A trip to China costs about $40–45 per person per day on a budget, $70–90 mid-range and $135–180 or more for comfortable travel, not counting international flights. A 10-day mid-range trip covering Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai comes to about ¥6,500, or $980, per person, including high-speed trains.
The figures below use official ticket prices, 12306 fares, hotel chains’ published room rates and Numbeo’s October 2026 price data, all checked on 29–30 October 2026. Dollar amounts use the rate on 29 October 2026 of ¥6.66 to the US dollar. Daily figures are per person with two people sharing a room. They are planning allowances, so your own spending will depend on where you eat and sleep.
How much does a trip to China cost per day?
| Per person, per day | Budget | Mid-range | Comfortable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel room (per night) | ¥200–250 | ¥340–450 | ¥800 or more |
| Your share of the room | ¥100–125 | ¥170–225 | ¥400+ |
| Food and drink | ¥80–100 | ¥150–200 | ¥300–400 |
| Metro, bus, DiDi | ¥10–20 | ¥40–60 | ¥100–150 |
| Sights | ¥40–60 | ¥60–100 | ¥100–150 |
| Total | ¥250–300 ($38–45) | ¥450–600 ($68–90) | ¥900–1,200 ($135–180) |
Budget means a chain hotel, noodle shops and canteens, and the metro. Mid-range means a midscale chain or a good independent hotel, one sit-down dinner a day and the odd DiDi. Comfortable means an international four- or five-star hotel, restaurants for most meals and cars between sights. Intercity trains and flights are counted separately below.
How much does a 10-day or 2-week China trip cost?
The 10-day example follows the classic route in our China itinerary: Beijing, then the train to Xi’an and on to Shanghai. Second-class fares are ¥515.50 for Beijing to Xi’an and ¥745.50 for Xi’an to Shanghai, and first class is ¥824.50 and ¥1,193.50, according to China Highlights’ fare tables. The two-week version adds Chengdu or Guilin, with an allowance of ¥800 for an extra leg in second class and ¥1,300 in first.
| Per person, excluding international flights | Budget | Mid-range | Comfortable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 days | about ¥4,000 ($600) | about ¥6,500 ($980) | about ¥12,500 ($1,880) |
| 14 days | about ¥5,900 ($890) | about ¥9,400 ($1,410) | about ¥18,000 ($2,700) |
Budget and mid-range totals assume second-class trains; the comfortable totals assume first class. A private guide, a car and driver, a Tibet tour or a night at Shanghai Disneyland all come on top.
How much are flights to China from the US and UK?
International flights are usually the largest single cost. KAYAK’s route pages, based on searches by its users in the weeks before 29 October 2026, gave these return fares:
- From the US: a typical round trip of about $810. November averaged about $558 and June about $973, the most expensive month.
- From the UK: a typical round trip of about £459. September averaged about £336 and July about £564.
Treat these as rough guides. Fares depend heavily on your departure city, the airline, the number of stops and how far ahead you book. A multi-city ticket into Beijing and out of Shanghai or Hong Kong often avoids paying to get back to your starting point.
How much are hotels in China?
China’s big hotel chains publish their average room rates, which give a fair picture of what visitors pay outside the luxury market. H World Group reported a 2025 average of ¥214 a night at its established economy hotels in China and ¥340 at its midscale and upper-midscale hotels. The Atour chain, a step up, averaged ¥432 a night in 2025.
International five-star hotels in Beijing and Shanghai cost much more and vary widely by date. Rates also rise around Chinese public holidays, so book early if your dates overlap.
How much does food cost in China?
Eating well is cheap. Numbeo’s October 2026 averages for China put a meal at an inexpensive restaurant at ¥20, about $3, and a three-course dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant at ¥150. Beijing costs a little more: ¥30 for a cheap meal and ¥200 for dinner for two. A cappuccino runs about ¥20 to ¥24, a local draught beer ¥7 to ¥8 and a small bottle of water about ¥2. A fast-food combo meal costs about ¥35.
