you people realize that shanghai has world-class cost of living? like people there probably make 30k+ just to live there, but the rural, who aren't even allowed to consider living in shanghai bring that average down again. this avg without noting the median is about as misleading as saying people in america all make 80k. (this is household income so divide by avg household size 1.7 or whatever)

the ai had older data but it proves the point: "While the average disposable income for urban residents in 2019 was approximately 39,244 CNY (roughly $5,800 USD), rural residents earned significantly less at 14,389 CNY (roughly $2,100 USD)"

It’s worth mentioning that the economic numbers reported from China about China are not terribly trustworthy.