Cost of living in China - 2017

Guangzhou-Dongguan city- central district

>apartment: 1500-2000RMB/50 square meter/One sleeping room+living room+toilet+kitchen

> public transport: bus is 2RMB one hour trip. subway is 2 RMB per 2 stations

> Staple food: 15-20RMB/ lunch box/noodle

> car's fuel tank: 6.5RMB/Liter

> electricity/gas/water:100RMB

> apartment Internet: 900RMB/year

>phone internet: 20RMB/1 GB (no one use phone call now, internet call is popular)

> coffee: Starbucks: grande latte 34 RMB, local coffee shop: 15-20RMB

> cinema ticket: 20-35 RMB

> gym membership: 1200RMB/year,or 300RMB/10 times

Appartment shanghai , 15000 per month 😑😑 2 bedrooms
School 150,000 per year 😑😑
Weakens dinner 500 🤔-/+
Grocery monthly budget 2000 🤔🤔-/+
Car fuel 600 monthly
Other shopping monthly 2000
No gym cost !! I do fishing 🎣 🐟

Dear Priscilla,

Dont be fooled by some low prices indicated here,
You need to understand that different people have different standard of living, so lets start from that.

Let me tell you from my experience i spend about 15 years living and working in China, in different cities. Guangzhou is the recent.

If you want to rent decent apartment average level for example in Liede cun area in downtown in Guangzhou ( dont mix with Dongguan cause it is same as compare Eye and Butt   ) - Tianhe district or Zhujiang New Town.
Then  for fresh (without mold on the walls, dirty kitchen and hole in WC instead or WC pot and cockroaches) apartment with 2 bed rooms 50-60m it starts 4000RMB-5000.
If you want something good in same district then it is from 6000-8000-10000 and up sky is the limit.
That's why very often foreigners share flats,  just 2000-3000 rmb per room then.
+ add 1 month agency fee when you rent
+ 2 month deposit.
So you can figure out how much cash you need to have to start new life

In some cases you need pay council tax, if you register your rent contract officially, that's why it is better to rent from agency but not from individual.

Also price depend if furnished or not, better if you rent without anything and buy your own stuff at least you can have good bed and everything new, and not pay broken second hand bed and rubbish washing machine.

Broadband Internet could cost from 100-130 RMB per month from China Telecom

Gym in Guangzhou from 200-300/month in Downtown, i guess you don't want waste 40 min just to ride in gym one way

Electricity is one of important thing, cause in southern part there is no heating and if you want heading you need electric heater, or air conditioning in summer so bill for electricity easy can be 100$ per month if you use it often.

If you pay attention to your health then you need read this

Food in general is expensive. And  if we again set something for a standard lets say EU prices for example, Then food is expensive in Guangzhou and other big cities too cause all imported food cost more and you cant substitute it with Chinese products of same quality or same taste.
For example Olive oil, Sunflower seed oil, cheese, milk, chocolate, salmon, good beef and so on - this is all imported, even rice!   even Chinese prefer Thai rice which is not so polluted as local rice,

But if you are risky person and its OK for you to eat rice with lead or cadmium then you can go local .

There is one exception, local fruits and vegetables, they are cheap this is where you can save

Hope that's not turn you off from China, cause China is great no matter what pros and cons it have. I am still in love in China, and living cost have nothing to do with it just accept it.

Aleks

So, China is another world, better to say another planet.

Better be specific when it comes to questions what ,when and how much, if you really want to get precise answers.But not like : in average cinema ticket is 30 RMB. 

Everything vary from town to town and city to city, region to region, product or service price,

Probably you can go for a local movie for 15-20 rmb and you could easily  spend 80-160 RMB for seats in IMAX Cinema somewhere in downtown and on international blockbuster.

Same as average temperature in hospital is around 36.6

I'm living in Jinshitan holioday resort area, Dalian, Liaoning Province. It is a small fishing village that doubles as a beach resort town for chinese nationalies mainly (formerly russian travellers) for the last 10 or so years. It has been developing and costs have been going up but because of the area, seasons and infrastructure, costs as still more manageable than  in downtown Dalian.

> How much does it cost to rent an apartment/house in China? 

Jinshitan its not usually more than 3000 a month (and that is for a very very nice decked out crib), Dalian is upwards about 5000 or so

> How much do you pay for your public transport tickets (bus, subway, train, tram)?

3 kuai to get anywhere with the card for the most part on LTR
Taxi, I'd recommend using DiDi App

> Staple food: what do people eat and how much do they pay for basic food like bread, rice or pasta?

Rice, 1 RMB for a small bowl
Jiaozi 12 pieces for about 20 kuai
Baozi less than 5 kuai for 1 piece
Noodles 9-17 depending on what kind (per bowl)

>What is your monthly grocery budget?

300 kuai

> How much does it cost to see a physician/doctor/specialist in China ? 

...I have a health care plan but probably around 300 kuai (English Speaking doctor)

> What is your children's schooling monthly budget?

15,000 RMB a year

> How much does it cost to fill up your car's fuel tank?

