Visiting China? Cash is King!

The main purpose of this post is to inform you that if you are traveling to China, BRING CASH! If you do not require a reason why or are not even just a little bit curious as to why it is hit and miss using credit in this huge business and tech centered country, then you do not need to go any further than this. However, I do encourage you to read on.

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I thrive on being prepared for every vacation I go on. I research the area, plan out our days, try to fit as much “must see” and “must do” things into our trip as possible (unless we are straight relaxing, then it is all about the lounge chair and cocktails; it's always five o’ clock somewhere, right, Jimmy Buffet?).

When planning our trip to the Northeastern territory of China, I thought I prepared myself pretty well. That said, I totally missed this major piece of information!

Despite being a part of a tour group where the days were pretty much planned out for us, I still spent countless hours researching each of the five cities on our China itinerary. I did not want to miss a thing; I had to know what each area is most famous for and what we had to do and had see before leaving.

City God Temple Bazaar & Yu Garden - Shanghai

If you have not already guessed it, I missed one big thing that could really negatively affect a great trip abroad! I missed the fact that outside of hotels and the government owned factory shops, it is a coin flip as to if credit cards are accepted as a form of payment. Actually, I would go as far as saying that the large majority of shops, stores, and restaurants do not accept credit cards; they largely are cash only. Even some stores in the large shopping malls do not accept credit card.

In the United States, credit card is accepted pretty much everywhere, as well as in every other country I have traveled to prior to China. That, mixed with the high level of business and financial institutions in China, is why I never would have suspected that the majority of business establishments in China, at least the northeastern areas, are cash only.

Hiking the Great Wall of China - Beijing

So, here I am, on the far east side of China, ready to swipe that card and purchase some really awesome Chinese souveniers and delicious food, and boom…nope, sorry, credit cards not accepted. Okay, it was not really like that; each time I tried to use my card where it was not accepted, I was kindly told “cash only.” The problem was that I had only brought with me $150 US (at this time, $1 US = $16 Yuan) and I did not bring with me a debit card (you can use your debit card in an ATM and get Chinese money, or Yuan, back - find out more by reading how to save on exchange rates in China) and I was on a ten day tour (two days being travel days)!

Lucky for me, the entire tour was paid for prior to departure. Other than dinner and snacks, our meals were covered - plus, food is really cheap in China! If we did nothing more than what was listed on our tour agenda and did not purchase souvenirs, we really did not have to spend any additional money. But, let’s be real, this was not going to be the case. I did have some cash and some places did accept credit card for souvenirs; however, my point is that we would have been okay without large sums of cash.

Another lucky factor, my boyfriend, Jeff, is a cash guy; he brought plenty for the both of us! So, even if I had zero cash, we would still have been fine. However, if I was on the trip alone or my guy had not brought as much cash as he did, we may have had an issue. Also, what would have happened if we needed medical attention? A lady in our group fell and needed to have a few stitches in her hand. The hospital that she was taken to only accepted cash.

Another lesson learned; might need to bring extra cash in case of an emergency!

Entering the Forbidden City - Beijing

Again, if the circumstances were different and Jeff had not brought the amount of cash with him that he did, we would have been fine, we would have needed to budget our spending a bit more, but we still would have been fine. However, this may not be the case for other travelers. Others may not be on a previously paid for tour and may need to pay for with cash all throughout their trip. Or, others may not be traveling with a significant other or someone else who could bail them out. For that reason, I wanted to write a quick blurb to ensure that my fellow global gallivants are all set for their China travels.

Now, you may hear otherwise. You may hear from China travel advisers or tour guides, that newer age China has really started to break into the credit card industry and credit cards are welcomed at most places. I was told this from our tour guide right when we arrived to China. With that said, I did not find this to be the case at all.

Sure, the government businesses; the jade, silk and tea factories and herbal medicine institute that we visited accepted credit cards. However, the majority of the shops, stores, and restaurants we came upon did not. This includes the various bazaar’s and markets we explored. Even international fast-food restaurants like KFC and McDonald's did not accept credit card. What I found to be even more odd is that credit cards were not even accepted at the Beijing International Airport. I tried to purchase a water from McDonald's using credit card but it was cash only. Shocking, it is an international airport so I just assumed credit card would be accepted! Shanghai airport does accept credit card.

Speaking of Shanghai; you will find that more places take credit card in Shanghai than in Beijing and cities in between. I would still keep cash on you, however. If you are roaming around the city and the bazaar's, you do not want to be without it and come upon something you really have to have but cannot buy, because you don't have the cash on hand. Also, if you take a taxi, cash is largely the only form of payment. We took two taxis in Shanghai and cash was the only form of payment in each.

So, why is China not up to date with the credit world yet? China is much against acquiring debt and the Chinese government associates credit cards with debt; plain and simple. In the larger cities, you will find that it is easier to use your credit cards; however, there are still businesses that do not accept them. In smaller cities, you will rarely find an opportunity to use your cards, so make sure you have cash.

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