I don't need them, so why take them?

Sure, there was the occasional vending machine, or fridge (in the case of Nanning airport domestic baggage claim) that only accepted mobile pay, but convenience stores were convenient enough.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle is popular tourist attractions, as getting tickets for somewhere like Wulingyuan or Huangshan might be much more of a pain if one only has cash. With WeChat, this stuff can often be arranged in advance.

Personally, this having to rely on one's mobile phone for everything is making the country less and less appealing to visit.

Anyway, the post was more for anyone planning to travel to China, and didn't know what to expect without mobile pay (the VPN wasn't a huge issue, as international phone data can work).