Originally Posted by
pushmyredbutton
You'll probably get better answers in the China forum, but my experience from living in Hangzhou a couple years ago went like this:
- Most mid-range restaurants and shops (including western fast food) will accept Visa. Hole-in-the-wall joints and street food are cash-only or some local version of "Apple Pay"
Most places (including train ticket windows) will take Alipay (similar to Apple Pay) and/or WeChat Wallet. I used the latter to pay taxi driver at PVG once. I can reserve/purchase a train ticket from Alipay App (no booking fees; but still need to get the physical ticket to board a train.). When I was in Hefei, even the street food stands took these payments. So, if you have Alipay/Wechat Wallet, you will travel in China. It is amazing!
Good luck.