# Monthly Apartments and Serviced Residences in Beijing: A Long-Stay Guide > Staying in Beijing for a month or more? Here's how monthly rentals, serviced apartments, and extended-stay residences compare — with real costs, paperwork, and booking tips. _Category: longstay · Reading time: 6 min read_ A week in a hotel is easy. A month is different — you'll want space to cook, a washing machine, and a price that doesn't shred your budget. Beijing has a deep market for monthly stays, from internationally branded serviced residences to ordinary one-bedroom apartments leased directly from landlords. This guide explains how each option works, what things realistically cost, and the paperwork you'll face as a foreigner. Prices shift with season and location, so treat every figure here as a starting point and [verify before travel]. ## Your Three Main Options For stays of one to six months, most foreigners in Beijing choose one of three routes. Each has trade-offs in price, flexibility, and hassle. - **Serviced apartments** — Hotel-style buildings with weekly housekeeping, front desk, and often a gym and pool. Studio or one-bedroom units typically run roughly CNY 12,000–25,000+ per month (about USD 1,700–3,500+), depending on brand and district. Most flexible for foreigners — short leases, English-speaking staff, and no landlord negotiation. [verify before travel] - **Ordinary monthly rentals** — A one-bedroom apartment in a residential compound in Chaoyang or Haidian often costs CNY 5,000–10,000 per month (about USD 700–1,400). Cheaper, but leases are usually one year; month-to-month terms exist mainly through agents or sublets and can be informal. [verify before travel] - **Co-living / branded shared housing** — Companies operate furnished rooms with shared kitchens and cleaning, often on flexible one- to three-month terms around CNY 4,000–8,000 (about USD 550–1,100). Good for meeting people; less privacy. [verify before travel] ## Paperwork: What Foreigners Need China's rental process involves more registration than most Westerners expect. None of it is difficult, but you should know the steps before you sign. - **Passport and visa** — Landlords and agents will want your passport; long-stay residents typically hold a work or study residence permit rather than a short tourist visa. Confirm your visa type permits a long stay before signing anything. [verify before travel] - **Police registration** — Every foreigner staying in a private rental must register their address at the local police station, usually within 24 hours of moving in. Hotels do this automatically; apartments do not. Your landlord or agent typically accompanies you. [verify before travel] - **Deposit and payment habits** — Standard terms are 'deposit one, pay three' — one month's rent as deposit plus three months' rent upfront. Negotiating monthly payment is possible but less common. Get an official receipt (fapiao) if your employer reimburses housing. [verify before travel] - **Agency fees** — Using an agent usually costs roughly half to one month's rent as a fee. Some serviced residences waive agency fees entirely — one reason they're popular for stays under three months. [verify before travel] ## Where Long-Stay Foreigners Live Choosing a district matters more than choosing a building. Base yourself near your workplace or school — Beijing commutes can easily exceed an hour each way. - **Chaoyang (Sanlitun / CBD area)** — The expat heartland: international restaurants, Western supermarkets, and most serviced residences. Convenient but the priciest area — expect a premium of 20–40% over comparable units elsewhere. [verify before travel] - **Haidian (Wudaokou / Zhongguancun)** — University district, popular with students and academics. Cheaper, youthful, and packed with cheap food — but quieter nightlife and older housing stock. [verify before travel] - **Dongcheng and Xicheng** — Central hutong neighborhoods close to the Forbidden City. Atmospheric and central, though apartments here are often small, renovated courtyard units rather than modern towers. [verify before travel] ## Sanlitun Village Area, Chaoyang The classic choice for first-time long-stay visitors. You'll walk to coffee shops, international dining, and two metro lines, and serviced residences here routinely offer monthly rates with utilities and housekeeping bundled in. The trade-off is noise on weekends and the highest rents in the city. - Metro: Served by Lines 10 and 17 in the area — confirm the closest station and exit to your specific building [verify before travel] - Opening hours: N/A for rentals; leasing offices typically open around 9:00–18:00 daily [verify before travel] - Tickets: Monthly rents commonly CNY 12,000–25,000 (USD 1,700–3,500) for serviced studios [verify before travel] - How long: Best for stays of 1–6 months ## Wudaokou, Haidian Ringed by Tsinghua and Peking University, Wudaokou is where students and young professionals land. Expect simpler buildings, lower rents, excellent cheap food, and a big international student community. Agents here are used to shorter-term foreign tenants. - Metro: Line 13, Wudaokou station — confirm transfer options on current maps [verify before travel] - Opening hours: N/A for rentals; agent offices generally operate daytime hours [verify before travel] - Tickets: One-bedroom rentals often CNY 5,000–9,000/month (USD 700–1,250) [verify before travel] - How long: Best for stays of 3–12 months ## Guomao / CBD, Chaoyang Beijing's financial district, where corporate-serviced residences cluster. If your employer is placing you here, buildings offer one-stop leasing with English contracts, gyms, and shuttle awareness of business hours. Rents run high, but everything works and move-in is painless. - Metro: Lines 1 and 10 intersect at Guomao station [verify before travel] - Opening hours: N/A for rentals; serviced residence front desks operate 24 hours [verify before travel] - Tickets: Serviced one-bedrooms commonly CNY 15,000–30,000/month (USD 2,100–4,200) [verify before travel] - How long: Best for corporate stays of 1–12 months ## Related Beijing guides If you found this useful, these cover the next question most visitors ask: - **Long Stays & Business** — /guides/beijing-official-information-sources-policy-verification/ - **Where to Stay** — /guides/beijing-long-stay-monthly-hotel-rates-negotiation/ - **Payments** — /guides/beijing-long-stay-sim-bank-wechat-alipay/ ## Practical Tips for Booking and Living - **Book the first week, then shop in person** — Photos mislead. Many long-stayers book one to two weeks in a serviced residence, then view apartments in person before committing to a longer lease. [verify before travel] - **Check heating and winter air** — Beijing winters are cold (often well below freezing) and heating seasons and systems vary by building. Ask whether heating is central, included in rent, and when it turns on — usually around November 15. [verify before travel] - **Set up payments early** — Most landlords and utilities run on Alipay or WeChat Pay. Set up a linked international card before arrival; cash is rarely accepted for rent. [verify before travel] - **Read the contract in both languages** — Ask for a bilingual contract and get any promises (repairs, furniture, early-exit terms) written in, not just spoken. [verify before travel] - **Mind the leasing calendar** — Summer (June–August) is peak season due to students; prices rise and good units go fast. Winter and after Chinese New Year are quieter. [verify before travel] ## Where to stay **KOULING Ruiyue Hotel** — 5m from Guogongzhuang Metro Station · 9.6/10 · US$26 View hotel: https://12001.net/hotels/ruiyue/ If you're testing the waters before committing to a lease, the Ruiyue hotel is a sensible bridge. Its rooms offer the space, housekeeping, and predictable billing you need during your apartment hunt, and the team can point you toward nearby neighborhoods that suit a monthly budget — so you land in Beijing with a base, then choose your long-term home on the ground. --- Source: https://12001.net/guides/monthly-apartments-serviced-residences-beijing/ © KOULING Hotels