Living in Chengdu as an International Student (Costs)

Sichuan University is a major destination with housing managed through its Overseas Students Office (official). UESTC is a top electronics university with CSC Type B listed under agency 10614 (official). Chengdu University of Technology is strong in geosciences and reports agency 10616 (official).

Profiles to start with include Sichuan University, CDUT, and the full university directory.

Sichuan University lists official dorm rates around:

• Jiang'an quad: ¥4,500 per person per year
• Jiang'an triple: ¥6,000 per person per year (about ¥375 to ¥500 per month with allowances)
• Wangjiang singles: ¥50 to ¥52 per day

(official accommodation page).

These rates are materially lower than Hangzhou's ZJU single-campus reference of around ¥24,000 per year, and they are a strong reason many scholarship students prefer Chengdu in budget planning.

Off-campus (Numbeo June 2026): 1-bedroom outside the center around ¥1,500 to ¥2,900, and shared room around ¥900 to ¥1,700 (derived estimate).

City-level crowdsourced data puts a single resident outside rent around ¥3,200/month in Chengdu (Numbeo Chengdu).

For CSC students with canteen access, a more realistic monthly budget is:

• canteen meals: around ¥8 to ¥15
• cheap restaurant meals: around ¥15 to ¥30
• gym: around ¥182
• cinema: around ¥40

A practical dorm-based monthly budget is usually about ¥1,200 to ¥1,900, which fits inside CSC stipends at all levels.

Chengdu Metro has 17 lines and about 721 km, with 447 stations (Chengdu Metro). Fares are around ¥2 to ¥9, and the Tianfu Tong card gives a 10% discount for metro and bus rides (guide).

Dockless bikes are common and often around ¥1.5 to ¥2 per half hour. There is no verified universal student metro discount for international university students, so budget full fares unless your school announces an exception.

Chengdu has a strong student life profile. The panda base ticket is around ¥55 for adults, with child rates around ¥27 (ticket page).

Heming Teahouse in People's Park has tea pricing around ¥20 to ¥50, and Sichuan hotpot is a central food habit. The city's halal cluster around Huangcheng Mosque has nearby halal options for Muslim students (halal food list, and our Muslim students guide).

The local job ecosystem includes technology and gaming firms. Tencent's TiMi Studios is a major employer name in game production, while Tianfu Software Park is a visible industry context (TiMi overview).

Climate is commonly described as damp and cloudy with mild winters and hot summers, and residents note low sunshine relative to many other cities.

The MOE policy from 2022 sets part-time windows at 8 hours per week and 40 hours per month in term, and up to 16 hours per week or 80 hours in vacations. Off-campus work still needs at least one year of enrollment, school filing, and residence permit annotation within around 10 days, with a MOE link in the official policy page. The same rule applies to this city (MOE policy).

Chengdu Government Scholarship (Sister Cities program) is listed at ¥20,000 per year for bachelor's (SWJTU official page). Reports for master's and doctoral levels are inconsistent in publicly shared pages, so treat those amounts as requiring university confirmation.

We also see a Chengdu Belt and Road scholarship route and Sichuan Provincial Government Scholarship, but university channels vary, so verify in-applicability with your admission office before applying for multiple awards.

For city-level planning across candidates, the $50 shortlisting session compares total costs and scholarship options across Chengdu, Hangzhou, and hidden-gem city alternatives.

*CSC Path is an independent educational resource, not affiliated with the China Scholarship Council.*