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Money in China, sorted.
A calm, current plan for the money side of your trip: why your phone matters more than your wallet, how to set up the pay apps before you land, the cash worth carrying, and the two things first-timers forget, a visa and a way past the Great Firewall.
The way visitors pay in China has changed fast. Since late 2023, Alipay and WeChat Pay have let foreign travelers link an international Visa or Mastercard without a Chinese bank account, and in 2026 the limit was raised to about 35,000 CNY (roughly 5,000 dollars) per transaction after identity verification. Set both apps up before you fly. And from 1 February 2026, China began enforcing penalties on shops that refuse cash, so yuan is a reliable backup again, even though almost everyone pays by phone.
The three things people ask
Will my card work? Do I need cash? Are ATMs easy?
The quick read for a first trip.
Your phone
This is how you pay
Alipay and WeChat Pay are how China pays, and both now take a linked foreign Visa or Mastercard with passport and face verification, no Chinese bank account. You either scan a merchant's QR code or show your own to be scanned. Set up both apps before you fly, since one can be accepted where the other is not.
How to set them up →Cash
A useful backup
Almost everyone pays by phone, but yuan still works, and from February 2026 shops face penalties for refusing it. Carry some small notes for tiny vendors, temples, markets and rural areas, and expect that change for large notes can be scarce.
How much to bring →Your card
Mainly for hotels
Foreign Visa and Mastercard work at international hotels, big retailers and major attractions, but are hit or miss at small local places. Bank of China and ICBC ATMs dispense yuan for a fee. Bring a card mostly as a hotel and ATM backup, and choose to be charged in yuan, not dollars.
See low-fee cards →Cash or card
Your phone does most of the paying. Keep some yuan as a backup, and a card for hotels.
A rough feel for everyday spending. Alipay and WeChat Pay, linked to a foreign card, cover almost everything from street food to metro gates. Cash is a legal, useful backup, especially at small vendors, temples and in rural areas, and a physical card is mainly for hotels and big stores.
See what the trip really costs →Your money plan
Four steps and you're set.
Before you go
- Set up both Alipay and WeChat Pay and link a foreign Visa or Mastercard. It needs passport and face verification that can take time, so do it at home, not at a turnstile.
- Apply for your tourist (L) visa in advance at a Chinese Visa Application Service Center. A normal round trip needs one; budget roughly 185 to 250 dollars all in.
- Buy a roaming eSIM (Airalo, Nomad or Holafly) so Google, Maps and WhatsApp work the moment you land. Do not plan around a VPN.
- Bring a card for hotels, tell your bank you are traveling, and plan to pull a little yuan from an ATM on arrival rather than buying it at home.
At the airport
- Your eSIM should already be working, so check Maps and WhatsApp load before you leave the terminal.
- If you want cash, use a Bank of China or ICBC ATM and take out enough for a few days.
- Open Alipay or WeChat and add the local metro card or ride pass in-app so the subway is a simple scan.
- Keep your passport handy for your hotel check-in and any SIM or refund steps.
Day to day
- Pay by phone almost everywhere: scan the merchant code or show yours, for food, shops, taxis and the metro.
- Keep small yuan notes for tiny vendors, temples and rural stops.
- Use a card for hotels and big stores, and Didi for taxis.
- You need a data connection to pay by QR, so keep your eSIM topped up.
A golden rule
- Do the setup at home. Link Alipay and WeChat Pay to your card and buy a roaming eSIM before you fly, because behind the Great Firewall you cannot download a VPN or easily fix a payment app that will not verify.
- On a physical card, choose yuan (CNY), not dollars. If a hotel or shop terminal offers to charge in your home currency, decline, so your own bank sets the rate.
Staying connected
Will my phone work here? And what will it cost?
This is the one thing to sort before you land. On a Chinese SIM or Wi-Fi, the Great Firewall blocks Google, Google Maps, Gmail, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, and VPNs became unreliable after a crackdown in 2026, so do not plan around one. The reliable fix is a roaming travel eSIM (Airalo, Nomad or Holafly), set up before you land: it routes your data through a network outside mainland China, so Google, WhatsApp and Maps work normally, and so do the Chinese apps you need like WeChat, Alipay and Didi. Apple Maps also works. Coverage is strong in the cities and along the high-speed rail, and thinner in remote areas. Because you need a connection to pay by QR code, keep the eSIM topped up. Most hotels have Wi-Fi, but it sits behind the same firewall, so your eSIM is what keeps your usual apps working. The cost is where people get caught out, and on most US plans it lands in one of two buckets.
Your plan may already include it
Often, do nothing
Some US plans include slow data abroad at no extra cost. If that is you, the honest move is to leave it alone.
we earn nothing
Or it charges quietly, after the fact
The bill lands later
On pay-per-use plans the cost runs in the background while you travel, and the charge can show up weeks after you are home. Forgetting to switch off data roaming is the classic one. For a week or more, an eSIM is usually cheaper and keeps you in control.
