A Travel Price Comparison for Families, Couples, and Backpackers Taiyuan vs. Arrowtown for Vacations, Tours, and Honeymoons

Should you visit Taiyuan or Arrowtown?

Which is cheaper to visit? Which is more expensive for vacation?

Which city should you visit? Read on to compare the activities as well as the prices of travel for Taiyuan and Arrowtown. We'll break down costs for accommodation, food, transportation and more to help you learn more about these two destinations. Then, you can figure out if either of these two places are accessible based on your travel budget, schedule, and interests. So, let's dig into it.

Where Should I go: Taiyuan or Arrowtown?

Taiyuan

With sleek architectural designs and blossoming businesses, this metropolis is simply brimming with invigorating excitement and once-in-a-lifetime entertainment. Despite its glimmering skyscrapers and gorgeous fountains, Taiyuan, China has an extensive history of nearly 2,500 years. During ancient China, Taiyuan, or the "Dragon City," was a major military town. Presently, this city is now one of China's most important industrial cities, producing more than half of the national coal mining output. Taiyuan is both the capital and largest city of the Shanxi province of North China. It is bounded by mountains on three of its sides, allowing this great city to be surrounded by fantastic views of its landscape. Besides its economic significance, Taiyuan also achieves tourist significance due to its plethora of landmarks and sights. Some of these attractions include Jinci Temple, Forest Park, Mengshan Giant Buddha, and Shanxi Museum. Taiyuan is also celebrated internationally for holding their annual Shanxi Taiyuan International Folk Arts Festival, a celebration held in September that hosts exhibition of fine arts, painting, paper-cutting, sculpture, drama, acrobatic and the culture of costume. With such a great deal to do in such a limited window of time, it is best to make the most Taiyuan while you visit!

Arrowtown

Historically, Arrowtown is an old gold mining town that is located on the South Island of New Zealand. The town was established during the Otago gold rush of 1862. It is very close to Queenstown, which is a very popular destination among travelers, and it is definitely worth visiting if you are in the Otago region of New Zealand. It is a very tiny town, with a population of just over 2,000 people. The town has a lot of character and history and is a perfect place to go if you wish to get out of the touristy areas like Queenstown.

For some great organized tour ideas, see The Best Budget Tours to China, The Best Tours for Seniors to China, The Best Contiki Tours to New Zealand, and The Best G Adventures Tours to New Zealand.

When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Taiyuan and Arrowtown, we can see that Arrowtown is more expensive. And not only is Taiyuan much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. Since Taiyuan is in Asia and Arrowtown is in Pacific, this is one of the main reasons why the costs are so different, as different regions of the world tend to have overall different travel costs. So, traveling to Taiyuan would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Taiyuan and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in Arrowtown would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in Arrowtown than you might in Taiyuan.

If you're trying to decide if either of these two destinations are within your price range, also see Is Taiyuan Expensive? and Is Arrowtown Expensive?.

Which is Bigger, Taiyuan or Arrowtown?

Taiyuan has a larger population, and is about 1270 times larger than the population of Arrowtown. When comparing the sizes of Taiyuan and Arrowtown, keep in mind that a larger population does not always imply the destination has more attractions or better activities. So, always research the type of place that you want to visit along with the activities and attractions that interest you.