China Watch Blog has learnt that Shanghai has overtaken Beijing to become the most expensive place to live on the Chinese mainland for expats and the 16th most costly of 214 cities across the globe, according to rankings released by US human resource consultants Mercer.
Many Chinese cities are becoming more expensive due to a stronger yuan, soaring accommodation costs and steadily rising prices last year, Mercer said.
Shanghai is one place above Beijing on the global ranking list, with the cities climbing five and three places respectively from a year earlier.
Shenzhen, an economic center in southern China, rose to 30th place from 43rd in 2011.
Guangzhou City climbed seven places to rank 31st.
Other Chinese cities where the cost of living has risen sharply were Qingdao, Tianjin, Shenyang, Nanjing and Chengdu. All below the top 100 last year, they have now made it into 2012′s top 100.
Shanghai and Beijing also overtook South Korean capital Seoul (22nd, down three places) among major Asian cities.
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