Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

South Africa

Sandton vs. Changchun Cost of Living Summary

Sandton is 43.9% more expensive than Changchun.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in Sandton
Groceries: pay 8.3% less in Sandton
Transportation: pay 53.0% more in Sandton
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Sandton
Childcare: pay 60.1% less in Sandton
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.8% more in Sandton
Clothing: pay 13.3% more in Sandton

The cost of restaurants, housing, transportation, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Sandton are more expensive than in Changchun. Expenses including childcare and groceries are lower in Sandton. Notably, restaurants and housing are significantly more expensive in Sandton.

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Sandton vs. Changchun Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sandton instead of Changchun, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	Changchun	Sandton
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.98 CN¥19.91	$10.82 ZAR179.26	+262.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$5.71 ZAR94.61	+9.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.24	$1.06 ZAR17.56	+118.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 CN¥1.99	$0.85 ZAR14.11	+185.4%
Average			+121.2%

Changchun vs. Sandton - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.3% less for groceries

	Changchun	Sandton
Bread 1 loaf	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$1.10 ZAR18.30	-7.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$17.15 CN¥114.48	$4.31 ZAR71.44	-74.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.34 CN¥48.99	$4.45 ZAR73.72	-39.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.79 CN¥11.95	$2.67 ZAR44.31	+49.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.64 CN¥17.61	$2.23 ZAR37.04	-15.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.27	$0.93 ZAR15.46	+18.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.68 CN¥4.52	$0.82 ZAR13.55	+20.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.81 CN¥5.42	$0.83 ZAR13.70	+1.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.88 CN¥5.87	$0.83 ZAR13.78	-5.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.71	$0.70 ZAR11.52	+71.2%
Onions (1 lb)	??	$0.79 ZAR13.10
Average			-8.3%

Changchun vs. Sandton - Cost of groceries

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pay 53.0% more for transportation

	Changchun	Sandton
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.79 CN¥31.94	$5.75 ZAR95.27	+20.1%
Monthly public transit pass	??	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$35,391.94 ZAR587K	+82.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.58 CN¥23.89	$7.51 ZAR124.49	+109.8%
Average			+53.0%

Changchun vs. Sandton - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Changchun	Sandton
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.92 CN¥99.54	$36.83 ZAR610.43	+146.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$216.27 CN¥1,443.38	$540.64 ZAR8,960.48	+150.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$248.59 CN¥1,659.06	$440.65 ZAR7,303.16	+77.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$57.56 CN¥384.18	$126.36 ZAR2,094.29	+119.5%
Average			+113.5%

Changchun vs. Sandton - Cost of housing

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pay 60.1% less for childcare

	Changchun	Sandton
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$546.89 CN¥3,649.93	$260.78 ZAR4,322.14	-52.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$21,626.94 CN¥144K	$7,210.58 ZAR120K	-66.7%
Average			-60.1%

Changchun vs. Sandton - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Changchun	Sandton
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$2.25 ZAR37.35	+88.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.44 CN¥16.26	$2.44 ZAR40.47	+0.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.89	$3.25 ZAR53.86	-12.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.70 CN¥251.62	$36.05 ZAR597.53	-4.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.71 CN¥44.79	$7.21 ZAR119.51	+7.4%
Average			+12.8%

Changchun vs. Sandton - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.3% more for clothing

	Changchun	Sandton
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$74.58 CN¥497.72	$57.63 ZAR955.14	-22.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.75 CN¥298.63	$45.77 ZAR758.63	+2.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.66 CN¥398.17	$96.14 ZAR1,593.42	+61.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$69.60 CN¥464.54	$90.13 ZAR1,493.83	+29.5%
Average			+13.3%

Changchun vs. Sandton - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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