The cost of living in China can be considerably lower than in the West, as long as you don't insist on a Western standard of living (a luxury apartment, Western food, and so on).
For students and budget travelers especially, life in China offers plenty of ways to save.
Most students eat out at local restaurants every day, since dormitories rarely have proper cooking facilities. A cheap meal starts at around the equivalent of one euro. On roughly 250 euros a month (not including rent), a student can live comfortably in China by sticking to the essentials and not going out to Western-style bars too often.
Sample monthly costs for a student in Beijing
Rent: from around 5,000 yuan/month for a modest apartment in an ordinary neighborhood, from 2,000 yuan per person if sharing — with no real ceiling at the top end, and from 20,000 yuan/month in expat neighborhoods.
Electricity: around 150 yuan/month
Home internet (fiber-optic broadband, which has replaced ADSL): from around 100-150 yuan/month
Taxi ride: from 10 yuan
Bicycle: from 250 yuan
On top of rent, budget roughly 4,000 yuan/month for a minimalist lifestyle.
Prices for electronics such as computers are roughly comparable to those in the West.
