Shanghai: Seriously, SO Expensive!

[Pat Pagac]

Alright, let me share my experience of first arriving in Shanghai.

• Upon landing in Shanghai, the first thing I noticed is how much more expensive things are compared to my hometown!
  • Remember, friends: if you're coming from a place with lower living costs and planning a visit, be sure to keep a close eye on your wallet or prepare extra cash ahead of time. The moment you see the bills, your heart may just skip a beat.
• Speaking of Shanghai, locals often refer to it as "The Magic City" (the literal translation of "魔都"). Indeed, the name is well-deserved!
  • It's filled with endless bright lights creating that sense of luxury and vitality that leaves one dazzled.
• However, this unique atmosphere alone makes it worth the journey! #Shanghai

[Velma Thompson]

As a Shanghai native now in Guangzhou, I find Guangzhou really expensive.

[Israel Koss]

I haven't been to Guangzhou yet. My student, who's there now, says it's a lot cheaper than Shanghai. I went to places like Zhuhai and Shunde last year, and they were truly affordable and delicious.

[Kevin Harris]

Oh my gosh! So, if you skip restaurants and just have fast food or something similar, would 200 yuan be enough for two days?

[Leslie Kunde]

Sure, if you really want to save, you can survive a day on fast food and instant noodles, but you can't eat like that every day.

[Beatrice Thiel]

Tourist spots are always expensive; it's the same no matter where you go.

[Jeremiah Bednar]

It's much more expensive than other tourist spots.

[Ellis Sauer DVM]

Prices where I'm from are already considered high, so after visiting Shanghai, I realized how truly expensive it is. But it's still acceptable to me. For example, mineral water on the Bund is only 2 yuan.

[Samuel Kihn]

Really? I only saw them for 5 yuan, which is way too expensive!

[Carmen Willms]

It's incredibly expensive. Lunch for two at the Peace Hotel cost us 1600 yuan.

[Tracy Hoppe]

Well, the Peace Hotel is an upscale place, so it's bound to be expensive.

[Dr. Wade Boyer]

A serving of grilled cold noodles cost me 20 yuan! Back where I live, it's only half that.

[Arnold Predovic]

Even half that price is still a bit steep. In the Northeast, you can get them all over for just 6 or 7 yuan.

[Orlando Ryan]

Yeah, dining out is pricey. Taking a taxi for the same distance costs double what it does in Shenzhen. And there are cameras everywhere limiting stops to just a minute or two, but the ride-hailing app's GPS isn't always super precise, making it a real hassle to find your car, especially when you're with a baby stroller.

[Emma Kihn]

Exactly! We sometimes end up literally chasing after our taxi too.

[Lucille Borer]

That's why, when you travel to other cities, they generally don't feel as expensive.

[Lucille Borer]

How do you get up to the tallest building?

[Melinda Wilderman]

You can buy tickets at the base of the tower. After getting your ticket, you enter from outside, usually by going down a level or two. There's a ticket checkpoint there, and then an elevator takes you straight to the top.

[Miss Alison Collier]

I've only been to Beijing once, many years ago. At the time, the most expensive admission was for the Forbidden City, just a few tens of yuan. I originally planned to stay for a month, but after three days, I was so freezing I couldn't bear it. So, I flew back to Shanghai, stayed for three days, and then headed to Chengdu for a holiday.

[Samuel Kihn]

True. Of all the places I've been, Beijing has the most affordable entrance tickets. But Beijing is so huge, you can really only cover one major attraction a day.