China is honestly light years ahead of the US. I live in one of the most expensive cities in the US and am here on vacation for a month traveling through China and it is insane how far ahead of us they are. From the high speed rail system that I have been using to go from city to city, the absolute cleanliness everywhere, no crime, no worry about getting pick pocketed/mugged, nice friendly people, no homelessness, no tent cities, affordable/cheap prices for food and basic necessities. Every little town I pass I the high speed line had massive construction going on from high density apartments to infrastructure. Honestly the only complaints I have is that the entire country is hot as balls right now and the food situation is a bit rough as a person who's both vegan and a somewhat picky eater, they only seem to have mainly Chinese food everywhere and as good as it is I need some variety in my diet and it is hard finding all vegan places as well.
I honestly I have now come to realize that the reason we are so strongly propagandized against China in the US is that it would break the average Americans brain if you saw how well they are living here compared to the absolute under-devoloped shit we put up with in the US.
Ask me any questions you have and I can also post pics if interested!
How much did you budget? Id like to visit eventually for a week or two but I have no idea on the cost. Ive never left the US.
$1k for a week and you can live like a fucking emperor.
I spend about 15-20 quid a day. Hotel rooms are around 15 quid a night and they are plush.
I eat at all the street markets and local places though, so if you go to fancy restaurants you will see that daily budget go up.
We don't have a budget (I know I'm lucky), but food/cabs/most stuff is super cheap. Can get a good meal for around $5 us, a DiDi (China Uber) from the train stations to our hotels have typically been around $7 for ~30 min trips and most museums and attractions we've been to have been under $10/person.