Cost of living comparison

compared to

Beijing vs. Zhongshan Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 64.5% more expensive than Zhongshan.

Restaurants: pay 20.6% more in Beijing
Groceries: pay 37.2% more in Beijing
Transportation: pay 27.7% more in Beijing
Housing: pay 2.9 times more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.8% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 39.2% more in Beijing

The cost of housing, childcare, clothing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Beijing are more expensive than in Zhongshan. Notably, housing and childcare are significantly more expensive in Beijing.

Beijing vs. Zhongshan Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 20.6% more for restaurants

	Zhongshan	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.80 CN¥19.38	$4.21 CN¥29.07	+50.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.63 CN¥31.97	$4.91 CN¥33.92	+6.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 CN¥2.91	$0.48 CN¥3.32	+14.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 CN¥1.89	$0.31 CN¥2.12	+12.0%
Average			+20.6%

Zhongshan vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 37.2% more for groceries

	Zhongshan	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.77 CN¥12.25	$1.71 CN¥11.80	-3.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.11 CN¥42.21	$7.47 CN¥51.62	+22.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.78 CN¥46.89	$6.64 CN¥45.91	-2.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.61 CN¥11.11	$1.78 CN¥12.28	+10.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.21 CN¥8.35	$1.53 CN¥10.58	+26.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.82 CN¥5.70	$0.98 CN¥6.79	+19.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.45 CN¥3.08	$0.77 CN¥5.32	+72.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.29 CN¥1.98	$0.80 CN¥5.53	+179.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 CN¥3.88	$0.60 CN¥4.16	+7.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.24 CN¥1.65	$0.35 CN¥2.41	+46.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.32 CN¥2.20	$0.41 CN¥2.85	+29.8%
Average			+37.2%

Zhongshan vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 27.7% more for transportation

	Zhongshan	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.38 CN¥30.26	$4.21 CN¥29.11	-3.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$14.02 CN¥96.88	$31.54 CN¥218.03	+125.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,126.73 CN¥160K	$18,225.66 CN¥126K	-21.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.18 CN¥28.87	$4.63 CN¥31.98	+10.8%
Average			+27.7%

Zhongshan vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.9 times more for housing

	Zhongshan	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.01 CN¥82.99	$12.93 CN¥89.38	+7.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$196.23 CN¥1,356.29	$935.23 CN¥6,464.19	+376.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$119.14 CN¥823.46	$504.41 CN¥3,486.38	+323.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.48 CN¥203.73	$39.27 CN¥271.40	+33.2%
Average			+185.2%

Zhongshan vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Zhongshan	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$301.35 CN¥2,082.87	$710.76 CN¥4,912.70	+135.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,614.58 CN¥87,190.10	$23,242.73 CN¥161K	+84.3%
Average			+110.1%

Zhongshan vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Zhongshan	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.70 CN¥4.84	$1.12 CN¥7.75	+60.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.71 CN¥18.73	$2.90 CN¥20.06	+7.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.80 CN¥19.38	$4.21 CN¥29.07	+50.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$63.03 CN¥435.63	$57.84 CN¥399.75	-8.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.61 CN¥38.75	$8.41 CN¥58.14	+50.0%
Average			+31.8%

Zhongshan vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.2% more for clothing

	Zhongshan	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$44.38 CN¥306.78	$62.30 CN¥430.60	+40.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.32 CN¥209.58	$36.37 CN¥251.40	+20.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$56.06 CN¥387.51	$81.74 CN¥564.98	+45.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.08 CN¥484.39	$105.53 CN¥729.41	+50.6%
Average			+39.2%

Zhongshan vs. Beijing - 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: April 2026

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