kwh