China & Hong Kong – How Much Does It Cost?

We were in China and Hong Kong for a total of 20 days. This is what it cost us.

I have decided to split China and Hong Kong up because prices in HK are so much higher it would skew the averages – and they are separate destinations in my eyes, despite technically being the same country.

China

All costs over 16 days

Accommodation: £186.52 (£11.65 per night on average)
Eating Out: £177.86
Transport: £273.88
Groceries: £49.65
Attractions: £107.49
Alcohol: £10.86
Entertainment: £42
Miscellaneous: £26.62

Total: £874.87

Per Day: £54.68

We went way over budget here, which really surprised us. Isn’t China supposed to be cheap?! Well it is, with 2 big exceptions – sightseeing and transport. Attractions were what surprised us most, they’re totally out of sync with the cost of living (though I suspect they are far less for Chinese). Regularly we were paying £5 each to get into even minor sights, and the major ones like the Great Wall and Terracotta Warriors were far more. Frustrating but unavoidable.

Transport wasn’t all expensive, buses for example are incredibly cheap, as are metro and local train rides. What put the cost up was long distance trains, though considering the vast distances covered it doesn’t actually work out too bad.

So aside from those 2, what are some average costs for china?

All costs in Chinese Yuan (£1 = 10.57, $1 = 6.26)

Double Room – between £10 and £20
Single Metro Ride – 2 yuan (under 20p) in Beijing for any distance, 2-5 yuan in other cities depending on distance
Bus within cities – 1 yuan typically for non air con, 2 yuan for air con.
Snack from a local stall – 2-6 yuan
Coke from convenience store – 3-4 yuan
Big bottle of beer from convenience store or cheap restaurant – 3-6 yuan
Meal at a local eatery – 10-30 yuan – it varies massively but is always cheap
Mutianyu Great Wall – 40 yuan entry + 40 yuan for a ride on the tobbogan
Terracotta Warriors Entrance Fee- 90 yuan

Hong Kong

All costs over 5 days.

Accommodation: £139.68 (just under £28 per night)
Eating Out: £84.60
Transport: £23.16
Groceries: £20.66
Attractions: £76.07
Alcohol: £5.89
Misc: £16.63

Total – £366.70

Per Day – £73.34 

There’s no getting away from it, Hong Kong is more in line with Western Europe than China when it comes to prices. Not everything is expensive mind, cheap food can be had with a bit of effort, and public transport is dirt cheap and super effciant.

The biggest cost always in Hong Kong is accommodation. It is a small area with a lot of people so space is at a premium. For £28 a night, we got a box room in Chunking Mansions. A clean box room no doubt, but still small.

We also spent a lot on going to Hong Kong Disneyland which was far from a must see attraction. But it was super fun!

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