Similar to the Alipay, how can a first time tourist pay in China?
Does the old fashioned way of bringing US currency and exchanging it for Chinese currency as well as using US credit cards still work? Alipay seems so complicated.
No, not really.
Some large cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Canton have introduced MC/Visa for their public transit systems, and most western chain hotels will take MC/Visa as well. But beyond that it will really be haphazard with cash acceptance and you can really forget about foreign bank cards.
So you spend all of perhaps 30mn to set up Alipay or Wechat Pay, and you're set for all your future travels in mainland China.