Last month, The Global Times reported that “the average cost of raising a child until the age of 18 was RMB 485,000 yuan (US 76,556) in China in 2019, which was 6.9 times China’s GDP per capita, much higher than many countries including the US, France, Germany, and Japan.” The number was calculated based on household income and consumption expenditures released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Well, that’s what two years of kindergarten costs at my kid’s international school.

While few of us have raised a child from birth to adulthood here in Beijing, a quick survey of the cost of living over the last few years can tell you a lot. Websites such as Expatden report that “In 2010, foreigners could easily find an apartment between RMB 2,000-4,000 near the city center, and nowadays it’s hard to find a one-bedroom for less than RMB 5,000. A subway ride (no matter the distance) was also a mere 2 kuai (the colloquial term for the RMB) up until 2015.” I took the subway the other day from my home near the 4th Ring Road to the office downtown – it cost RMB 4. That’s twice the price.

We asked some expat parents currently living here what they felt was the biggest culprit for their spending and the response was unanimous – education. As expats without a Beijing 户口 hùkǒu – or standard household registration – public schools are off the list for our children, leaving us to choose from international schools which carry a heftier price tag. How much heftier you ask? Well, based on the latest information we collected for our annual School Choice Guide, you could be driving a BMW X1 right now instead of paying for your child’s K12 international school education.

It isn’t just education though. “Costs are much higher in Beijing compared to what we were paying in the US and Germany for housing [and]medicine,” shares Darla Ridlon, expat mother of two. Fellow expat mom Serina Baik-Lueders adds that “along with international health care, other expat extra learning activities outside of the school are pricier.” Expat parent and professional photographer Dave Hanssen echoes the sentiment that “hobbies such as youth sports and art classes” take up a large chunk of our Beijing budgets.

One category of spending finds some disparity in agreement – food. For some expats we spoke to, grocery prices, as well as dining costs, added significantly to the financial burden of living in Beijing. But for others, food costs remain low in comparison to their home countries. We can definitely chalk this up to personal dining preferences because we know that a jianbing will run around RMB 8 or RMB 10, but a 280-gram Australian-imported steak at Blue Frog will set you back some RMB 250. Simply put, it really depends on how often you eat out, or cook, and where you shop for your groceries.

What’s the upside to living in Beijing then? Well, as Ridlon shares, “employers do cover many of our living expenses to help balance the cost differences of expat living.” That’s what drives most of us to become expats in the first place, plus the cultural exposure and adventure. The incredible convenience and availability of waimai and DiDis, both of which thankfully remain cheaper than overseas, help too. Let’s just hope it stays that way.

Expat life can be expensive. Want to know how your family budget stacks up against the rest of the expat community? Take jingkids “Which Expat Family Budget Are You?” quiz to see how you fit in!

KEEP READING: What Will Beijing’s Teens Do For Money?

Images: Unsplash, Pexels

For all the advantages that living in Beijing can provide for an expat — and there are many, including exorbitant salaries, cheap local costs, and easily making new language partners — the unfortunate trade-off is that many of us will be making up the difference when it comes to some of the most expensive international school tuitions in the world.

According to the International Schools Database, Beijing has the second-highest tuition costs out of a list of 40 international cities, second only to Shanghai.

Following China’s lead, Switzerland dominated the list with three of its cities named in the top ten (Lausanne, Zurich, and Geneva at third, fourth and sixth place, respectively). The Canadian city of Toronto came in fifth place.

It was Beijing’s first appearance on the list, which was restricted to just 25 international cities last year. On both lists, Shanghai claimed top position while Copenhagen, Denmark was either last or next-to-last.

However, no matter what critics may say, there is an advantage to living in Beijing. When compared to average rental prices in expat areas, the average international school tuition costs in Beijing fall to fourth place against the same list of cities, coming in after Hanoi, Brussels, and Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the study, the average Beijing international school’s tuition (USD 2,519) costs 20 percent more than the average expat rental cost (USD 2,091), making a huge significance in what is precisely offered in expat salary and educational packages.

As pricey as that may be, expats may find Beijing’s other advantages to be especially alluring.

