Living Expenses At One Glance
Type	Item	Minhang Campus	Xuhui Campus
Housing	On-campus (single room)	7000-9800 yuan/sem.	9300 -11900 yuan/sem.
	On-campus (shared double room)	4500-5100 yuan/sem.	4600-6600 yuan/sem.
	Off-campus (two-room apt.)	2000-4000 yuan/month	3500-4500 yuan/month
Living Expenses	Living expenses (excluding housing costs)	1000 -1200 yuan/month	1200-1400 yuan/month

 

Living Expenses Breakdown
Type	Item	Minhang Campus	Xuhui Campus
Food & Drinks	On-campus dining	5-8 yuan/ meal	5-8 yuan/meal
	Delivery	10-20 yuan/meal	10-30 yuan/meal
	Off-campus dining	10-20 yuan/meal	15-25 yuan/meal
	Get-togethers	20-40 yuan/meal	40-60 yuan/meal
	Total meal expenses	600-700 yuan/month	800-900 yuan/month
	Drinking water	20 yuan/month	20 yuan/month
Transportation	Xuhui-Minhang Shuttle	4 yuan/ticket
	Metro	3-7 yuan/ticket
	City bus	2-8 yuan/ticket
	Taxi	14 yuan upon entry
Textbooks	Domestic texts	30 yuan/text
	Foreign texts	60-100 yuan/text
	Imported texts	<200 yuan/text
	PPT printing costs	10 yuan/course/semester
Entertainment & Shopping	Movies	50-100 yuan/ticket
	Clothing	30-500/piece
	Mobile phones	<1200 yuan/phone
	Computers	<4000 yuan/computer

Minhang Campus, On-Campus Housing

On-Campus housing is doubtless the top choice for students when living in Minhang. Minhang campus has five apartments for international students—Buildings No. 8, 9, 10, 12, and 51. Accommodations include a single bed, a desk, a closet, a bedside table, air conditioning, a television set, and a refrigerator. The bathroom is the biggest difference among the apartments. Rooms in Buildings No. 8, 9, and 10 are not unlike hotel rooms, with their own independent bathrooms. Buildings No. 12 and 51 are suite-style dormitories. Building No. 12 consists of three-room suites with one bathroom (including two latrines and one showering unit). Building No. 51 consists of four-room suites.

Rent for Exchange Students (utilities not included)
Building	Room Type	Short-Term	Long-Term
		Less than 90 days (yuan/day/person)	Less than a semester (yuan/sem./person)	After the end of the semester
No. 8	Doubles	60	5400	Rent is calculated as short-term stays
	Singles	110	9800
No. 9	Doubles	60	5400
No. 10	Singles	105	9500
No. 12	Doubles	50	4800
	Singles	80	7000
No. 51	Doubles	50	4800

 

Rent for Degree Students (Utilities not included)
Building	Room Type	Rent (yuan/semester/person)	Notes
No. 8	Doubles	5400	For those living in the dorms for two consecutive semesters, there is no extra rental charges for the winter or summer vacation during the period. For those living in the dorms for one semester only, rent is charged according to the short-term rates for exchange students.
	Singles	9800
No. 9	Doubles	5400
No. 10	Singles	9500
No. 12	Doubles	4800
	Singles	7000
No. 51	Doubles	4800

There are coin laundries on the first floor of every building—3 yuan for the washing machines and 5 yuan for the dryers. The dormitories also have clothes lines if you prefer your laundry sun-kissed.

Internet connection is provided free-of-charge. Electricity is charged separately. Each kilowatt-hour costs 0.617 yuan. There is a monthly six-kilowatt-hour subsidy for undergraduate students.

There are fully furnished apartments for rent outside of the campus. Just walk in with your bags, and you are instantly home! For the “Beioulijing” neighborhood, rent for a two-room apartment is approximately 2000 yuan per month. The more upscale “Haodifang” asks 3500 to 4000 yuan per month for two-room apartments. Utilities bills, internet connection, and television and telephone services are charged separately.

The Xuhui Campus has two dormintory buildings: Lianxing Building and Building No. 9.

Xuhui Campus International Student Apartment

Building	Short-Term (less than 80 days) (yuan/day/person)	Long-Term (more than 80 days)
		A Semester or Less (yuan/semester/person)	Summer & Winter Vacation (yuan/semester/person)
Lianxing	Singles—120	Singles—9800	Singles—120
No. 9	Singles—130	Singles—10500	Singles—130
	Doubles—65	Doubles—4900	Doubles—65

Electricity not included. Each kilowatt-hour costs 0.617 yuan. There is a monthly six-kilowatt-hour subsidy for undergraduate students.

Located downtown, rent in the Xuhui area is comparatively higher than that in Minhang. The traditional-style two-room apartments go for around 3500 yuan per month and can be shared with two to three people. Higher-end apartments are available from 4000 yuan. Hurry up and grab a roommate!

 

---

Internet connection fees vary due to connection type (broadband or fiber optic) , bandwidth, and the service package. As a reference, your author’s fiber-optic connection charges 180 yuan per month.

 

---

The water, electricity, and natural gas bills vary according to the number of roommates, season, personal habits, and the type and efficiency of the apartment installations.

