Cost of Living in Beijing

The Mercer Human Resource Cost of Living Survey conducted in March 2005 lists Beijing as the 19th
costliest city. This survey covers 144 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of
over 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and
entertainment. The survey uses New York as the base city, scoring it on an even 100 points (New York is
ranked 13th this year). Beijing’s score is 95.6.

Generally, food in Beijing is inexpensive. A week’s groceries can be bought with 100 yuan (less than $15).
150 yuan can feed 4 people at a nice Chinese restaurant. 50 yuan can buy five lunches. Meals at American
restaurants like KFC and McDonalds are more expensive than meals at Chinese restaurants.

Taxis are cheap and plentiful. Taking the bus only costs about 1 yuan each way. Imported products such
as Nike tennis shoes and Vaseline moisturizer, however, are expensive; one bottle of moisturizer may cost
50 yuan. Housing can also be expensive: 1,200 yuan, for a small one-bedroom apartment, and 4,500 yuan
for a larger unit.