Tools · For travellers
Do I need WeChat Pay or Alipay in China?
Activity-by-activity: which of cash, foreign card, Alipay Tour Pass / WeChat Pay International, or a domestic Chinese account will actually work. Related: our WeChat Pay setup wizard for step-by-step foreign-card onboarding.
Quick answer: set up Alipay Tour Pass before you fly, carry ¥500–1,000 in cash as backup, and don't rely on your foreign card for daily spending. Full activity table below.
| Activity | Cash | Foreign card | Tour Pass QR | Domestic app | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxi (metered street cab) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Cash and QR both work. Beijing / Shanghai taxis now support Alipay Tour Pass QR at rear terminal. Non-Tier-1 taxis vary — carry small cash. |
| Ride-hail (DiDi) | No | Sometimes | Yes | Yes | DiDi accepts foreign cards on some (not all) trips; Alipay Tour Pass mini-programme is the reliable path. |
| Subway ticket machine | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Ticket-vending machines take cash. Alipay Tour Pass or WeChat / MetroPal QR at gates now works in ~40 metro networks nationwide including all tier-1 cities. |
| High-speed rail (12306 booking) | Yes | Sometimes | Yes | Yes | 12306 accepts foreign Visa/Mastercard on the app since 2023 (must select currency = CNY at checkout). Booking at station ticket counters with cash and passport also works. |
| Domestic flight (China Eastern, Air China, etc.) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Airline websites and Trip.com accept foreign cards. |
| Hotel (chain / booked via Booking / Trip.com) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | International chains accept foreign cards for room and incidentals. Cash deposit works but slower. |
| Hotel (local / small guesthouse) | Yes | No | Sometimes | Yes | Local guesthouses accept cash + domestic mobile pay. Foreign cards rarely. |
| Museum / attraction admission (major) | Sometimes | No | Yes | Yes | Many top attractions have moved to online-only ticketing via WeChat mini-programme with passport ID. Some require pre-registration 1–7 days ahead. Cash windows exist but often close or have long queues. |
| Museum / attraction (regional / smaller) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Cash + QR at gate. Foreign cards essentially never. |
| Chain restaurant (KFC, Starbucks, HaiDiLao) | Yes | Sometimes | Yes | Yes | Starbucks and hotel-chain restaurants accept foreign cards. Local chains cash-or-QR only. |
| Local restaurant / street food | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Cash universal for older places; QR only for newer. Street stalls almost always take cash; QR common in tier-1 cities. |
| Convenience store (7-Eleven, Family Mart, All Days) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Cash + QR. |
| Supermarket (Walmart, Carrefour, RT-Mart, Hema) | Yes | Sometimes | Yes | Yes | Foreign UnionPay-flagged cards mostly work; foreign Visa/Mastercard hit-and-miss. |
| Bike-share (Meituan, HelloBike) | No | No | Yes | Yes | App unlock only. Tour Pass mini-programmes now integrate the major bike-share brands. |
| Vending machine (metro station, tourist area) | No | No | Yes | Yes | QR-only universal. |
| Bank ATM (cash withdrawal) | n/a | Yes | No | No | Foreign UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, and Amex withdraw CNY at ICBC, Bank of China, and ATM branches. ¥100 note dispensed; ¥3,500/day per card typical cap. HSBC/Citic branches often 4-language menus. |
| Currency exchange counter (Bank of China, hotel desk) | n/a | Yes | No | No | Bring passport + foreign currency notes. Hotel counters mark up ~2%; bank counters better rate but longer queue. |
| Foreign brand shop (Apple Store, Nike flagship) | Sometimes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Full foreign card acceptance in flagship stores. |
FAQs
- What's the fastest way to pay for things in China as a tourist in 2026?
- Set up Alipay Tour Pass (or WeChat Pay International) BEFORE you arrive: link a foreign card, verify your passport in-app, and you'll get a QR the country's merchants accept universally. Then carry ¥1,000 in cash as a backup — cash still works everywhere and gets you out of any 'my QR isn't scanning' moment. Foreign Visa/Mastercard on their own is unreliable outside of hotels and airline websites.
- Do I still need cash in China in 2026?
- Yes — but far less than pre-pandemic. Carry ¥500–1,000 in ¥100 notes as a backup for taxi drivers who don't scan QRs cleanly, small merchants whose QR terminal is broken, ATM withdrawal in a pinch, or the odd rural stall. In tier-1 cities you can theoretically go a week without cash, but taxi-and-street-food situations still occasionally need it.
- Can I use Apple Pay or Google Pay in China?
- Apple Pay works in China with a Chinese UnionPay card added; it does NOT work with your home-country Visa/Mastercard because most Chinese merchants only accept UnionPay through Apple Pay. Google Pay is not offered in mainland China at all. Practically, foreign visitors should use Alipay Tour Pass or WeChat Pay International instead of Apple/Google Pay.
- What is Alipay Tour Pass?
- A foreign-friendly mini-programme inside Alipay that lets non-Chinese users link a foreign card and pay via QR at merchants that accept Alipay (which is essentially every merchant in China). It has a ¥50,000 lifetime cap per person and a ¥6,000 per-transaction limit. See our WeChat Pay wizard for setup steps, or the Alipay Tour Pass guide.
- Which is better for tourists — WeChat Pay International or Alipay Tour Pass?
- Both work. Alipay Tour Pass generally has broader merchant acceptance and a slightly smoother in-app payment flow for foreigners. WeChat Pay is essential to have anyway (for chats, mini-programmes, and 12306 rail booking). If you're only setting up one, Alipay Tour Pass. If you're staying more than a week, set up both.
- Where can I still pay with just cash and no phone?
- Street taxis (metered), local restaurants, convenience stores, supermarkets, small hotels, museums with a physical ticket window, bank ATMs, and currency-exchange counters. You cannot pay cash for: bike-share, most vending machines, DiDi rides, most museum online-registration systems (pass-required attractions like Forbidden City often mandate app booking).
Verified July 2026
Related: WeChat Pay setup wizard · Cash and currency guide