Despite its position as the capital of China and a first-tier city, Beijing is only rated as the fifth-most expensive city for expats in China, falling well behind Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Dalian. What’s more, if you want to get the most bang for your buck, expats can also take advantage of Beijing’s ever-expanding subway system for making their commute from their apartment out in the city’s less expensive suburbs.

As an expat, you’ll find that weighing the trade-offs is a recurring aspect of your life. If you’re willing to live in a less-than-expat-tier area while taking a mode of transportation that isn’t a taxi or car share, you’d also probably be more willing to look into alternatives besides international schools.

All in all, if you have set your sights on Beijing international schools, we can only hope that you get what you pay for.

This post first appeared on our sister site, the Beijinger. See more stories by this author here.
Photo: Beijing Relocation

It has the history, the art scene, and its own antiquated charm, but the simple reason why so many expats have chosen Beijing may be because it’s relatively inexpensive.

For the third year in a row, Beijing is the fifth-most expensive city in China for expats, according to a recently-released annual survey.

This year’s Worldwide Cost of Living Survey ranks Hong Kong once again as China’s most expensive city, placing it fourth worldwide behind Singapore, Paris, and Zurich.

Beijing’s fifth place position follows its first-tier peers Shanghai and Shenzhen as well as Dalian. Beijing has maintained its constant position within China even though its international standing has fluctuated; last year, Beijing dropped 16 places to 47th position in much the same way it fell to 46th position in 2015.

The remaining first-tier city, Guangzhou, comes in at seventh place behind Taipei and before Qingdao.

Compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit for over 30 years, the survey compares over 400 individual price points across 160 products and services in 133 different cities. The list does not include housing prices and other factors that would make it relevant to local residents.

So although Beijing expats can enjoy living in a first-tier city without paying Shanghai-level prices, the advantage seems to come out in the wash.

As recent as 2016, Beijing was named the international city with most expensive housing rental where such costs are worth 1.2 times the average monthly salary. Meanwhile, the cost-of-living difference between Beijing and Shanghai may not be that much, estimated between 5 percent and 16 percent.

This post first appeared on our sister site, the Beijinger. More stories from this author here.
Photo: Carcabin

Great news for families who travel by subway: though subway rates are going up on December 28, the minimum height for kids’ fares will be raised which means under 1.3 meters will be free. Under the current system, kids over 1.2 meters need to pay.

December 28 is the new Christmas day as more good tidings are expected as several kid-friendly spots will be coming on line when the network expands. Family-friendly spots previously unreachable by subway that will be on line include the northwest corner of Chaoyang Park and Solana Mall (Line 14’s Zaoying 枣营 station); Indigo Mall (Line 14’s Jiangtai 将台 station); and the Happy Valley Amusement Park (Line 7’s Huanlegu 欢乐谷 station).

However, commuters should be warned that seven stations on the new routes will remain closed beyond the December 28 launch date. Principal among the portions that aren’t finished are the Chaoyang Park stop at the south gate and the Shuangjing station on the new Line 7.

Most of the seven stations that will remain closed are due to construction delays, with the notable exception of Shuangjing, which authorities say is way too crowded to allow for an interchange between Lines 10 and 7.

Notorious for its narrow platform and huge volume of commuters, Shuangjing’s mess is far from being resolved. While the station’s current capacity is already maxed out, the real mess is that the station sees no potential for a possible enlargement due to limited usable underground space.

Some of the unfinished stations have expected opening dates: the Datun Lu Dong station on Line 15 will open by June 2015 once a walkway to connect the station’s Line 5 platform with its Line 15 platform is finished; and the opening date of Chaoyang Park station has been set for some time in 2015 as well.

In the mean time, those intending to go by subway to Chaoyang Park can get off on the Zaoying station of Line 14, which has immediate access to the northwest corner of the park.

Image: d.youth.cn

Perfect test scores and a manic work ethic are no longer sufficient at Beijing’s public schools. Now even the best and brightest students can’t even enroll — let alone succeed — at top-tier schools without the most elusive placement of all: their place of residence, that is.

New regulations were just put into effect that no longer allow parents to select the best public school for their children regardless of location: they now need to be live in newly drawn school districts in order to enroll.

