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Hi,
I have a question, is it possible to spend 2k RMB per month, minus rent. All other expenses ranges from food, transportation, utilities ect? I read that many can spend anywhere up to 5k a month, which seems kinda excessive, but it depends on a life style i assume.
Also, how bad is the inflation rate in Chengdu? Or are there certain parts to avoid, due to high prices?
How much is a good hot pot, in a clean/reputable spot.
Uh, it’s really easy to spend 2k per month not including rent. That’s like 70 kuai per day. Inflation is pretty real in Chengdu (and all of China) and prices have been noticeably going up in the last few years. Especially food.
The price of hotpot really depends on where you go, but across the street from my house if we go to hotpot with like 4-6 people the bill will usually be 400+ yuan. You can go to cheaper places which might be like 25-50 yuan per person but hotpot isn’t the cheapest meal you can get.
I would feel like a peasant on 2000 RMB monthly expenditure!
Chengdu is without question a city of extremes, so while the frugal may find 2000 a month no mean feat as a limit, it wouldn’t be difficult to spend that on a romantic meal for two if you were looking to impress (or be a douche!).
Are you a monk?
😉
2000RMB on a romantic meal for 2?! The buffet at a 5 star hotel for 2 people is around 500 here.
I agree with Charlie on this one. While you wouldn’t be living like a peasant on 2000RMB/month. You might have to do without a few of the creature comforts you are used to back home.
I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than 600 kuai on a meal for two. At 2,000 you are seriously splashing out. Bottle of Dom, etc.
I’ve been to at least a couple of restaurants where 2k RMB would be easy to spend, if a decent bottle of wine was included. The wine is of course hideously overpriced, but regardless there are places set to charge in this vein. I have been out on a business related meal where a $1000 US bottle of Saki was brought to the table, though this was admittedly whilst in Guiyang.
I’ve spent a little upward of 700 on a meal for 2 myself, but if I’m spending more than that in Chengdu, it better be beyond awesome! I dread to think what a bottle of Dom would cost here.
And a 500 RMB buffet for two better include some kick ass cuts of steak for the money!!
Do some cooking, avoid taxis and western food, drink in cheaper bars (20 or even 10 kuai a bottle), 2000 per month is absolutely do-able. Oh yeah, helps if you’re single too……
I’ve been wanting to start a budget thread for a while. I think more people should think about how much they actually spend and what is reasonable. After being here for more than a few months, the “but I’m in China excuse” doesn’t hold weight anymore when it comes to unnecessary spending.
I too am guilty of this, from 2008-2009 I was a 21 year old study abroad student in my senior year and I easily spent more money at bars than on rent. I’m sure many people can relate to this predicament.
Now that the nightlife isn’t what is was, (no more Chloe owned Paname and R.I.P. Panda club) I’m saving money for traveling.
Recently I’ve been concerned more with nutrition and balanced diet, as a vegetarian for 2001-2008 my eating habits quickly changed when I returned to China and realized that if I was going to do volunteer work in the earthquake area, maintaining a vegetarian diet was impossible. Also your options are severely limited when it comes to small fried rice and noodle restaurants.
Here’s what I propose, think of a daily diet (healthy, diverse options) for 1 person and post the prices
Breakfast:
南瓜稀饭 Nan Gua Xi Fan 1-2 RMB
A plate of assorted cold vegetable dishes (eggplant, tofu, green peppers) 5-7RMB
Really cheap option: 蘑菇白菜 包子 cabbage and mushroom baozi + xi fan = 4RMB but this is mostly carbs..
Cheapest option: Just Pao cai （free) and Xi fan 1-2 RMB
Lunch:
铺盖面 Pu Gai Mian have become my recent favorite. They are “blanket” shaped noodles in a clear broth with yellow beans that look like chickpeas (high protein no fat) you can get your noodles with beef or ribs but I prefer “suan cai rou si” pickled vegetables with just a small amount of shredded beef.
These noodles cost 7 kuai for 三两 Its a big bowl!
Alternatively I’m a fan of 盖浇饭 “gai jiao fan” rather than ordering a whole dish of chuan cai you can get a portion of rice with a meat/vegetable dish of your choice.
Gong Pao Ji ding, Yu Xiang Rou si or Fang qie Ji dan are widely available and provide a much healthier lunch than a huge plate of fried rice or oily noodles. Expect to pay 7-12 kuai for gai jiao fan.
Dinner:
If I have noodles for lunch I’ll get rice for dinner and vice versa. Recently I’ve been a big fan of a small vegetarian restaurant near the south gate of Sichuan university that has delicous balanced meals from 8-15RMB (seitan mock meat, tofu & vegetables, cold vegetables, pao cai, BROWN rice and soup)
Also korean style restaurants have delicious stone pot style rice mixes, with a good blend of vegetables and egg/ or meat plus you get kimchi and barley tea. There is a korean restaurant on yu lin nan lu close to the turnoff to Macchu Picchu. 石锅拌饭 ranges from 10-12RMB
Altogether you could eat this diet for about 30 RMB per day.