20 kuai 125cc scooter

> How much do you pay for electricity/gas/water etc.?

cheaply....

> How much do you pay for your Internet/phone subscription?

1300 for best in the area a year

> How much do you pay for your lunch pack on weekdays?

6 kuai at school Cafeteria

> How much do you pay for an espresso coffee?

8-25 kuai, 8 local bakery (decent), 25 Starbucks (its not timmies )

> How much do you pay for a cinema ticket?

too much...

> How much does a gym membership cost in China? 

that is a bit silly of a question, depends on a plan, I got a year for 1300 roughly? You need to haggle and go in with with friends to make worth their discount

Prices for Xiamen

> How much does it cost to rent an apartment/house in China? 
2 bedrooms, 2000-3000 in central Haicang District, more if you go rent on the island, most expensive is Siming District.

> How much do you pay for your public transport tickets (bus, subway, train, tram)?
In general 1 yuan. 2 yuan if you cross the bridge from or to the island.

> Staple food: what do people eat and how much do they pay for basic food like bread, rice or pasta?
Xiamen People like rice, you can get a standard set meal for 10-20 RMB, the price does not necessarily reflect quality. The best set meals I got for 10 yuan, but unfortunately the owner got sick and had to close the shop...
Noodles are also about that price. Rou Jia Mo (Chinese style Hamburger) typically cost 7-10 yuan.
You can get relatively good and reasonably priced bread at Carrefour. Baguette can be found in RT-Mart and Walmart as well for 3-4 Yuan a piece.
Bread Shops are all over the place, bu the are expensive and only few have western style bread， everything is sweet.
Ingredients to cook western food at home I mostly buy on Internet.
Cheese (Parmesan style, Swiss Cheese,  Gouda... ): 40 yuan / 500g (expect to pay double if you buy it in a supermarket)
Spaghetti: 5-7 yuan /500g, 10-15 in Supermarket
Italian Canned Tomatoes: 30 yuan /2.5kg
Imported All Purpose Flour (Russia): 16-20 yuan/ 2kg
Imported Ray Flour (Russia): 10-15 /1kg
Italian Spices about 8 yuan a small bag
Tabasco: 11 - 18 one small bottle
Italian White Wine Vinegar: 15-20yuan /bottle
Butter 25 - 35 500g in DIY baking shops, 30-35 yuan / 250g in Supermarkets
Cream 12-15 /250ml
Most spices we use in Europe you can find on Internet for reasonable prices, but sometimes you need to buy more than you would back home to get a good offer.


If you are looking for western style Bacon and Ham you can look out for the Smithfield products.

>What is your monthly grocery budget?

Don't know.... maybe 2000 for 4 persons. We do mostly cook at home and we buy a lot of fresh vegetables.

> How much does it cost to see a physician/doctor/specialist in China ? 

I payed 150 to fix a teeth in a public hospital. Didn't use any other health care services so far.

> How much does it cost to fill up your cars fuel tank?

6-7 rmb / liter

> How much do you pay for electricity/gas/water etc.?

0.4 yuan - 1 yuan /kwh depending on how much we use. If you use more you will pay a higher rate. It also depends in what kind of property you live. If you live in a office building prepare to pay 1-1.5 yuan /kwh.

Water is cheap, don't know the exact figures.

> How much do you pay for your Internet/phone subscription?

150 - 200 a month for the mobile phone (China Mobile). The 50M Internet comes for free with the mobile plan.
Best service is offered by China Telecom. 50M would cost about 1100 / year.

> How much do you pay for an espresso coffee?

14 to 55. The one for 55 is a double espresso at the Airport, and it's a good one at Ish... (don't remember how to spell it)

> How much do you pay for a cinema ticket?

30-60

> How much does a gym membership cost in China? 

1000+

This answer is based on living in Anshan in the Northeast of China.

> How much does it cost to rent an apartment/house in China?
You can rent something small, basic but clean for 1500 RMB/month. Going up to 3000 for a modern building. 5000 will get you something deluxe.

> How much do you pay for your public transport tickets (bus, subway, train, tram)?
All buses in the city cost 1 RMB. Taxi fairs start at 7 RMB and a taxi right across the city will only be 25 RMB.

> Staple food: what do people eat and how much do they pay for basic food like bread, rice or pasta?
I eat the local cuisine most of the time. Lunch is usually at the university canteen costing about 8 RMB. A loaf of good bread will be 8 RMB. Rice and cooking oil is supplied for free via my wife's work.

>What is your monthly grocery budget?
No idea. My wife does that part of the shopping. We eat out a lot so don't do large grocery shopping trips often. Most supermarket trips are for household items like toilet paper, and luxuries like wine.

> How much does it cost to see a physician/doctor/specialist in China?
It costs my nothing to see a doctor. Guanxi covers the costs. I have several doctors who are parents of current or former students.

> What is your children's schooling monthly budget?
Kindergarten full-time costs use 2400 RMB/month

> How much does it cost to fill up your car's fuel tank?
I'll put 200 RMB into the tank once a week. The pump price is 6.54 RMB/litre.

