Money in China: currency, ATMs, cards and tipping

China's currency is the yuan, written ¥ and coded CNY. Banks and apps also call it RMB (renminbi, "people's money"). One yuan divides into 10 jiao; prices in shops are almost always whole yuan, and the 1-yuan coin and 1-yuan note both circulate.

Cash is legal tender and the central bank has told merchants not to refuse it, but day-to-day China runs on QR codes. Small noodle shops, market stalls and taxis often have no change and may look puzzled if you hand over a ¥100 note for a ¥12 bowl. Carry ¥300–500 in ¥10, ¥20 and ¥50 notes as backup, and break large notes at convenience stores or chain coffee shops.

You will not need much cash. Use it for the odd vendor whose QR reader will not take a foreign card, for temple donation boxes, and for the first hour after landing before your phone is set up.

Alipay and WeChat Pay are the two payment apps that matter. Both accept foreign Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex cards, so you can pay as a visitor without a Chinese bank account. Set one up before you fly: you need your passport details, a phone number that can receive a verification code, and your card. Neither app can be fixed at the airport if the verification fails.

Fees and limits apply. Single payments over ¥200 carry a fee of about 3% on a foreign card; smaller payments are free. Per-payment and yearly caps apply too, so check the app's current terms. Link a second card as backup, and keep a third option — cash or a travel card — because a bank can block a foreign transaction while you are standing at a till.

WeChat Pay lives inside WeChat, which most travellers install anyway for messaging. Alipay has a cleaner tourist interface and a built-in translate and ride-hailing layer. Either works; many visitors set up both and use whichever the vendor's QR code prefers.

Foreign cards work at ATMs run by Bank of China, ICBC, CCB and Agricultural Bank, and at machines in international hotels and airport arrivals halls. Withdraw in yuan; if the machine offers to convert to your home currency, decline and let your bank do it, which is usually cheaper. Expect a per-withdrawal limit of a few thousand yuan and a local ATM fee plus your own bank's fee.

Visa and Mastercard are rarely accepted in ordinary shops, restaurants or supermarkets. UnionPay is the domestic card network, and a UnionPay card issued abroad will work in far more places than Visa. Contactless phone wallets loaded with a foreign card often fail at small terminals.

Exchange cash at a bank branch with your passport, or at the airport for a worse rate. Hotel desks change money but at a poor rate. Bring some clean, untorn yuan or US dollars if you are arriving late at night; the ATM queue at a big airport can be long.

Tipping is not expected in China. Restaurant bills include service, taxi meters are the fare, and hotel and tour staff are paid wages. Leaving coins on a table can cause confusion or mild offence rather than pleasure. If a hotel porter carries your bags, ¥10–20 is a kind gesture, not a requirement, and it is the one place a tip is normally understood.

Tour guides and drivers on private day trips are the exception travellers ask about most. A tip is not standard, but on a multi-day private tour some visitors give the guide ¥50–100 per day and the driver half that. Treat it as optional and never as a fee you owe.

For the wider picture, including countries where 15–20% is normal, see the tipping guide linked below.

Prices below are 2026 estimates and sit inside the site's China cost tiers: a budget day runs ¥250–400, mid-range ¥600–1,100, and comfort from ¥1,800 up. Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen are the most expensive cities; holiday weeks such as Golden Week and Spring Festival lift hotel prices 50–100%.

The single biggest saving is paying by QR rather than card, because small payments avoid the 3% foreign-card fee. The second is eating where locals eat: a bowl of noodles is ¥15–35, while a mid-range Peking duck dinner for two runs ¥250–450.

Keep your passport with you. Banks need it to exchange money, and hotels need it to register you. A photo on your phone is not enough for a bank counter.

Tell your bank you are travelling, or the first QR payment may be declined as fraud. If a payment fails, try the other app, then cash, then a different card — do not stand at the till retrying the same card.

Scams to know: a taxi driver who says the meter is broken, a "tea ceremony" invitation that ends with a large bill, and anyone offering to help you withdraw money at an ATM. Use DiDi or the metro instead of unmarked taxis, and never hand your card to a stranger.

If you run out of options, a Bank of China branch in any city will change cash or help with a card, and international hotels will usually take a foreign card for a fee.

Sort money in this order: verify Alipay or WeChat Pay with one card, add a second card, then withdraw or bring ¥300–500 in cash. Everything else — a travel card, a UnionPay card, a bank branch visit — is a backup layer.

Money is only one of the things that cannot be fixed at the airport. Check your visa or visa-free entry, install an eSIM or arrange a VPN before you fly, and confirm your vaccinations. The linked pages cover each of those.