How much does it cost to travel to Lanzhou? (2026)
Budget, mid-range and luxury daily estimates for Lanzhou, in USD and CNY.
Daily and weekly costs
| Tier | Per day (USD) | Per day (CNY) | 7 days (USD) | 7 days (CNY) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BudgetHostel bed, cheap meals, public transport | $45 | CN¥320 | $315 | CN¥2,300 |
| Mid-rangeThree-star hotel, restaurants, some taxis | $110 | CN¥790 | $770 | CN¥5,500 |
| LuxuryFour- or five-star hotel, dining out | $235 | CN¥1,700 | $1,645 | CN¥12,000 |
Every amount in this table is an estimateestimate, derived from the World Bank price level for China rather than quoted by any seller.
How this is calculated
A US baseline of 90, 210 and 450 USD a day for the three tiers is multiplied by the price level of China (0.472567178053175, World Bank 2025) and by a city-size factor of 1.1, then rounded to the nearest 5 dollars. Local amounts use the World Bank exchange rate of 7.18984737402171 CNY to the dollar, rounded to two significant digits.
These are modeled estimates, not quoted prices. Read the full formula on the methodology page.
Sample prices in Lanzhou
Typical prices, every one an estimateestimate rather than a quoted price.
Budget guesthouse room, per night
estimate for a simple private room, consistent with the $45 daily budget tier
$18
Local casual meal
estimate for a simple noodle or rice dish at a local eatery
$6
Mid-range restaurant dinner
estimate for a sit-down meal with drinks, fitting the $110 mid-range tier
$15
Public transit ride (bus or metro)
estimate for a single one-way fare
$1
Café coffee
estimate for a standard coffee at a casual café
$3
Museum or attraction entry
estimate for a typical single-site admission ticket
$8
Prepaid local SIM card with data
estimate for a short-stay data plan
$10
Short taxi ride
estimate for a brief in-city trip, relevant to the luxury $235 daily tier
$4
Where the money goes
At the budget level of $45 a day, most spending goes toward simple lodging, inexpensive local meals, and public transportation. The mid-range tier of $110 a day adds more comfortable rooms and sit-down restaurant meals, while the luxury tier of $235 a day shifts spending toward taxis, higher-end dining, and pricier attractions; over a full week these tiers add up to $315, $770, and $1,645 respectively.
The cheapest time to visit is the off-season stretch of January, February, and March, when cold weather keeps both prices and visitor numbers down. All figures here are estimates meant to give a general sense of costs rather than fixed prices, and actual spending will vary by traveler and by specific choices made during the trip.
Cheapest months by climate demand: Jan, Feb and Mar.
Keep reading
More on Lanzhou
Sources
- GeoNames city database — CC BY 4.0, fetched September 14, 2026
- World Bank price level and exchange rate — CC BY 4.0, data year 2025
AI-written interpretation reviewed against the data above — claude-sonnet-5, generated September 21, 2026. Every number on this page comes from a dataset named here; the formulas are public.