Many foreign viewers are curious about the real cost and living experience of renting an apartment in ordinary Chinese cities. In this post, I will share my authentic shared apartment life in Changsha, showing what budget rental housing truly looks like for regular young people in China.
I live in a large residential complex with 14 high-rise buildings and around 9,000 residents. Just like most modern Chinese communities, it requires facial recognition to enter. My personal bedroom is only 8 ㎡ (86 sq ft) with no air conditioner, which explains its affordable rent of $120 (€110) per month. For comparison, renting the entire apartment alone costs roughly $300 (€276) monthly.
This shared rental has many unique local rules. Surprisingly, tenants need to pay an extra $30 (€28) monthly to use the dining area and living room, a rare regulation in China. My roommate and I choose to skip this extra fee and only pass through these spaces. The apartment features typical Chinese living details, including an enclosed balcony for natural clothes drying, shared kitchen tools, and a dry-wet separated bathroom that even welcomes the landlord’s stray cat.
This simple, low-budget rental home fully presents the ordinary daily life of young renters in Changsha. It is not luxurious, but it carries real and down-to-earth daily moments.
For a full visual tour of my shared apartment and more unique Chinese rental details, please watch the video below.

What surprises you about Chinese rental rules? Have you run into any absurd rental rules or weird incidents while renting? How much does one small room like this cost to rent where you live?

Written by Li. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 International License.
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