Check what your own carrier charges before the trip, not after.
If an eSIM is the cheaper call, Nomad covers China.
Get your Nomad eSIM for China→(opens in a new tab)we may earn a commissionMedical cover
The one cost with no price tag.
Every other number on this page has a price you can look up. This one does not, and it can be the largest of them all. Most US health plans cover little or nothing once you leave the country, and Medicare covers essentially none of it abroad. A serious illness or injury is paid up front, and a medical evacuation runs from tens of thousands of dollars to past $100,000 if you are remote or an ocean from home.
First, you may not need to buy anything.
A cheap, refundable trip close to home does not need this. And if you are healthy, headed somewhere with good care, and one of the premium cards on the shortlist above already includes emergency medical and evacuation, you may be covered already. Check your card's benefits guide before you buy. Saying that costs us the commission, and it is still the right call.
How much cover matters here
Care in the main cities is good, but costs add up and reaching top care from a remote spot takes time, so it is worth a real look for a trip here.
If you do want cover, this is what it is for: the evacuation and the up-front hospital bill, the part no card limit is meant to absorb.
Enough for most trips
Faye, or a comparable whole-trip policy
Bundles trip protection with emergency medical, which is enough cover for most travelers on a typical trip.
The deeper end
A dedicated travel-medical plan built for serious care and evacuation abroad
Stronger on medical care and evacuation, for a remote or higher-risk trip where that is the real exposure.
If it happens
Call it first, then call your insurer's 24/7 assistance line, which is what confirms payment and arranges an evacuation. China uses separate emergency numbers, with no single 911: 120 for an ambulance, 110 for police and 119 for fire. All are free and work from any phone, including a foreign SIM, but dispatchers mostly speak Mandarin, so ask a local to call if you can. For anything not life-threatening, a taxi or Didi is often faster than an ambulance.
TrueTripCosts explains the gap and points to options. It does not set your coverage amounts or act as your insurance advisor, and every policy carries its own exclusions, so read them before you buy. Emergency number checked Jul 2026. Confirm the current number before you travel, as local lines can change.
Currency basics
The yuan, and why your phone matters more.
Your phone is the wallet
Alipay and WeChat Pay run daily life in China, and since late 2023 both let foreign visitors link an international Visa or Mastercard with just a passport and a face scan, no Chinese bank account. Set both up before you fly, since acceptance varies and one can work where the other fails.
Quick conversion
About 6.8 yuan (CNY), also called renminbi or RMB, to 1 US dollar in 2026, so 100 yuan is roughly 15 dollars and a 30 yuan noodle lunch is about 4 to 5 dollars. Prices include 13% VAT.
Cash is a backup, not the default
Almost everyone pays by phone, but cash still works, and from February 2026 shops face penalties for refusing it. Carry some small yuan notes for tiny vendors, temples and rural areas, though change for large notes can be scarce.
Physical cards, mainly for hotels
Foreign Visa and Mastercard work at international hotels, big retailers and major attractions, but are hit or miss at small local places. Bank of China and ICBC ATMs dispense yuan for a fee. Bring a card mostly as a hotel and ATM backup.
Real exchange rate
What your money is really worth here.
This is the mid-market rate, the one the banks trade at and the yardstick every other rate is measured against. Your card lands a little below it, and if a screen ever offers to bill you in dollars, that is worse again. So this is the number to expect, and how you spot a bad one.
1 US dollar is about 6.78 CNY
Taxes and the tourist refund
A 13% VAT in the price, and a departure refund on shopping.
China keeps everyday tax simple: prices include a 13% VAT on most goods, and there is no nightly tourist tax to hand over, though upscale hotels and restaurants may add a service charge. If you shop, you can claim a departure VAT refund: for 13% VAT goods the refund rate is about 11%, and after a roughly 2% agency fee you keep close to 8 to 11%. Since 2025 many stores offer an instant refund at checkout, paid to your Alipay, WeChat or card with a small hold placed on the card, and the minimum spend was lowered to 200 yuan in one store on the same day. You still make a quick stop at the airport customs desk on the way out, keep the goods unused, and leave within 90 days of the purchase.
Fees and taxes to double-check
The numbers most likely to change.
These are the fees and taxes that move on political timelines, so we track each one on its own. Every line shows the amount, whether it is in effect yet, the date we last checked it, and a primary source where a clean one exists.
