Hiring an ayi in Shanghai: what to pay, where to find one and how to do it right

Short answer: a part-time ayi in Shanghai typically costs RMB 40–60 an hour and a full-time one for an expat family RMB 8,000–12,000 a month, and the best ones come through personal recommendations, with a trial period and everything agreed in writing.

The short version

• "Ayi" (阿姨) means auntie. It's the everyday word for a housekeeper, cleaner, cook or nanny.
• The Shanghai government's own guide quotes RMB 40–60 an hour part-time and RMB 8,000–12,000 a month full-time, with more for English, infant care or cooking skills [1].
• Agencies pre-screen candidates and usually charge a one-off fee of half to a full month's pay on a one-year contract [1].
• Write down hours, duties, pay, days off and the Chinese New Year arrangement before day one.
• Shanghai's domestic service regulation has applied since 1 May 2020 and aims to formalise the industry, but most family arrangements are still informal [4].

What an ayi actually does

At home in Australia, a fortnightly cleaner is a treat. In Shanghai, plenty of expat households, and plenty of local ones, have regular help. A Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce survey found over a third of the city's eight million-plus families used or needed domestic services [4]. It isn't a status symbol. With small kitchens, wet markets, humid summers and long working hours, it's just how many households run.

Most arrangements fall into one of these:

Many expat-style compounds in Jinqiao, Gubei and Huacao have a small room designed for a live-in ayi. If you're renting with a full-time helper in mind, check for one.

What to pay in Shanghai

The city government's guide to finding an ayi gives these ranges [1]:

Those figures were published in 2022 and 2023 [1][2], and we couldn't find a newer official survey, so treat them as a floor for 2026 and ask around. For comparison, Shanghai's legal minimum wage rose on 1 July 2025 to RMB 2,740 a month for full-time work and RMB 25 an hour for part-time work [3]. Ayi rates for expat families sit well above that.

What pushes pay up:

• English or another foreign language
• experience with expat families, with references to prove it
• childcare, especially babies
• cooking skills, particularly Western dishes
• long or unpredictable hours, or a big flat
• a long commute; many ayis live in outer districts

Pay is usually monthly for full-timers and per visit for part-timers, by WeChat Pay, Alipay or bank transfer. Keep a record, even if it's informal.

Finding the right person

The city's guide lists four routes [1]:

1. Personal recommendations. The classic route. When an expat family leaves Shanghai, their ayi usually needs a new household, and you inherit someone with references and a track record.
2. Agencies. They pre-screen candidates against your requirements. Contact several and compare. Agencies usually charge a one-off fee when you sign a one-year contract, from half a month's pay to a full month or more, and some include insurance for the ayi [1].
3. Your neighbourhood committee. The local residents' committee often knows reliable ayis in the compound [1].
4. Hospital staff. For newborn help, doctors and nurses can often recommend experienced carers [1].

Ayis who've worked with expat families often carry reference letters or housekeeping training certificates [2]. Ask to see them, and call the previous family if you can.

Questions to ask at interview

• Which districts have you worked in, and for how long with each family?
• What do you cook? Can you show us on a trial day?
• Are you comfortable with our dog or cat?
• Can you do school pick-ups, and are you comfortable with kids in the flat alone?
• How do you get here, and how long does it take?
• What do you expect for Chinese New Year and holidays?

If your Mandarin is shaky, bring a Chinese-speaking friend or colleague. Translation apps work for daily instructions, but not for agreeing pay.

Agree it in writing: the setup checklist

Most problems we hear about come from things nobody said out loud. Before the first day:

1. Do a paid trial. A week or two lets both sides check the fit.
2. Write a simple agreement. Bilingual is ideal. Include hours, duties, pay, payment date, days off, notice period and what happens when you travel.
3. Agree holidays. China's public holidays include Spring Festival and National Day Golden Week. Decide whether those are paid days off.
4. Settle Chinese New Year. A bonus (often in a red envelope, hongbao) before Spring Festival is the norm in Shanghai. Ask your agency or other families what's usual for your arrangement, and agree it up front so nobody is guessing in January.
5. Plan for your trips home. If you spend six weeks in Australia over Christmas, will you pay full rate, half rate or nothing? Many ayis rely on steady income, and unpaid gaps are a common reason good ones move on.
6. Agree overtime. Babysitting on a Saturday night is extra, at a rate you settle now.
7. Cover sick days. Decide what happens if the ayi is ill or you need emergency cover.

Keys, money and trust

Handing a stranger your front door can feel odd. A few habits help:

• Digital locks. Many Shanghai flats have keypad or fingerprint locks. Give your ayi a personal code you can delete later, rather than a physical key.
• Household cash. For shopping, use a separate small float or reimburse against receipts.
• Valuables. Passports, cash and jewellery go in a lockable drawer, as they would with any service worker.
• House rules. Write them down: what's off limits, kids' screen time, allergies, pet feeding.
• Emergency contacts. Make sure your ayi has your number, a backup contact and your building management's number. In an emergency, it's 120 for an ambulance and 110 for police.

Treat the relationship as a professional one with warmth. Ayis talk to each other, and families known for being fair find good help easily.

The legal basics

China's rules are different from what Australians know at home, where hiring someone in your house can make you an employer with payroll, super and workers' compensation obligations.

• It's usually a private arrangement. Chinese labour law is built around employers such as companies and organisations. A family hiring an ayi directly is generally treated as a private service arrangement, not a formal company employment contract. An agency contract adds a third party who's responsible for screening and, often, insurance [1].
• Shanghai's regulation. The Shanghai domestic service regulation took effect on 1 May 2020 to raise standards: training, better access to public services for domestic workers, and a path to local residency for eligible workers from other provinces [4]. It's aimed mostly at agencies and the industry, and it signals that the city wants the sector more formal.
• Insurance. Ask whether the agency's package includes accident insurance for the ayi, and if not, consider buying it [1]. Check your own home contents and liability cover too.
• No foreign helper scheme. Unlike Hong Kong or Singapore, mainland China has no special visa for foreign domestic helpers. Bringing a helper from another country to work for you without the right permit would be illegal working, and that can mean fines, detention and deportation for the worker and fines for whoever hired them. Local law applies to you in China whatever passport you hold.

If an agency is involved, read its contract closely: replacement guarantees if the match doesn't work, the refund policy on the fee, and who handles disputes.

Mistakes we see Aussies make

• Skipping the trial. One week costs little and saves months of awkwardness.
• Leaving New Year to chance. It's the one date every ayi is thinking about.
• Not paying during long trips home. You may come back to an empty flat and a new search.
• Under-explaining. Show exactly how you want things done in the first fortnight.
• Letting the arrangement drift. Review duties and pay each year, the same way you'd expect your own employer to.

Looking for a recommendation, or passing on your ayi before you head home? Post in Cooee China, our Facebook group for Australians in China (join here).

Sources

1. Guide to finding an ayi (domestic helper) in Shanghai – Shanghai Municipal People's Government
2. Shanghai living: hiring an ayi – City News Service (2022)
3. Shanghai raises minimum wage in 2025 – China Briefing
4. Shanghai's upcoming regulation to benefit domestic workers – China Daily (2020)

Keep reading

• Renting in Shanghai as an Australian
• Cost of living in Shanghai vs Sydney and Melbourne
• International schools in Shanghai: foreign-passport schools and fees
• The inner move: what moving abroad does to a family