I’m interested in hearing other people’s opinions and hope to share more healthy ideas. This is just a start.
My reasoning, spending 2k rmb gets to save some money for myself. To help off debts at home (student loans and what not). Since the currency ratio of rmb/usd is getting better, i might be able to spend more heh. But yea, i guess 2k a month is on the cheap side of things.
I like @3li4s post! 30 bux a day= 600 a month! Probably more pending on weekends.
I`m a local university senior student…
and I`m living in my parent·s house,that saves money,and every month i have 800rmb for life.
I agree with “avoid taxis and western food, drink in cheaper bars”.. cook by yourself it can save money ^_^
It’s interesting seeing the disparity and differences economically here, particularly as base prices are clearly rising. Given an average income of approx. 4000 RMB or less, it’s obvious that Chengdu remains one of the most affordable cities to live in, though that’s definitely dependent on your choices. I choose to live downtown, just as I choose to indulge in certain expenditures, but anyone actively looking to cut spending and save money here could likely manage it with little effort. Drinks alone can vary in price by 100% or more, so that one’s a no brainer! Food too, again dependent on choice.
Though I’ve also been a vegetarian previously, and a great variety of vegetables are available here, I couldn’t do without big chunks of meat, but again even this is an affordable expense in Chegdu.
Living cheap doesn’t have to equate with living miserably. Five star in Chengdu is the same as five star in the west. I genuinely like the cheap bars and restaurants here Even if places like bab i club had 10 kuai beers, i couldn’t see myself hanging out there. About a month ago the rising cost of fruit hit me hard. I average out about 500 kuai a month on fruit (not including vegies) and when bananas and apples jumped in price i was feeling it. But i also agree with some of the previous posts: you gotta have some luxuries. I’ve found that renting a nicer apartment, especially with a garden, saves me $$$. Swing on the hammock with a cold one is a good night “in” for me. Shao kao beats the Shangrila buffet . From the balcony of The Leg in the early evening you’ll see more beauties than a night at Babi or 88, and its a hell of a lot cheaper!(even a monk likes to look sometimes). Enjoy.
@ 3li4s: As a bodybuilder, your diet would leave me starving, and weak as piss!! LOL!
Even if I were budgeting my food intake, I’d be out of the equation here, though it’d be nice to see a thread started that covered sourcing good produce/ingredients/etc. I eat organically where I can, and consume a ton of veggies, nuts, oils, and other whole foods. Supermarkets offer a convenience, though I’m sure there must be organic (non certified) produce available at decent cost.
You can eat for dirt cheap in China but nutritionally you’ll be getting the short end of the stick unless you’re very knowledgeable about what you’re putting inside you. Stuff like xifan (rice gruel) is almost empty calories and the protein in most Chinese food is very slim. After exercising going to a Chinese restaurant and trying to get protein is almost completely futile because dishes that do have chicken or fish in them are 90% seasoning. Tastes damn delicious though. But for nutritional reasons I’ve been eating very little Chinese food over the last few months and have stopped eating rice completely. Eating Chinese food without rice can be tough because most dishes are very heavily seasoned and meant to be eaten alongside rice.
If you’re on the same diet that I am you can either cook your own meals or choose carefully on Western restaurants menu. The former is cheap and time consuming and the latter is convenient and expensive.
Roommates just got an oven and I like to cook but only find time on the weekends. Like Charlie said, the protein in sichuan dishes is laced with exorbitant amounts of salt and spicy oil which really compromises the nutritional quality.
I’m also trying to eat less carbs late in the day, a bowl of noodles or fried rice at 8 at night is just going to go right to your gut. Recently I’ve been eating a couple cold dishes for dinner, 1 tofu 2 veggies I’m not a body builder but I run 10k races in the states and try to run 20-22 laps around the Chuan Da track 2-3 times a week (when the air isn’t too bad)
Every day I argue with my co-workers who want to eat za jiang mian or dao xiao mian which essentially has no nutritional value aside from providing over 100% of your daily saturated fat and sodium seeing that the ingredients are minced pork (mostly fat) chili oil and a few pieces of pao cai.
How come my Sichuan buddies aren’t getting Vitamin A deficiency or becoming morbidly obese?
It absolutely goes against all my principles, and i’m as cynical about the industry as everyone else, but after some research, and having my coat pulled by a friend, i reckon you need some form of dietary supplements to maintain a healthy diet here in China. As some of you guys have mentioned, some essential nutrients that we take for granted at home are just not available here. Take the milk for example. “Low fat high-calcium” milk”. Ask health – conscience Chinese about low fat milk, and they’ll tell you in China that means the lowest quality, often diluted source. Free-range eggs? my Chinese buddies laugh at my naive innocence. “But it’s sold in Carrefore!” I say. “You dont’ know China” they reply. I’ve already spoken about the alleged impurities in Chinese bottled water (a friend is convinced that boiled tap water is far safer).
Anyway, you could go crazy worrying about this shit, and i ain’t gonna pop a dozen pills like some i know, just do the best you can. Stay healthy people….
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