Dont want to carry too much or too little. Whats the average cash people carry when travelling around China?
I thought China would be cheaper, but in Shanghai, my daily spend hit $90. Hostels downtown were $25-$30, restaurants $10-$15, and bars were easily $8 a drink. Metro rides were cheap at 50 cents, but museums and extras added costs. A river cruise on the Bund was $25. It balances out if you mix cheap street eats with the occasional splurge. For me, I’d say $60-$70 daily is fine for most, but in big cities budget higher.
Traveling through China, I budgeted around $60-$70 per day outside major cities. In smaller towns like Guilin, hostels were $8-$12, noodle bowls were $2, and buses were just a few cents. But I splurged on river cruises and bamboo rafting, which cost $25-$30. Trains are a big chunk if you’re moving often, so planning fewer cities saves money. For most travellers, $60 daily is a solid figure, but you can go lower if you keep to rural areas.
In Beijing, I found daily costs closer to $70-$80. Budget hotels in the hutongs were $30 a night, meals at mid-range places were $5-$10, and metro rides were practically free at under $But sightseeing added up-Forbidden City was $9, Summer Palace $6, and guided tours were extra. The Great Wall trip cost me about $40 with transport. If you stick to street food and hostels, $50 daily is enough, but $70 makes it more comfortable.
China is one of those places where you can spend very little or a lot. I averaged $50-$60 per day traveling through Xi’an and Chengdu. Hostel beds were $10-$15, street food like dumplings or noodles were $2-$4, and metro rides cost under $Bullet train tickets added to the cost-Beijing to Shanghai was around $80, but worth it for speed. Attractions like the Terracotta Army were about $25 entry. You can live cheaply, but trains and big tickets add up.