But the entrance fee for these places is rarely as much as US$10, and usually much less. And no, they don't take cards.

In general, and with rare exceptions, institutions accept all of a short list of foreign cards or none at all: JCB, Amex, Diner's, Mastercard, Visa; but Visa and Mastercard are the better known perhaps because Chinese versions of these exist and are common amongst the tiny percentage of the population you might call middle class.

However use for anything other than large purchases in established shops is unusual, and even there may attract a fee of a few percentage points. This is still mainly a cash society, and even air tickets are typically paid for in cash.

Do your research with your bank at home, and come prepared to use a cashpoint (ATM) card to draw cash at around ¥2000 to ¥3000 per transaction, although repeated transactions in the same day (the same five minutes in fact) are usually possible, and using machines of HSBC, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, etc. raises the limit per withdrawal. Again, consult your bank for limitations, and a list of friendly ATMs.

If you think you might use your credit card be sure to alert your card provider that you will be travelling to China, otherwise your charge will anyway likely be refused. Use of a card in a shop, where possible, usually requires entering a PIN in a terminal, so again, be sure you are prepared.

But mostly it's cash all the way.

Peter N-H
China