Practicalities
Paying for things without a Chinese bank account
This used to be the hardest part of visiting China. It was solved in 2023, and the solution takes fifteen minutes — but only if you do it before you leave home.
Do this at home. Card binding sometimes requires an SMS verification from your bank, and your bank's fraud system is far happier when the request comes from your usual country and network. Travellers who wait until they land routinely spend their first evening locked out.
The setup, in order
- Install Alipay. It has the better English interface and broader foreign-card support. Register with your normal phone number — international numbers work.
- Complete identity verification. You will photograph your passport. Do it early; approval is usually minutes but can take a day.
- Bind a Visa, Mastercard or Amex. Alipay charges the merchant, not you, on small transactions. Above roughly 200 RMB expect a service fee of about 3%.
- Install WeChat Pay as a backup. Same card-binding capability. A handful of merchants take only one of the two, so carrying both removes a whole category of problem.
- Test with a real payment. Top up your own phone credit or buy something tiny in-app while you still have support options at home.
What each method is actually good for
| Method | Works where | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Alipay / WeChat Pay | Effectively everywhere: street stalls, taxis, metro, restaurants, museums | ~3% fee above 200 RMB; needs working mobile data |
| Foreign credit card | International hotels, department stores, airport shops, some chains | Widely declined at independent restaurants and anything small |
| Cash | Legally must be accepted everywhere; practical in rural areas and with older vendors | Staff often have no change; some younger cashiers have genuinely never handled it |
| Foreign ATM card | Bank of China and ICBC ATMs generally accept Visa/Mastercard | Withdrawal caps and your home bank's foreign fees |
Things that surprise people
Carry a few hundred RMB anyway
Not because you will need it often, but because a dead phone battery becomes a genuine emergency when the phone is also your wallet. Two hundred RMB in small notes covers a taxi and a meal.
Your payment app is also your ID for everything else
Metro tickets, bike rentals, museum bookings, restaurant menus and hospital appointments are all mini-programs inside Alipay or WeChat. Setting up payment is really setting up access to the whole system.
Tipping is not expected
Restaurants, taxis and hotels do not expect tips, and staff may chase you down the street to return money you left. Service charges appear only at high-end and international venues.