Business magazine The Economist's consulting arm ranked 133 cities around the world on living cost.

Singapore remains the world's most expensive city in 2018, followed by Paris and Zurich.

Hong Kong ranked fourth on the list, making it China's most expensive city for the third consecutive year.

On the latest list, Dalian on China's northeastern coast has surpassed Beijing in living costs.

The 10 most expensive Chinese cities are Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Dalian, Beijing, Taipei, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Tianjin and Suzhou.

The Economist Intelligence Unit said the ranking draws upon a comprehensive underlying data set, including over 400 individual price points across 160 goods and services in these cities, and it provides a reference to expatriates and business travelers.

The ranking considers housing rent cost, but housing cost on purchase, a huge portion of living costs for local people, is excluded. This is one reason why Dalian's living cost is higher than Beijing's.