How much does transport cost in China?
City transport is the cheapest part of the trip. Beijing’s subway charges ¥3 for up to 6 km, rising to ¥6 for 22 to 32 km, and the Capital Airport Express has a fixed fare of ¥25. Numbeo’s figures put the taxi flag fall at about ¥10 nationally and ¥13 in Beijing, with about ¥3.70 to ¥3.86 per mile after that.
High-speed trains cost more than a metro ride but less than flying on most routes. Beijing to Shanghai is about ¥500 to ¥662 in second class; see Beijing to Shanghai by train. Domestic flights make sense for long legs such as Chengdu to Shanghai. Our high-speed trains guide covers booking with a passport.
How much are tickets for the big sights?
Official adult prices for the sights most first-time visitors see are below. Tickets are real-name, so book with your passport number.
| Sight | Adult ticket |
|---|---|
| Forbidden City, Beijing | ¥60 April–October, ¥40 November–March; Treasure Gallery and Clock Gallery ¥10 each |
| Great Wall at Mutianyu | ¥40, or ¥45 with a postcard ticket; shuttle bus, cable car and toboggan extra |
| Terracotta Army, Xi’an | ¥120, all year |
| Chengdu Panda Base | ¥55 |
| Shanghai Disneyland | ¥475–799, depending on the date |
What costs more in China?
Shanghai Disneyland. A one-day adult ticket has six price tiers, from ¥475 on quiet days to ¥799 over Chinese New Year, National Day, Christmas and New Year, according to Trip.com’s July 2026 summary.
Tibet. Foreign visitors need a Tibet Travel Permit and must travel with a licensed guide on an arranged tour. Windhorse Tour’s May 2026 breakdown says the permit itself is free, but guides cost about $74 to $118 a day and most Tibet trips come to $150 to $300 per person per day. It puts a 4- to 5-day Lhasa group tour at about $500 to $800 per person.
Chinese holidays. National Day Golden Week runs from 1 to 7 October, and the Labour Day holiday in 2026 ran from 1 to 5 May. Chinese New Year falls on 6 February 2027; the official holiday dates for 2027 are expected around November 2026. For the 2026 Spring Festival travel season, China’s planning agency projected a record 9.5 billion trips, and J.P. Morgan’s hotel tracker showed room rates climbing into the holiday. Popular trains and sights sell out early. See best time to visit China.
How to keep the cost of a China trip down
- Book trains as soon as sales open. Tickets go on sale 15 days ahead on 12306, and the cheaper departures on popular routes go first.
- Take a sleeper on long legs. A berth on the overnight D train from Beijing to Shanghai costs about ¥440 to ¥558 and saves a night in a hotel.
- Travel outside the holidays. Avoid Chinese New Year and the first week of October, when hotel rates and Disney tickets are at their highest.
- Visit Beijing in winter. The Forbidden City costs ¥40 from November to March instead of ¥60, and the queues are shorter.
- Eat where the locals do. A bowl of noodles or a plate of dumplings in a small restaurant costs a fraction of a hotel meal.
- Use the metro. In Beijing a ride costs ¥3 to ¥6 for most trips within 32 km.
Is China expensive for tourists?
Not by US, UK or Japanese standards. Numbeo’s comparison, using data updated in October 2026, puts consumer prices excluding rent in China 56% below the United States and restaurant prices 71% lower. A meal at a cheap restaurant averages $20 in the US and about $3 in China. Against Japan, the same data puts consumer prices in Japan about 56% higher than in China, and an inexpensive meal there at about twice the price. Our China or Japan comparison covers more than cost.
The things that push a China trip up are the long-haul flight, a high-end hotel and anything arranged privately. A private guide or a car and driver costs extra on top of the budgets above. If you would like a host to price the trip for your dates, see our services or plan a trip with us.
