What a Trip to China Really Costs: A Budget Guide for Foreign Travellers

Published 2026-10-11 · 71Asia Tours

Nobody asks me about temples first. They ask what the trip will cost. Fair enough: flights you can price in five minutes, but the day-to-day numbers inside China are hard to guess from outside, and most online answers are either five years old or written by someone selling a package. These are the figures I give friends planning their first two weeks, based on recent trips through Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shanghai and a few places further off the main line. All prices are in yuan (CNY); at recent exchange rates, about ¥7.80 buys one euro.

Three budgets, pick one

I sort any China trip into one of three buckets. The ranges hold across most of the country, big cities included.

Shoestring, ¥300-450 a day (about €40-60): a dorm bed, street food and noodle shops, second-class trains booked a week or more ahead, and the many free parks and museums.
Mid-range, ¥700-1,100 a day (€90-140): your own hotel room, one proper sit-down meal a day, trains booked whenever you get around to it, paid attractions as they come.
Comfortable, ¥1,600 a day and up (€200+): four- and five-star hotels, a private driver where it saves real time, and the occasional domestic flight instead of a long train day.

Where the money actually goes

Beds

A hostel dorm bed runs ¥60-120 in the mainland. A clean business hotel double, the kind with a kettle and a firm mattress you get used to, is ¥250-400 in most cities and closer to ¥500-700 in central Shanghai. Above ¥800 you are mostly paying for the lobby. One practical note: a small guesthouse is sometimes not licensed to host foreign passports. Booking platforms handle this for you, so if a place accepts your booking, you can check in.

Trains

High-speed trains carry most first-timers and they are good value. Second class on the Beijing-Shanghai run costs roughly ¥450-660 depending on the train and the day's dynamic pricing. Chengdu-Chongqing is about ¥150, Xi'an-Chengdu around ¥260. Book on the official 12306 app or Trip.com, and note that an overnight sleeper can replace a hotel night: a hard sleeper on Beijing-Xi'an is around ¥260, less than the room you would otherwise pay for.

Food

This is where China is kindest to a budget. Street breakfast (baozi, congee, a jianbing crepe) costs ¥8-15. A filling bowl of noodles is ¥15-30 almost anywhere in the mainland. A canteen lunch with rice and two dishes runs ¥25-40. Hotpot, the big group meal, lands at ¥80-130 a head depending on how much meat you order. You can eat extremely well in China for the price of a sandwich at home, and I say that after more noodle lunches than I care to count.

Tickets

Entry fees are reasonable by European standards. The Forbidden City is ¥60 in high season, the Terracotta Army ¥120, and Zhangjiajie's park pass is ¥224 for four days with the shuttle buses included, though cable cars and the Bailong elevator (¥72) cost extra. Most city museums are free; bring your passport, which doubles as the ticket.

City by city: what changes

The differences between destinations are bigger than most people expect.

Beijing: mid-range overall. The metro is ¥3-7 a ride, and attraction-heavy days are the main cost.
Shanghai: the priciest hotel market on the mainland, plus ¥40-70 coffees in the nice neighbourhoods. Street food keeps it survivable.
Xi'an: one of the cheapest stops. The Muslim Quarter feeds you properly for ¥30-50.
Chengdu: excellent value. A teahouse seat costs ¥20-30 and buys you an afternoon; the panda base is ¥55.
Chongqing: probably the cheapest big city in China. Monorail rides start around ¥2 and the best viewpoints are free.
Zhangjiajie: the park pass dominates the budget. Guesthouses in Wulingyuan go for ¥150-250.
Lhasa: Tibet needs a permit and a booked guide, so costs jump. Expect a noticeably higher daily number than anywhere else on the mainland.
Hong Kong: a different price world. Dorm beds from about HK$250, a simple noodle dinner HK$50-80, the MTR HK$5-15.
Macao: easy on a budget by day, since the buses and casino shuttles are free. Hotels spike hard on weekends.
Taipei: mid-range. Night-market dinners run NT$60-150 and the metro is cheap and calm.

The costs people forget

Travel insurance that actually covers China, including any hiking or high-altitude plans.
The Tibet permit and mandatory guide, only bookable through an agency, which is why Lhasa sits outside most DIY budgets.
Data. An eSIM or roaming plan beats hunting for cafe Wi-Fi, especially since some everyday apps need a constant connection.
Airport transfers and station luggage storage, ¥20-100 each time, which quietly adds up.
The visa itself: many nationalities now use the 240-hour visa-free transit rule, but if you need a visa, budget for the fee and a photo or two.

A 14-day example that adds up

The classic route (Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu or Chongqing, Zhangjiajie, Shanghai) at mid-range works out to about ¥950 a day per person, call it ¥13,000 for two weeks, roughly €1,700 excluding international flights. The same route on a shoestring comes in near ¥6,500. Adding Hong Kong or Taipei to either end raises the average; both cities cost about double the mainland's daily norm.

What I would pay for, and what I would skip

Pay for a guide at the Terracotta Army and anywhere in Tibet; context makes both. Pay for one first-class train seat on your longest leg, just once, because the quiet and the legroom are worth it. Skip the multi-city package tours, since trains and metros make the classic route easy on your own. And skip the restaurants facing the main entrance of any big sight; walk two blocks in any direction and the food gets cheaper and better at the same time. That rule has not failed me yet.

Written by the team at 71Asia Tours, a China-based tour operator with licensed Spanish- and English-speaking guides. Browse all tours · About us · Our guides · Reviews · FAQ