现金还是手机支付？来华前必读 | Cash or Mobile Pay? What You Need to Know Before Visiting China

三年前，带着一叠人民币来中国的外国游客还算常见。现在，你在北京的便利店掏出现金，收银员可能会愣一下——不是不收，是真的很少见了。

Three years ago, foreign visitors arriving with a stack of renminbi were common. Today, pull out cash at a Beijing convenience store and the cashier might pause — not because they won't accept it, but because it's genuinely rare.

现金：没死，但在萎缩

中国法律规定商家必须接受人民币现金，所以现金不是"不能用"，而是"越来越不方便"。

以下场景现金仍然顺畅： - 农贸市场、路边摊、小吃街 - 部分农村景区和寺庙 - 出租车（滴滴司机通常只接受手机支付，但街头扬招的出租车收现金） - 小型民宿和家庭旅馆

以下场景现金会遇到麻烦： - 地铁自动售票机（部分城市只支持手机支付或交通卡） - 外卖和网约车（全程线上） - 大型商场的餐饮区（收银台往往只有二维码）

Cash is legally required to be accepted, so it's not "unusable" — just increasingly inconvenient. Markets, street food, rural temples, and street-hail taxis still work fine with cash. Subways, ride-hailing, delivery apps, and mall food courts are effectively cashless.

手机支付：两个 App，一个选择

微信支付（WeChat Pay）和支付宝（Alipay）覆盖了中国 95% 以上的支付场景，两者高度重叠。

对外国游客来说，支付宝的国际化体验略好： - 界面有完整英文版 - 国际银行卡绑定流程更成熟 - 客服对境外用户问题处理更有经验

但微信支付在社交场景（红包、AA 付款、朋友间转账）更自然，如果你在中国有本地朋友，微信支付会更常用。

建议：两个都装，支付宝作主力，微信支付作备份。

WeChat Pay and Alipay cover 95%+ of payment scenarios. For foreign visitors, Alipay has a better international experience — full English UI, more mature foreign card binding, and better overseas customer support. WeChat Pay is more natural for social payments. Recommendation: install both, use Alipay as primary.

来之前要做的三件事

1. 换少量现金备用：建议换 500-1000 元人民币，应对现金场景和紧急情况。在国内机场或银行换汇比在中国境内换汇通常更划算。

2. 提前安装并配置支付宝：在国内网络环境下完成注册和国际银行卡绑定，比到了中国再操作成功率高很多。

3. 确认你的银行卡支持境外交易：部分银行默认关闭境外网络支付，出发前打电话或在 App 里开通。

Before you go: exchange a small amount of cash (¥500–1000) for emergencies, install and configure Alipay while still at home (higher success rate), and confirm your bank card has overseas online payments enabled — many banks disable this by default.

一个容易被忽视的问题

手机支付依赖网络。如果你的境外 SIM 卡在中国信号差，或者你依赖 Wi-Fi 而 Wi-Fi 不稳定，支付码可能加载失败。

解决方案：支付宝和微信支付都支持离线付款码——在有网络时提前打开付款码页面，短时间内断网仍然可以扫码支付。养成出门前打开付款码的习惯，比临时找网络省事得多。

Mobile payments need internet. If your foreign SIM has poor signal in China, or you rely on spotty Wi-Fi, payment codes may fail to load. Both apps support offline payment codes — open the payment screen while connected, and it stays valid briefly without internet. Make it a habit before leaving your hotel.