Shanghai No Longer Most Expensive City for Expats in Asia

Shanghairen (and expats around China, for that matter) can breath a sigh of relief... for now.

In case you missed it, the Pearl of the Orient topped the 2015 list of ECA International's most expensive cities for expats in the Asia-Pacific region, with Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen falling close behind.

This year, Shanghai dropped a few spots on the list to #13 overall (and #6 in the APAC region). In contrast, it was #7 overall last year, making it the top Asian city on the list.

Meanwhile, Japanese cities dominated this year's list, with Tokyo taking the #1 spot overall, followed by Yokohama (#5), Nagoya (#7) and Osaka (#9). Shanghai also fell behind Hong Kong (#11) and Seoul (#12).

Beijing was close behind at #15 (#7 in Asia), slipping from #8 overall last year.

Down south, Guangdong's major cities also dropped in the rankings, with Guangzhou coming in at #11 in Asia (down from #6 last year), and Shenzhen at #14 in the region (down from #7 in 2015).

Ten cities in the Chinese mainland managed to land in the top 20. Macau (#13) and Taipei (#15) also made it into the top 20.

[Images via ECA International, Skyscraper Page]