Shanghai: Money & Costs

• Currency

  Name

  Yuan Renminbi

  Symbol

  Y

  The Bank of China issues RMB bills in denominations of one, two, five, 10, 20, 50 and 100 yuan. Counterfeit notes are a problem in China. Very few Chinese will accept a Y50 or Y100.00 note without first checking to see whether or not it's a fake. Notes that are old, tattered or torn are also sometimes hard to spend. You can exchange notes for new ones at the Bank of China - counterfeits, however, will be confiscated. Local Chinese have a variety of methods for checking notes, including checking the watermark, the drawn lines (more distinct in fake notes) and colour (more pronounced in counterfeit notes). The texture of a fake note also tends to be smoother than authentic notes. Examine large denomination notes if given to you as change by street vendors; they could well be dumping a forged banknote on you.

  Coins come in denominations of one yuan, five mao, one mao and five fen. Paper versions of the coins remain in circulation.

• Changing Your Money

  Foreign currency and travellers cheques can be changed at the main branches of the Bank of China, the tourist hotels, Friendship Stores and some department stores. Hotels usually charge the official rate. You will need to keep your exchange receipts if you want to change any of your remaining RMB at the end of your trip. Travellers cheques are the best option because they are safer and the exchange rate is more favourable than that for cash; Thomas Cook, American Express and Visa are most commonly accepted. If you have to exchange cash, stay away from less reputable sources that may try and slip you counterfeit notes.

• Money Tips

  All four- and five-star hotels and some top-end restaurants add a tax or 'service charge' of 10% or 15%, which extends to the room and food; all other consumer taxes are included in the price tag.

  Generally, eastern China is much more expensive than the western part of the country. Visitors to eastern China could get by on around US$50.00 a day, but it would be a challenge. Budget travellers in western China should be able to keep costs down to US$25.00 per day. The main drain on savings tends to be long train journeys. Food is cheap throughout China, and if you're careful you won't have to spend much more than US$7.00 a day on meals. However, the bottom line is that you'll be charged the 'tourist price' a lot of the time.

• Sample Price Guide

  small bottle of water

  Y 2

  litre of petrol

  Y 3.5

  small bottle of beer

  Y 3

  souvenir t-shirt

  Y 25

  metro ticket

  Y 4

  soybean milk

  Y 2

  small pizza

  Y 50

  fast food restaurant hamburger

  Y 12

  parking rate per hour

  Y 10

  large lamb kebab

  Y 5

  Average Room Prices
  Low	Mid	High	Deluxe
  US$7-36	US$36-100	US$100-200	US$200+
  Average Meal Prices
  Low	Mid	High	Deluxe
  US$2-4	US$4-8	US$8-12	US$12+

• Tipping

  In Shanghai, almost no one asks for tips. Tipping used to be refused in restaurants, but nowadays many mid-range and top-end eateries include their own (often exorbitant) service charge. Cheap restaurants do not expect a tip, and neither do taxi drivers.

Back to top ^