Tourist (L) visa for US citizens
Required for a normal round trip, roughly 185 to 250 dollars all in, applied for in advance
240-hour visa-free transit
Up to 10 days without a visa only if continuing to a third country, via a designated port
Before you book: passports, the six-month rule and whether you need a visa. Not a US citizen, or connecting through Europe? The rules can differ, and even a layover can need its own visa. See our passports and visas guide →
Watch out for
The small traps that catch first-timers.
Tipping
Not expected.
Tipping is not part of the culture in mainland China. In everyday places, restaurants, taxis, cafes and shops, it is neither expected nor necessary, and a bill is simply the bill, so you do not need to tip a driver or a waiter. The exceptions are narrow: some upscale hotels and restaurants add a service charge of about 10 to 15% that stands in for a tip, and on an organized tour it has become common to tip the guide and driver a modest amount per day, often arranged through the tour company. Otherwise, keep your yuan, since no one is waiting for a tip. Note that this is mainland China; Hong Kong and Macau lean more toward tipping.
Common questions
Quick answers.
How do I pay in China as a tourist?
Mostly with your phone. Alipay and WeChat Pay run daily life, and since late 2023 both let foreign visitors link an international Visa or Mastercard with just a passport and a face scan, no Chinese bank account. Set up both apps before you fly, carry some yuan as a backup (shops must accept cash as of February 2026), and bring a physical card mainly for hotels.
Can I use my Visa or Mastercard in China?
Physical foreign cards work at international hotels, big retailers and major attractions, but are hit or miss at small local places, where the phone is expected. The better move is to link your Visa or Mastercard to Alipay or WeChat Pay and pay by QR code, which works almost everywhere. Keep the physical card for hotels and for pulling yuan at a Bank of China or ICBC ATM.
Do US citizens need a visa for China?
Yes, for a normal round trip. The US is not on China's visa-free list, so US passport holders need a tourist (L) visa, applied for in advance at a Chinese Visa Application Service Center, roughly 185 to 250 dollars all in. The only no-visa option is the 240-hour transit, which applies only if you are continuing to a third country, not flying back to the US. Tibet needs the L visa plus a separate permit.
Do I need cash in China?
Some, as a backup. Almost everyone pays by phone with Alipay or WeChat Pay, but cash still works and, from February 2026, shops face penalties for refusing it. Carry small yuan notes for tiny vendors, temples, markets and rural areas, and pull more from a Bank of China or ICBC ATM. Expect that change for large notes can be scarce.
Will Google Maps and WhatsApp work in China?
Not on a Chinese network. The Great Firewall blocks Google, Google Maps, Gmail, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, and VPNs became unreliable after a 2026 crackdown. The reliable fix is a roaming travel eSIM set up before you land, which routes your data outside mainland China so those apps work normally, along with the Chinese ones. Apple Maps also works.
Is there tipping or a tourist tax in China?
Tipping is not expected in mainland China, so a bill is the bill, aside from a service charge at some upscale places and modest tips on organized tours. There is no per-person nightly tourist tax. Prices include a 13% VAT, and if you shop you can claim a departure VAT refund of about 8 to 11% on eligible goods at participating stores.
What it really costs
What you'll really spend in China.
Your flights if you want them counted, your room, your on-the-ground spending, the two fees most US cards add without telling you, and China's tourist tax. One number, nothing waiting on the statement. No bank to pick, no sign-up, nothing saved.
Optional. Enter your round trip fare per traveler to fold flights into the total.
In China, plan for about $0.
Realistically somewhere between $0 and $0.
Whether at an ATM or a card terminal in a shop or restaurant, always choose to be charged in the local currency, not dollars. Paying in dollars (called dynamic currency conversion) lets the machine set its own, worse, exchange rate on top of any fee.
Rough guide, not a quote. The percentage here is a blended stand-in for a typical US card's foreign fee, not your exact rate. The real number moves with the card you carry: one no-foreign-fee card can cover both sides, while a plain rewards credit card only removes the fee on what you buy, and cash still costs a little unless that card also waives ATM and foreign-cash fees. A debit card, or accepting the "pay in dollars" (dynamic currency conversion) offer at a till or ATM, can push it higher. Rates checked Jun 2026 and rounded.
How this estimate is built
These are the assumptions behind the number. Change the room price, nights, travelers, or travel style above, and every line here moves with them.
- Hotel
- Daily spending
- Flights
- Cash vs card
- ATM withdrawals
- Foreign fee
- The range
- Tourist tax
Not sure which card to bring? See my pick for China.
Already carry a card with no foreign transaction fee? Then you are set for China, and can skip this. There is nothing to buy.
If you are getting a card for China, this is the pairing I would pick: a no-foreign-fee credit card for spending, and a fee-free ATM debit card for cash. We earn nothing on these today. Always confirm the current fee with the issuer before you apply. Checked Jun 2026.
Capital One charges no foreign transaction fee on any of its cards.
