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.

Originally published on 71Asia Tours blog.