A recent editorial in the Global Times bemoaned the entrance stipulations at primary schools, which require parents to have a hukou (Chinese residence permit) and own an apartment in the vicinity of the school for their children to gain admittance there.

However, even deeper censure was reserved for the ensuing abuse of those policies, which have prompted wealthy families to snatch up real estate in the radius of esteemed schools, leaving parents with lower incomes in the margins.

Another article published by wenxuecity.com summed the situation up by saying: “as good as their [wealthy parents’]intentions are, this trend is contributing to a staggering inflation of housing prices in Beijing, and is hampering efforts to promote equal-opportunity education.”

In Beijing, these school related spikes in housing prices occur all to frequently in Xicheng District, which has a long-standing reputation of having many of the city’s top schools.

The aforementioned wenxuecity.com piece highlighted Beijing Number 2 Experimental Primary School as one of this trend’s quintessential examples. “The houses surrounding the school are mainly old courtyard homes. However, because of the area’s proximity to the school the houses are priced at nearly RMB 300,000 per square meter and listings are scarce… There is no bargaining for a lower price.”

The article also noted that such sky high rates would leave a 10 square meters room costing RMB 3 million, noting that such a space would be “no bigger than a bathroom.” While the neighborhood around Number 2 Experimental Primary may be one of the most outrageous examples, the piece also noted the inflated real estate prices near several other top schools, which have also inflated to prices well beyond the budget of many average Chinese families.

Those less fortunate parents are growing more frustrated, as they long for policy reforms that will grant their children easier access. An in-depth USA Today feature about the issue said such families, who lack the hukou needed to buy coveted “school district housing” can only “resort to poor-quality schools at risk of closure.”

The article then quoted one such parent, whose sentiment is no doubt shared amongst other slighted families: “"Why can’t the same children have the same opportunities? We all want the best for our kids.”

Photo:

Subway officials let it slip in the Chinese media this morning that public transportation prices will be re-evaluated on an annual basis from here on out, shocking news to a ridership that is just now facing its first substantial price hike in nearly a decade.

In a small news brief that appeared as part of larger coverage of the price hike due to be implemented December 28, media reports indicate that the adjustments of subway and bus fares will be considered every year from here on out, which leaves the door open for the money-losing network to hike prices again next year.

While the countdown clock is now on until the December 28 price hike, questions still remain about its implementation … both from legitimate subway commuters and devious scammers who are already hard at work on figuring out how to beat the price hike.

Here’s a summary of what Chinese media are talking about:

Q. How am I supposed to know the travel distance (and fare) when I’m buying a single ride ticket?
A: There will be a distance chart in each subway station which shows the prices from one destination to the other. There will also be a map with colored areas indicating different prices too. So you will be able to know how far away your destination is and how much your ticket will be before you buy your tickets.

Q. Will there be any additional discount plans available?
A. Officials are planning off-peak discounts that apply for trips made outside of rush hours, but the likely launch date for such as plan is still a year off. They are also planning to eventually launch one-day unlimited ride tickets and subway/bus cross transport tickets. Currently being evaluated are monthly and yearly unlimited ride passes.

Q. Will there be a time limit for a single ride?
A. Yes, there will be a time limit for each ride, specifically targeting touts and vagrants who occasionally hang out in the subways, and to prevent ticket-swapping (see below).

Q. Can I outsmart the system by partnering up with someone coming in the other direction?
A. Conceivably, yes. Two people traveling in opposite directions could swap their tickets mid-journey and see their fares reduced. Say Wang lives at Tiantongyuan (the far north end of Line 5) and goes to work at Liujiayao (near the far south end of Line 5), and Li does exactly the opposite. The two could swap tickets every morning at Hepingxijie Station, the mid-point of their travels, so both of them will appear to be getting on and off at the same station every morning and spend only the base fare which is RMB 3 for an almost end-to-end trip on Line 5. No kidding, some folks are even working on apps for ticket-swapping groups. But before you get too excited about it, officials are promising to find a way to outsmart such schemes by relying on the timing of card swipes.

