Breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night snacks, priced from real video footage rather than menus. It draws on 102 videos and 384 individual figures, covering Badaling, Beihai, Beijing, Bengbu, Changsha, Chengdu.
At a glance
| watermelon per pound | 4 cents per pound | China |
|---|---|---|
| coffee with coupon | 9 cents of a yuan | Guangzhou |
| bowl of tomato and egg noodles | 15 cent | China |
| sushi piece | $0.15 each | Weifang |
Food & drink
What stands out
The cheapest food recorded is watermelon per pound (4 cents per pound), and the most expensive is coffee at $750 each.
Data sources
Every figure on this page was stated in one of the following videos. Follow a link to hear it in context.
- Guangzhou Night Market Food Tour: Zhicun's 160 Stalls
- Chengdu Night Market Food Tour: Fu Qin Ye Shi Street Eats
- A Food Delivery Rider's 12-Hour Day in a Small Chinese City
- Beijing Street Food Tour: 125 Authentic Flavors From Breakfast to Snacks
- Shenzhen Food Tour: 24 Hours in China's Tech Capital
- 30 Days in China: Beijing Streets and Local Food
- Unemployed in China: A 35-Year-Old Woman's Day Alone at Della Lake
- Riding China's Fuxing Bullet Train Business Class Shanghai to Beijing
- Chinese Night Market Street Food: 50 Snacks Young People Love
- Chongqing Morning Market: 50 Street Foods and Prices
- Chengdu Travel: Sichuan Food, Pandas and Top Attractions
- A Day in Chengdu: Street Food and Tea House Life
- A Day in the Life of a Chinese Office Worker in Shenzhen
- A Day in the Life of a Low-Income Chinese Boy in Southern China
- A Quiet Day in Zhangjia Village, Rural Northern China
- A Work Day in a Small Chinese Town on 2,000 RMB a Month
- Bengbu Breakfast and Night Market Food in Anhui, China
- Beijing Travel Guide: Costs, Best Times, and Things to Do
- Breakfast in a Rural Hebei Village: Everyday Life and Local Eats
- Longjie Street Market in Kunming: Yunnan Snacks and Dried Beef
- A Family of Four's $20 Day in a Small Chinese Town
- Dali's March Street Market: Yunnan Street Food Paradise
- China Travel Guide 2026: Visas, Trains, Payments and Itinerary
- American Returns to China: Beijing to Shijiazhuang by High-Speed Train
- A Real 9-5 Office Day in Ningbo, China
- Chinese Street Food: Order in Mandarin at a Night Market
- Chongqing at Night 🇨🇳 I Found a $3.50 Meal & Local Beer
- A Day in the Life of an Office Worker in Shenzhen, China
- A Day in the Life of a Mom in Shanghai, China
- Inside a Chinese Elementary School: A Fifth Grader's Day
- Guiyang Street Food Tour: Minsheng Road Snacks and Prices
- Eating $100 Premium Hotpot at a Popular Chain in China
- Solo BBQ in Guangzhou: A $20 Personal Grill Experience
- Chongqing: Inside China's 36 Million Person City
- Tianjin Night Market Street Food: Tofu, Noodles and Grilled Oysters
- Cantonese Home Cooking: Everyday Meals from Guangdong
- Lanzhou Morning Market: Beef Noodles and Fresh Food
- Beijing's Shahe Market: Traditional Northern Chinese Street Food
- Weichuan Grand Market in Henan: Local Delicacies and Tofu
- Chinese YouTuber Fact-Checks Viral Videos About Life in China
- Beijing to Shanghai by High-Speed Rail: Full Trip on China's 350 km/h Train
- Guangzhou Night Market Food Tour: $1 Street Food Paradise in 4K
- Guangzhou Wholesale Clothing Markets: Affordable Fashion Finds
- Kunming's Puji Market: Yunnan Street Food and 5 Yuan Haircuts
- Low-Income Life in Guangzhou: A Chinese Couple's Evening Walk
- Frugal Life in China After Losing My Job
- How Introverts and Extroverts Survive Daily Life in China
- Returning to My Rural Chinese Village with My Son
- Guangzhou Street Food After Dark: Cheap Local Eats
- Xi'an Street Food Tour: Bao, Biang Biang Noodles, and More
- Xi'an Morning Market: Northern Chinese Breakfast and Street Food
- Inside a $30 a Month Rental Room in Pengzhou, China
- Shanghai Breakfast Street Tour: Egg Pancakes and Crab Shell Pastries
- What It Really Costs to Live in China: A Day of Spending
- Chengdu City Walk: Food, Shopping and Local Life
- Using Cash Only in Beihai, China: Food Street Challenge
- Zhuhai Wanchai Pier: Macau Island Tour and Pearl Market
- A Day in the Life of a Chinese Office Worker in Shenzhen
- First Dentist Visit in China at Age 40: Cost and Process
- Daily Life in Changsha as a Low-Income Unemployed Man