Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

South Africa

George vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

George is 11.8% cheaper than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 72.9% more in George
Groceries: pay 1.1% more in George
Transportation: pay 8.7% more in George
Housing: pay 25.7% less in George
Childcare: pay 79.1% less in George
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.2% less in George
Clothing: pay 5.6% less in George

The cost of restaurants, transportation, and groceries in George are more expensive than in Beijing. Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in George.

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George vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in George instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 72.9% more for restaurants

	Beijing	George
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.95	$10.82 ZAR178.68	+141.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.94	$4.96 ZAR81.89	-5.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 CN¥3.49	$1.03 ZAR17.04	+97.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 CN¥1.82	$0.75 ZAR12.31	+173.6%
Average			+72.9%

Beijing vs. George - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.1% more for groceries

	Beijing	George
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 CN¥11.56	$1.02 ZAR16.90	-40.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.22 CN¥48.29	$4.31 ZAR71.14	-40.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.41 CN¥42.89	$4.34 ZAR71.76	-32.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 CN¥13.53	$2.74 ZAR45.27	+35.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.47 CN¥9.81	$2.41 ZAR39.77	+64.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.25	$0.74 ZAR12.31	-20.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.28	$0.68 ZAR11.25	-13.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 CN¥6.21	$0.68 ZAR11.26	-26.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥4.76	$0.80 ZAR13.17	+12.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 CN¥2.15	$0.75 ZAR12.46	+134.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 CN¥2.66	$0.63 ZAR10.47	+59.6%
Average			+1.1%

Beijing vs. George - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.7% more for transportation

	Beijing	George
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.20	$4.74 ZAR78.24	-4.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$34.30 CN¥229.59	$27.64 ZAR456.62	-19.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$29,878.85 ZAR494K	+54.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.68 CN¥31.34	$5.92 ZAR97.78	+26.4%
Average			+8.7%

Beijing vs. George - Cost of transportation

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pay 25.7% less for housing

	Beijing	George
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.27 CN¥95.50	$44.83 ZAR740.52	+214.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$936.67 CN¥6,268.85	$425.12 ZAR7,023.07	-54.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$530.98 CN¥3,553.68	$365.04 ZAR6,030.41	-31.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.49 CN¥297.74	$93.57 ZAR1,545.81	+110.3%
Average			-25.7%

Beijing vs. George - Cost of housing

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pay 79.1% less for childcare

	Beijing	George
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$653.29 CN¥4,372.25	$136.20 ZAR2,250.03	-79.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,281.96 CN¥163K	$5,107.50 ZAR84,376.07	-79.0%
Average			-79.1%

Beijing vs. George - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	George
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.99	$2.70 ZAR44.67	+126.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥24.09	$2.16 ZAR35.74	-39.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.33 CN¥28.95	$3.21 ZAR53.11	-25.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.45 CN¥277.40	$29.47 ZAR486.84	-28.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.46 CN¥49.91	$6.01 ZAR99.27	-19.4%
Average			-10.2%

Beijing vs. George - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.6% less for clothing

	Beijing	George
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.55 CN¥472.16	$70.90 ZAR1,171.34	+0.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.41 CN¥270.44	$37.55 ZAR620.25	-7.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.99 CN¥582.17	$110.16 ZAR1,819.88	+26.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$125.40 CN¥839.26	$84.12 ZAR1,389.72	-32.9%
Average			-5.6%

Beijing vs. George - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: October 2026

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