How much should I budget per day for China travel?
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- Issue Time
- Aug 3,2026
Quick Answer
Budget travelers can keep daily costs low by combining budget hostels or economy hotels, second-class rail, metro and street food. Daily totals vary by city, so our planning team prices a route to your actual budget before you commit.
- Accommodation: hostels and economy hotel chains are the biggest lever on daily cost.
- Transport: metro, buses and second-class trains keep city and intercity costs down.
- Food: street stalls and local restaurants are both cheaper and better than tourist zones.
- Cities differ: first-tier hubs cost more than smaller destinations for the same style.