- CostAverage≈0% over Asia
- SafetyMixed3.3/5
- MobilityDecent3.3/5
- CultureGood3.5/5
- ClimateVariable-25–36°
Top cities
- Shanghai30.7M residents
- Beijing18.2M residents
- Guangzhou43.0M residents
- Chengdu5.6M residents
- Tianjin7.3M residents
Source: GeoNames
Cost of living in China
About average for Asia — if you skip Shanghai.
Its $1,100 median sits right around Asia's median major city ($1,102); Shanghai ($1,530) runs 1.7× Shenyang ($900).
Good to know — low cost often trades against local salaries and visa options — budget for income, not just spending. Learn how we measure this →
Safety in China
The one thing to watch: road accidents.
Most hazards across China sit in a normal range — road accidents is the one area that runs higher.
Good to know — a calm national average can hide neighbourhood-level crime — research the specific district you would live in. Learn how we measure this →
Getting around China
Mobility in China runs middling overall across its cities.
Across 5 cities, getting around stays within a narrow band — no single city is a real outlier.
Good to know — strong airport access can coexist with weak everyday transit — check the mode you would actually use. Learn how we measure this →
Culture in China
Culture in China concentrates in its big cities — Shanghai leads, Shenyang is lighter.
The country average (3.5) is carried by a few cities: Shanghai reaches 4.0 while Shenyang sits at 2.1. Check the specific city, not the country.
Good to know — a strong national culture score can be carried by one or two big cities — check the specific city, not only the country average. Learn how we measure this →
Airports in China
Shanghai Pudong International Airport is China's busiest gateway.
39 major airports handle about 755M passengers a year. Tap any to see its nearest cities and how far they are.
+34 more airports on the map
Good to know — passenger volume is total throughput, not direct-route breadth; a large hub can still lack flights to your region. Learn how we measure this →
Passport strength in China
China's passport offers solid global access.
- Mobility
- #5584 destinations
- GDP reach
- #10430.3% of world GDP
- Heritage
- #90420 of 1,353 UNESCO sites
Good to know — a mobility rank counts how many destinations you can enter, not how useful they are; a strong passport can still gate the one place you care about. Learn how we measure this →
Climate in China
Big seasonal swings — hot summers, hard winters.
Across its cities, summer highs top out near 36°C feels-like while the coldest spots dip to around -25°C; sun is plentiful, up to ~275 days a year in Baotou.
Feels-like °C — monthly range across cities
Good to know— a country isn't one climate but a range; the extremes here are different cities, not the same place across seasons. Learn how we measure this →
Who thrives in China
China suits a wide range of lifestyles.
Fit is scored per lifestyle and anchored to the cities that serve each best — Big City Energy leads. Pick one to see exactly where it works.
Great fit
Decent fit
Good to know — fit is by city, not country; a lifestyle that thrives here may only do so in one or two of its cities. Learn how we measure this →