Q. How much will it be if I get on and off from the same station?
A. Yet to be determined. In the current subway system, it’s the base fare (RMB 2), and there is no time limit for you to get on and off at the same station.

Q. What if I don’t have enough credit in my yikatong when I exit a station?
A. Currently you can get a subway ride with your yikatong as long as you have a positive balance on it – even if you only have 1 kuai in your yikatong, you can still enter a station and take a ride (except for the airport express) and repay the negative credit when you recharge your card. However, there is no indication of whether this policy will carry on after the fare adjustment.

This post first appeared on thebeijinger.com on November 28, 2014.

According to brief statement in today’s Beijing News, a decision has been reached on Beijing’s new distance-based subway prices: Tickets will start at RMB 2 or 3, with the average overall fare to run between RMB 4.3 and RMB 4.4 – a price hike that more than doubles the fare yet keeps it lower than similar cities in China like Shanghai and Guangzhou.

It also appears they are concurrently launching a discount plan for frequent commuters that spend more than RMB 100 a month on public transport: fares above RMB 100 will be discounted at 20 percent, while fares in excess of RMB 150 will be discounted at 50%. Discounts will stop after total monthly expenditure reaches RMB 400.

Presuming the average subway commuter is traveling both to and from work 20 days a month, this should mean monthly commuting costs would average around RMB 150, or about USD 24 –  almost five times lower than a monthly pass on the New York City subway system.

This morning’s Beijing News added that there will be a live discussion at 2:30pm today (Tuesday Oct 28) to settle the final as-to-yet undetermined portion of the pricing: whether the initial price will be RMB 2 (for the first 3km) or RMB 3 (for the first 6km).

No word yet on what the maximum fare will be, nor the distances at which the rates will go up, nor a timeline for implementation (which is not unusual as they like to announce these things slowly in bits and pieces, Chinese Water Torture style).

Previous announcements indicate the fare hike is likely to be implemented before the end of 2014. We’ll keep you posted as the details continue to be leaked out, a bit at a time.

This post first appeared on thebeijinger.com on October 27, 2014

Table: Global Times

Photo: The Beijinger

Headlines in Friday’s Chinese newspapers make it official: The Beijing Subway network will switch to distance-based pricing at an unspecified point in the second half of this year.

No indication was given as to what the price increase would be, but city planning officials seem committed to basing the fare on some interpretation of "international standards" in which approximately 10% of an urban dweller’s income typically goes towards commuting. We extrapolated that to hint that fares could rise to somewhere around an average of RMB 25 per day (round trip) for an average Beijing commuter, which could mean an increase of about 600 percent for people traveling the farthest.

Planners also hinted that they would develop weekly, monthly and seasonal discount passes to reduce the cost burden on daily commuters. This will be a blessing given that Beijing is one of the few major subway networks that lacks any sort of time-based discount pass.

The announcement clarifies a discussion point that has been a hot topic since late last year when the goverment first began hinting the that a fare increase was in the works due to the estimated RMB 18 billion in annual subsidies the city is providing the network. At first city officials were considering five different pricing systems, but this morning’s announcement indicates that the distance pricing is the way forward.

Officials also indicated that bus fares – many currently at RMB 1 per trip – would rise at the same time. No indication of future pricing for buses was given, either.

In related news, the first section of Line 14 is due to open at the end of December. This long-awaited line will connect a previously neglected northeastern corner of Chaoyang district, tying the eastern portion of the CBD northwards towards Shunyi. This phase will finally put Chaoyang Park onto the subway network, as well as the 798 area, with stops right outside the Indigo Mall, and connections to current Line 15 at Wangjing Station and Line 6 at Jintai Lu.

This post first appeared in the Beijinger on March 21, 2014.

Photos courtesy of Wikipedia and Michael Wester

Since June, Beijing has dropped six places to become the 59th most expensive city for expats to live in worldwide, whereas Shanghai was ranked 42nd. Hurray for us?

According to the article, "the biannual survey compares over 400 prices across 160 products and services in an attempt to give a true representation of the cost of an expat lifestyle." Hong Kong was ranked the most expensive place to live among Chinese cities, at No. 22 worldwide.

Photo by doug.siefken via Flickr