Visiting China (Budget)

[Nived]

Hello forum users and seasoned travelers of China,

I am a college student getting ready to graduate and well, I would like to get out and see the world before I start life. I would really enjoy to have the opportunity to visit China since I am thoroughly fascinated with Asian culture and China. How much should one expect to bring if youre visiting China? I think ideally, a time duration of 3 weeks to a month would be great.

:help

[absurd]

Depending on where you live, a night in a dorm room costs between 15-60 kuai. You can get a full meal for about 15 kuai (some places go all the way down to 6-7 kuai, some are way more expensive). You're gonna spend at least 5-10 kuai on drinks every day.

Train tickets can be quite cheap (a 10-hour trip probably averaging around 300-350 kuai in a hard sleeper).

A Qingdao beer is 3-4 kuai in the street, 20-30 in a fancy bar.

[cui ruide]

For what it's worth: I spent about 8800 kuai traveling around for 5.5 weeks. I only bought a few souvenirs/items I kept (including a 400 kuai thangka painting), stayed in shared rooms/dorms/hostels when I could, provided my own breakfast and instant coffee, and I know how to order cheap but delicious food. I did enjoy some beers--at street prices, hostel prices, and at bar prices here and there. That number also includes 6 trains (2 of which were over 300 kuai, one of which was 850--soft sleeper from Kunming back to Beijing) and 9 buses... In some places I did touristy stuff and paid package prices (i.e. 100 kuai trip to see pandas in Chengdu), other times I just hung out with friends or visited places I knew.

It depends a lot on the places you're going (eastern cities vs. the west) and your resourcefulness when it comes to dining. Eating every meal in the hostel will drive up the price a bit. Of course bar-going will also influence your budget. But in China, there's always the time-honored tradition of street-drinking before you go in somewhere. ;p