Eight Chinese cities have been recognized among the 60 most expensive cities in the world, according to the latest report by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The city of Shanghai, which ranked first among the Chinese cities, was ranked 11th in terms of cost of living. Trailing behind are Shenzhen and the capital city Beijing at the 15th and 31st places, respectively. According to the report, the cost of living in Shanghai now equals that of Tokyo, which is dubbed as Asia's most expensive city.

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According to a white-collar employee surnamed Liu, although the rent in Beijing and Shanghai are almost equal, Shanghai is more expensive in terms of dinning and transportation costs.

Other than the Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, other mainland cities on the list include Liaoning province's Dalian, Sichuan province's Chengdu, Guangdong province's Guangzhou, Jiangsu province's Suzhou and Tianjin.

Meanwhile, for the third year in a row, Singapore maintains its title as the most expensive city in the world, where the cost of living is 2.7 times higher than that of New York City, according to CNN. Tied on the second spot are Hong Kong and Zurich, with the former leaping seven places up from last year.

However, of note, in terms of basic groceries, Singapore is way cheaper than neighboring Asian cities like Seoul (which is 33 percent more costly) and Hong Kong and Tokyo (which are 28 and 26 percent, respectively, more expensive).

Meanwhile, on the other end of the list, the cheapest cities in Asia are New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.

Economist Intelligence Unit's report ranks 133 cities based on two surveys conducted twice a year. The report is based on a comparative study of the price of hundreds of products and services such as clothing, food, drink, household supplies, home rentals, utility bills, private schools, domestic help, transport and recreational expenses.  

Tagsworld's most expensive cities, Economist Intelligence Unit, expensive cities, Chinese cities, Singapore