How much does a trip to China cost? Daily budget and prices

The three tiers below are per person per day, sharing a room at mid-range and comfort. They exclude international flights, visas and organised tours. Figures are 2026 estimates in yuan; the site converts them to your currency.

Backpackers do fine on ¥185–380 a day: a dorm bed, noodle shops and canteens, the metro, one paid sight and a small extras line. Mid-range travellers spending ¥530–1,050 get a business hotel, restaurant meals, some DiDi rides and two paid sights. Comfort travellers at ¥1,500–3,300 a day get a 5★ hotel, fine dining, drivers and first-class rail.

Day-to-day spending is low by US or UK standards. A bowl of noodles is ¥15–35, a metro ride ¥3–8, and a chain coffee ¥10–35. Sit-down meals and paid sights are where the numbers climb: Peking duck for two at a mid-range restaurant runs ¥250–450, and the Forbidden City charges ¥60 in the April–October season and ¥40 from November to March.

Long legs are the big line item. A second-class high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai is ¥550–680. A Great Wall day with a driver adds ¥600–1,000 per car, and a Tibet tour sits on top of the sights budget.

Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen are the most expensive cities on the mainland; smaller cities in the west and northeast are cheaper for beds and food. Holiday weeks matter more than geography: Golden Week and Spring Festival lift hotel prices 50–100%, and trains and popular sights sell out, so book early or travel outside those windows.

Paying is the other variable. Alipay and WeChat Pay accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex, but single payments over ¥200 carry a fee of about 3% on a foreign card, smaller ones are free, and per-payment and yearly caps apply — check the app. Keep a second way to pay. Cash is legal tender and the central bank has told merchants not to refuse it, but many small vendors expect QR and may lack change, so carry ¥300–500 in small notes as backup. Foreign cards work at Bank of China, ICBC, CCB and Agricultural Bank ATMs and in international hotels; small shops rarely take Visa or Mastercard. Tipping is not expected.

Move your bed, not your food. Dorm beds and business hotels are the widest swing in the budget, and a cheaper neighbourhood two or three metro stops out usually saves more than any other single change. Eat where locals queue: noodle shops, canteens and market stalls cost a fraction of hotel restaurants.

Use the metro for city travel and high-speed rail instead of flights for the Beijing–Shanghai leg. Book paid sights online in advance where you can, travel outside Golden Week and Spring Festival, and keep one backup payment method so a failed QR scan does not push you to a card fee or a cash machine hunt.

The daily figures cover bed, food, local transport, sights and small extras. They do not cover international flights, the visa, travel insurance, organised tours such as Tibet, or long domestic legs beyond the sample train fare. Add those separately when you plan.

For a first trip, five or six nights in Beijing with one bed, or Beijing plus Shanghai by high-speed rail, is the usual shape. Work out your own numbers with the trip cost estimator, then check the visa and entry requirements before you book anything non-refundable.