Cost of Living in Lijiang, 🇨🇳 China - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Nov 12, 2026 Last changed Nov 14, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 1 4 6 $359 $240 $314 $150 $37

Utilities 4 2 9 — $42 $47 $31 —

Internet & Mobile $25 $25 $38 $25 $3

Groceries 2 6 18 $82 $182 $383 $137 —

Transportation 3 10 $29 $14 $44 $11 $2

Dining Out 2 5 6 $219 $72 $102 $31 $16

Leisure Activities 11 13 2 5 $67 $62 $188 $15 $11

Health Insurance 14 $67 $178 $489 — —

Visa & Legal Fees 15 16 — $2 $8 — —

Total $848 $817 $1,613 $400 $69

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 1 $149.68 $90 – $240 per month

Coworking Space 4 $67.36 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 4 $359.24 $239 – $524 per month

Coliving Space 5 $179.62 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 5 $3.74 per cup

Beer 2 $1.56 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 6 $2.25 per meal

Fast Food Combo 2 $5.59 per meal

Apples 2 $1.63 per kg

Bread 2 $1.60 per loaf

Milk 2 $1.66 per liter

Rice 2 $1.02 per kg

Chicken Fillets 2 $3.90 per kg

Beef 2 $12.00 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 17 $8.53 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 2 $21.00 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 18 $0.52 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 3 $1.05 per trip

Taxi per km 3 $0.27 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 3 $7.48 per month

Gasoline 8 $1.43 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 3 $1.59 per trip

Scooter Rental 10 $8.26 per month

Services

Mobile Plan $13.17 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 9 $11.97 per month

Gym Membership 11 $35.77 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) $8.83 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) $13.17 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 2 $5.82 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans $50.30 per pair

Summer Dress 19 $35.77 per dress

Running Shoes 20 $43.26 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 21 $5.89 per visit

Laundry $2.21 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 5 $22.45 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 2 $5.38 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Nov 12, 2026
Last changed: Nov 14, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 6.6807 CNY on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Dali, Kunming, Guilin

Change history

Nov 14, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 588.96 359.24
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 368.1 149.68
- Apples 1.47 1.63
- Beef 8.83 12
- Beer 2.94 1.56
37 more changes
- Bread 1.77 1.6
- Chicken Fillets 5.15 3.9
- Cinema Ticket 7.36 5.82
- Coffee 4.12 3.74
- Coliving Space 368.1 179.62
- Coworking Space 147.24 67.36
- Dining Out local 44.17, nomad 353.38, expat 176.69, family 220.86, tourist 29.45 local 31.43, nomad 218.72, expat 71.85, family 101.96, tourist 16.49
- Doctor Visit (GP) 11.78 22.45
- Fast Food Combo 5.89 5.59
- Gasoline 1.1 1.43
- Groceries local 176.69, nomad 73.62, expat 294.48, family 515.34, tourist 0 local 136.89, nomad 82.16, expat 182.07, family 383.3, tourist 0
- Gym Membership 29.45 35.77
- Health Insurance local 0, nomad 58.9, expat 73.62, family 176.69 local 0, nomad 67.2, expat 177.5, family 489.4
- Housing local 220.86, nomad 662.58, expat 441.72, family 588.96, tourist 51.53 local 149.68, nomad 359.24, expat 239.5, family 314.34, tourist 37.42
- Internet & Mobile local 11.78, nomad 29.45, expat 22.09, family 29.45, tourist 0 local 25.15, family 38.32, tourist 3.07
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 14.72 11.97
- Jeans 44.17 50.3
- Leisure Activities local 14.72, nomad 88.34, expat 58.9, family 117.79 local 15.38, nomad 66.54, expat 62.38, family 187.95, tourist 11.43
- Meal (Inexpensive) 3.68 2.25
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 36.81 21
- Milk 2.06 1.66
- Mobile Plan 8.83 13.17
- Monthly Transport Pass 17.67 7.48
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 2.21 5.38
- Rice 1.03 1.02
- Ride-hailing (5km) 2.65 1.59
- Running Shoes 58.9 43.26
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 5.89 13.17
- Scooter Rental 8.83 8.26
- Summer Dress 29.45 35.77
- Taxi Start 1.18 1.05
- Taxi per km 0.37 0.27
- Transportation local 14.72, nomad 44.17, expat 29.45, family 88.34, tourist 7.36 local 10.66, nomad 28.71, expat 13.83, family 43.53, tourist 2.04
- Utilities local 29.45, nomad 0, expat 51.53, family 73.62, tourist 0 local 31, nomad 0, expat 41.91, family 46.8, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, nomad 29.45, expat 44.17, family 73.62 local 0, expat 1.92, family 7.67
- Water (1.5L bottle) 0.37 0.52
- Wine (Mid-range) 14.72 8.53
fix pass corrected units, borrowed-price descriptions, unsupported citations and exact profile formulas for Apartment (1 bedroom), Coworking Space, Coffee, Beer, Meal (Inexpensive), Wine (Mid-range), Gasoline, Mobile Plan, Internet (60 Mbps+), Gym Membership, Running Shoes, Housing, Utilities, Internet & Mobile, Groceries, Transportation, Dining Out, Leisure Activities, Health Insurance, Visa & Legal Fees, Airbnb (1 month), Coliving Space, Meal (Mid-range, 2 people), Water (1.5L bottle), Scooter Rental, SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid), Haircut, Laundry, Doctor Visit (GP), Jeans (livingcost.org, safetywing.com, lijiang.gov.cn)

Lijiang cost of living