Each cubic meter of water costs 1.63 yuan. Each unit of natural gas costs 1.25 yuan. Electricity costs 0.617 yuan for every kilowatt-hour, and the 50%-off discount period starts from 10 PM to 6 AM in the next day.

As a reference, your author’s apartment currently houses three people. Monthly utilities cost 50 to 70 yuan for water, 80 to 120 yuan for electricity, and 100 to 150 yuan for natural gas.

 

---

If you are looking for an affordable meal, look no further than the school cafeteria, and Minhang Campus has five of them. At 1 to 2 yuan for a vegetable dish, 2 to 4 yuan for a meat dish, and 0.22 yuan for one liang (50 grams) of rice, a filling meal can be had at 5 to 8 yuan. Even if you are a bona fide meat-lover with an insatiable appetite, 10 yuan would be more than enough! The cafeteria also offers noodles, wanton, fried rice, chow mein, and other meal sets.

Minhang is a certified food paradise. Not only are there restaurants for every one of the “eight culinary traditions of China,” but also the Daxuelu Korean Restaurant, the Boshi BBQ, Piaoshi Korean Cuisin, Jiuzhou Ramen, and the Haijing’ge Southeastern Asian Cuisine—all of which are loved and frequented by international students. Here, the average cost per person is 20 to 40 yuan (alcoholic drinks not included). Remember to treasure your dining experience in Minhang! It won’t be so affordable anymore once you are in the Xuhui campus.

College life without food deliveries is not a complete college experience! Just order online, and your food will be on your doorsteps within thirty minutes! One meal costs 10 to 20 yuan. McDonald’s and KFC also offers delivery services for a flat fee.

 

Compared to the Minhang Campus, food at the Xuhui cafeteria costs slightly higher, but the difference is negligible. Price for a meal ranges from 5 to 8 yuan.

Students of the Antai College of Economics and Management can choose to eat at the Fahua campus. The food is more...shall we say, dull? To put it more plainly, the dishes offered are the same every day. But where else can you find three-dish meals for 6 yuan?

Xuhui campus proves to be slightly lacking when it comes to everyday off-campus dining, offering less choices and at higher prices. The street outside of the gate at Panyu Road is lined with small eateries offering traditional Shanghainese food and Yunnan rice noodle. Be ready to pay at least 12 yuan for a decent meal. Farther down the road is a Sihaiyoulong Taiwanese Fried Dumpling chain restaurant where meals cost 15 yuan or so. By the gate at West Guangyuan Road are various chain restaurants such as Yonghe King, Sukiya, and Liufumiandao. Be ready to shell out 15 to 25 yuan per meal.

You can also eat to your heart’s content for 7 to 14 yuan at the convenience stores that dot the cityscape. C-Store offers a 40% discount after 6 PM, bringing the price down to as low as 4.8 yuan and putting the school cafeteria to shame.

The Hunan and Northeastern restaurants on Panyu Road are a good choice for get-togethers with friends and for a taste of China . Average expenditure per person is 40 to 60 yuan (excluding alcoholic drinks). You can also consider Ajisen Ramen on Huashan Road(40 yuan per person), sushi-go-round restaurant Sushi Express in MetroCity (6 yuan per plate), and Pizza Hut in MetroCity (20% discount with student I.D.). If you are feeling a little ritzy, try Charme and South Memory. Your taste buds are sure to be satisfied, but be prepared to get out that hundred-yuan bill!

Well, how should I put this? There simply are not enough delivery services in Xuhui! Of course, McDonald’s, KFC, and Pizza Hut are always obvious choices.

Have you ever drunk tap water in Shanghai? If so, you are probably willing to buy filtered water! A 18.9-liter bottle of water can be delivered to your door for as low as 10 yuan; it takes one person roughly two weeks to finish.

 

---

Consider buying a Public Transportation Card. They can be used to pay for metro and bus tickets, for taxicabs, and for ferries. They can also be used in other participating cities.

 

---

Not ever course requires textbooks. Students can study from PowerPoint slides and other handouts. Should you choose to print them out, printing costs are approximately 10 yuan per class per semester.

If you opt for textbooks, domestic textbooks cost around 30 yuan. Foreign textbooks released by Chinese publishers, whether in Chinese or in the original English texts, can be purchased for 60 to 100 yuan. Imported textbooks costs 200 yuan or more.

Xueren Bookstore at Lianhua Life Center in the Minhang campus offers textbooks at a 15% discout and test-preparation material at a 20% discount. You can also shop at the used bookstore, also in Lianhua Life Center. Also consider ordering online, where texts can be found at even steeper discounts. Most online stores offer free delivery and payment-upon-delivery services.

If you are not too picky, most living necessities—toiletries, office supplies, etc.—can be purchased on campus. You can also shop at the Auchen Hypermarket by Dongchuan Road Metro Station. Expect to spend 30 yuan on average per month.

There are several supermarkets around Xuhui campus. Prices are generally high; a jar of peanut butter may go for 3 to 4 yuan more in Xuhui! Shopping online is a good way to save some money. Yihaodian.com offers free delivery for purchases of more than 100 yuan.

---

  Shopping & Entertainment