> How much do you pay for electricity/gas/water etc.?
Our electricity bill is rather high, 700 RMB per month. However, this should be tempered since we didn't buy the centrally supplied heating service that would cost 5000 per year. So that electricity bill includes household heating. Gas and water are trivial bills.

> How much do you pay for your Internet/phone subscription?
Last year we paid 800 RMB for two years of 50 mbps service.

> How much do you pay for your lunch pack on weekdays?
Lunch at the university costs 8 RMB (one portion of meat, one of veg and one of rice). Lunch in town at the weekends costs about 15 RMB for a bowl of wontons or noodles.

> How much do you pay for an espresso coffee?
This varies considerably. In my preferred coffee shop, a single shot espresso is 12 RMB. An americano is 18 RMB and mocha is 22 RMB. I can get fresh ground coffee in other shops for as little as 8 RMB for an americano or I can pay as much as 60 RMB for some fancy looking western restaurant that doesn't actually know how to make coffee.

> How much do you pay for a cinema ticket?
Depends on the film. 3D films still attract higher fees. 20 to 50 RMB.

> How much does a gym membership cost in China?
You could pay 20 to 80 RMB per day or memberships from 1000 to 10,000 or more depending on the quality of the gym. My apartment complex has a gym and pool so it basically costs me nothing at all.

Hey, so you are living in Anshan? How long have you been there?

I am not able to answer all of the questions but some. I think some of your prices is high . I think I experienced much more affordable prices.
> How much does it cost to rent an apartment/house in China?
I've heard of renting in both Wuxi(a small suburb outside Shanghai with around 6000000 inhabitants) and Nanchang(700 km west from Shanghai). In wuxi I heard you where able to rent a small 1 roomer on around 36 square meters for 1900 RMB a month. In Nanchang you where able to get an appartment with three floors and, at least, 90 squaremeters, kitchen, two bathrooms and everything you need for around 3000 RMB a month.
> How much do you pay for your public transport tickets (bus, subway, train, tram)?
I tried these buses in Wuxi, Suzhou and Shanghai. Some of them did not have any shock absorbers and it felt dangerous travelling with them However I just had to pay 2 RMB and it felt I could go as far as I wanted.
> Staple food: what do people eat and how much do they pay for basic food like bread, rice or pasta?
For me, as a westerner, I where surprised over the prices when going on a restaurant here. I payed about 20 RMB for a big meal on most places. I also tried some noodles where I just payed 9 or 10 RMB. I remember I bought some dired noodles on walmart and think I payed maybe 1 RMB for a big portion.
> How much do you pay for electricity/gas/water etc.?
I would say 100 RMB a month.
> How much do you pay for your Internet/phone subscription?
In this appartment, in Wuxi, there where just adsl from china telecom and, as you are not able to get more then 5-10 MB, most people just ordered the cheapest connection and payed 20 RMB a month for this. That will 240 RMB a year.

> How much does it cost to rent an apartment/house in China?
i lived in shenzhen, i will pay ￥2000.00/month(water, electricity property fee are included) My place is very close to No.5 metro. If you need to rent a house in Shenzhen, maybe i can recommend some places for u as i have been on the run for a very long time

> How much does it cost to see a physician/doctor/specialist in China ? 

i do not know other diseases, but i know dental cost in Shenzhen. Dental Cleaning is less than ￥200.00. Recommend you a dental hospital i visited before:Shenzhen A.K.J Stomatological Hospital, the dentists there are nice and most of them can speak English. When you want to make an appointment, they will let you choose clinics in different district in Shenzhen: Futian, luohu, nanshan. it is really convenient.

I live in Zhuhai.  It is right outside of Macao, and a 70 minute ferry from HK or Shenzhen.  Here is the most accurate pricing for Zhuhai;

>How much does it cost to rent an apartment/house in China? 3200 RMB/month.  If you include electricity and the management fee, It is 4,200 RMB/month.  We are one bloc from the beach, and live next to a park. It is a new building. You can go across the street and rent a apartment on the 5th floor for 500 RMB/month.

> How much do you pay for your public transport tickets (bus, subway, train, tram)? OFO ride share bikes are FREE. Most taxis are 15 to 20 RMB a ride.

> Staple food: what do people eat and how much do they pay for basic food like bread, rice or pasta? Groceries run us (for two people) under 500 RMB/week, and we eat out around three times a week.

>What is your monthly grocery budget? 2000 RMB

> How much does it cost to see a physician/doctor/specialist in China ?  5 RMB/visit. Medicines and tests are extra.

> What is your children's schooling monthly budget?  NA

> How much does it cost to fill up your car's fuel tank?  NA

> How much do you pay for electricity/gas/water etc.? 1000 RMB/month

> How much do you pay for your Internet/phone subscription? 250 RMB/year

> How much do you pay for your lunch pack on weekdays? 15 RMB typically

> How much do you pay for an espresso coffee? 35 RMB at Pacific Coffee.

> How much do you pay for a cinema ticket? 30 RMB

> How much does a gym membership cost in China?  Too much.