China Trip Budget Calculator

China is cheaper than most people expect

If you’re coming from Europe or the US, China often feels surprisingly affordable day to day.

Food is the easiest example. One of the best meals I had in China was 25 yuan. Not “good for the price” good. Just genuinely great. You can absolutely spend more, but even then it usually stays reasonable compared to the West.

I once did a Michelin restaurant for around 400 yuan for a full tasting menu plus a bottle of wine. That would be a very different number back home. So in general: daily life is cheap.

The stuff that adds up is often the “big sights”

The more expensive part, at least for me, was usually the cultural things.

Not because they’re crazy expensive. More because when you compare it to, say, Japan, some attractions and ticketed experiences can feel a bit higher than you expect. Temples, shows, cable cars, scenic areas, national parks, tours. Individually it’s fine, but it’s easy to stack a few of them in the same week. That’s why this calculator doesn’t just focus on hotels and food. It helps you see the full picture.

DiDi is insanely cheap (and you don’t have to overthink it)

DiDi/taxis are one of those things that almost feels like a cheat code in China.

It was so cheap that I honestly felt a bit bad for the drivers sometimes. I’ve also heard they work long shifts, which probably explains why it feels that way.

Tipping is not expected, but if you want to, you can tip inside the Alipay DiDi app. I did that a few times just because it felt fair. If you prefer metro and buses, that’s obviously even cheaper. But if you want convenience, DiDi is one of the easiest upgrades you can make without blowing your budget.

How the calculator works

You choose a few simple things and the totals update instantly:

• Number of travelers (sharing rooms and rides matters)
• Trip length (the biggest budget driver)
• Accommodation style (hostel, comfort, luxury)
• Dining style (local food vs casual vs fine dining)
• Local transport (metro vs DiDi/taxi vs private driver)
• Inter-city travel (slow train vs high-speed rail vs flights)
• Optional international flights (per person)

You’ll get:

• Estimated total cost
• A breakdown by category
• Per person cost so it’s easy to compare options

A quick note on realism

This is not a live quote. Prices change by season and city.

But it is a solid baseline that matches how trips actually feel on the ground. And it’s usually enough to answer the real question: “Am I planning a cheap trip, a normal trip, or a trip that quietly gets expensive?”