No foreign transaction fee
Fee-free ATM cash worldwide
Want one account that holds and spends in the local currency? A different job from the three above, and the one I reach for abroad. It is free to open; you can create a virtual card in the app and add it to your phone wallet in minutes, without waiting for the physical card; and you can convert US dollars into the local currency inside the account before you travel, then spend from that balance. Wise uses the mid-market rate plus a small conversion fee (around 0.4% and up), with no flat foreign fee.
The three picks above pay us nothing, and their tags say so. Wise is the only option here that can earn us a commission, and its tag says that too. Paid or not, the pick is still the pick.
Travelers, not touristsA few Mandarin words go a long way
A few Mandarin words go a long way
Mandarin is the language of China, and it is tonal, so nobody expects fluency, but a warm ni hao and xiexie open doors. China is one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations, proud of its food, history and traditions, and a little curiosity marks you as a traveler rather than a tourist.
Say a few words
Tip: A little Mandarin goes a long way, and ni hao (hello) and xiexie (thank you) are always welcome. When tea is poured for you, the traditional way to say thank you without interrupting the conversation is a light tap of two fingers on the table.
Know a story
The Great Wall
The Great Wall snakes for thousands of miles across northern China, built and rebuilt over many dynasties and largely what you see today from the Ming era. It climbs ridgelines and drops into valleys, studded with watchtowers. The restored sections nearest Beijing, like Badaling and Mutianyu, are the easiest to visit on a day trip.
Good to know: the Wall runs for thousands of miles
The Middle Kingdom
For nearly five hundred years the emperors of China ruled from the Forbidden City in Beijing, a vast walled palace of golden roofs and red walls said to hold around nine thousand rooms. China calls itself the Middle Kingdom, and as one of the oldest continuous civilizations on Earth, its history is written into its palaces, temples and cities.
Good to know: the palace is said to have around 9,000 rooms
The giant panda
The giant panda, native to the misty bamboo forests of Sichuan in China's southwest, is the country's most beloved animal and a global symbol of conservation. Pandas spend much of the day eating bamboo, up to twelve hours of it, and you can see them at the research bases around Chengdu, where decades of work have brought the species back from the brink.
Good to know: pandas eat bamboo up to 12 hours a dayChina is one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations, and it shows in everything from the Great Wall to the daily ritual of tea. Mandarin is the most widely spoken first language on Earth, and travelers who arrive curious, about the food, the history and the sheer scale of a country of 1.4 billion people, are richly rewarded.
No links here, nothing to buy. This part is just to help you travel well.
Sources, and how this guide was checked
Last checkedJul 2026
Changed since last checkSources added on first publish. Confirmed that US citizens need a tourist (L) visa for a normal round trip, with the 240-hour visa-free transit available only when continuing to a third country; that Alipay and WeChat Pay let foreign visitors link an international Visa or Mastercard without a Chinese bank account, with the limit raised to about 35,000 CNY per transaction in 2026; that China began enforcing penalties on merchants refusing cash from 1 February 2026; that standard VAT is 13% with a tourist departure refund of about 8 to 11%; and the yuan at about 6.8 to the US dollar.
- US State DepartmentChina country information, entry requirements and the 240-hour transit
- China Visa Application Service Centertourist (L) visa applications
- China's State Taxation Administrationthe departure VAT refund for overseas travelers
Our own judgmentThe daily cash share, tipping norms, likely ATM behavior, and the practical steps for setting up the pay apps and getting online are our own read from 2026 reporting and traveler experience, not a single official table. Payment rules and app behavior in China change quickly, so confirm anything critical before you travel.
More money guides in Asia
If you are also weighing up nearby destinations, each guide covers cards, cash, ATMs and the fees to expect.
Going deeper on China
The money questions people ask on the ground.
Short, focused answers to the specific things that catch first-timers out in China.
- Tipping in ChinaChina is not a tipping country. At everyday restaurants and in taxis, no tip is expected, and it can even cause confusion. The exceptions are tour guides and drivers, and high-end hotels. Here is what you actually owe.
- How to pay in ChinaShort answer: your phone, not your wallet. Here is how to set up Alipay and WeChat Pay with your own card before you go, what cash to carry, and where a physical card still helps.
- Do US citizens need a visa for China?Short answer: yes, for a normal trip, and you apply in advance. The one exception is a transit rule that turns a stopover into a 10-day visit. Here is how each works.
- Staying connected in ChinaShort answer: sort this before you land, because it affects how you pay too. Here is why a VPN is the wrong plan in 2026, and why a roaming eSIM is the right one.
- Getting around China: Didi and the metroShort answer: Didi for taxis, a QR pass for the metro, and the train between cities. Here is how each works, and the one or two things to watch.
This is how China stands today.
Money rules move. We can let you know for free if that changes.