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[bendan]

There are certainly expensive bars and restaurants in Beijing, but there are also plenty with more reasonable prices. For a given type/quality of bar (hard to compare, I know) I don't find Beijing much more expensive than Tianjin. Rents, on the other hand, are significantly different.

I think the problem with living in Beijing or Shanghai on a modest wage is that there are quite a lot of expensive places to hang out, and if you're young and sociable you'll probably end up in them, at least now and again. In other cities in China they are few and far between. That's why it's hard to compare the cost of living in Beijing with the cost of living in provincial cities. For the same standard of living I think Beijing would only cost me about an extra 1500RMB a month (mainly in rent), but because of the increased opportunities to spend money I'd need at least 3,000RMB more a month.