What is the cost of living in China for international students?
Unofficial answer · Sources checked
No national authority in the official pages read for this page publishes a cost-of-living figure for international students in China. The amount that binds you is the financial-guarantee standard set by the university you apply to: section 2.6 of the Quality Standards for Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial) requires each institution to set that standard from tuition, accommodation fees and the general level of local living costs, at a level sufficient to cover study, living and international travel. The only monthly amounts printed in these official texts are the Chinese Government Scholarship stipends, which are what the state pays its own scholarship holders, not a published estimate of what living in China costs.
What the rules say
Two documents carry the rules that matter here, and neither one prints a living-cost figure.
Order No. 42 of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security (issued 20 March 2017, in force since 1 July 2017 under Article 48) says in Article 14 that a higher education institution's fee items and fee standards for international students follow the relevant national provisions, and that the institution must publish its fee items, fee standards, and its refund rules for withdrawal and transfer. Article 14 also states that fees and refunds are denominated in renminbi.
The 2018 quality standards, an attachment to Ministry of Education notice Jiaowai [2018] No. 50 (the notice is dated 3 September 2018), are addressed to institutions rather than to applicants. Section 2.1 lists what admissions information an institution must publish, and that list includes financial regulations and policies — fee standards, payment methods and refund policy — as well as campus life information: dormitory or apartment conditions and how to apply for them, food, medical care, insurance, transport, cultural and sports activities, and student organisations. Section 2.6 sets the financial-guarantee rule described below.
Where these pages are quoted in English, the wording is this site's translation of the Chinese text.
Who decides the amount you must prove
Section 2.6 makes the university the decision-maker. It must set a financial-guarantee standard for admission on the principle that the amount can fully cover the reasonable costs of study, living and international travel, taking into account tuition, accommodation fees and the general level of local living costs. If the local government education authority puts forward a guiding standard, the institution follows that guiding standard. The institution must then require applicants to provide proof of funds meeting that standard and must review it under a prudent and diligent standard.
So the number in your case comes from the institution, not from a national schedule. Because section 2.1 requires the institution to publish its financial regulations, fee standards and refund policy, and Order No. 42 Article 14 requires it to publish fee items and refund rules, the figures that apply to you should appear in that institution's own admissions information.
What the stipend amounts do and do not tell you
The Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship published by the China Scholarship Council lists these amounts as what the scholarship provides:
| Coverage | Amount |
|---|---|
| Undergraduates, monthly stipend | CNY 2,500 |
| Master's students and general scholars, monthly stipend | CNY 3,000 |
| Doctoral students and senior scholars, monthly stipend | CNY 3,500 |
| Comprehensive medical insurance, per person per year | CNY 800 |
| Comprehensive medical insurance, programmes under six months | CNY 400 |
The guide also lists tuition and free university dormitory or an accommodation subsidy as part of the coverage. These are conditions of that scholarship for its holders; the guide does not present them as an estimate of living costs for international students generally. The page carries no publication date and no academic year.
What the official pages do not say
The articles and sections read for this page do not state a national minimum cost of living, a national minimum bank balance, or a city-by-city cost table, and none of them gives tuition, rent or daily-expense figures. If you need the amount that applies to your application, ask the international student office of the university you are applying to.
Related questions
Does the scholarship stipend cover my living costs?
The scholarship guide states the stipend amounts and the other items in its coverage list, and does not describe them against any measured cost of living. Whether a stipend is enough in your situation depends on the place and on your own spending, which the guide does not address.
Where do I find the tuition and refund rules that apply to me?
Order No. 42 Article 14 requires the institution to publish its fee items, fee standards and refund rules for withdrawal and transfer, and section 2.1 of the 2018 quality standards requires admissions information to include financial regulations and policies, payment methods and refund policy. Both rules place the figures on the institution's own published admissions information.
Can a local education authority raise the amount I have to prove?
Yes, in the terms of section 2.6: where the local government education authority proposes a guiding standard, the institution follows that guiding standard when setting its own financial-guarantee requirement.
Are fees and refunds paid in renminbi?
Article 14 of Order No. 42 states that charging and refunding are denominated in renminbi.
Sources
- Quality Standards for Higher Education of International Students in China (Trial), attachment to Ministry of Education notice Jiaowai [2018] No. 50 — Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (moe.gov.cn)
- Administrative Measures for the Enrolment and Education of International Students by Schools (Order No. 42) — Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (moe.gov.cn)
- Application Guide for Chinese Government Scholarship — China Scholarship Council (Campus China, campuschina.org)
Checked 11 October 2026
This page is an unofficial summary of the official texts named above; it is not legal or immigration advice, and it is not published by or affiliated with any of the bodies named. Where the official text and the instructions of the university, embassy or exit-entry office handling your case differ, theirs prevail.