Is it convenient to use a credit card in China, or do you have to use mobile payment?
Prepare both. Foreign credit cards can be used at international chain hotels, large shopping malls, supermarkets, airlines, high-speed rail counters, and major tourist attraction ticket offices; but they are almost unusable at street stalls, small restaurants, secondary consumption within tourist attractions, vegetable markets, and some ride-hailing services. China's cashless system is built on mobile payments, and foreign cards linked to mobile payment apps have single-transaction limits and functional restrictions. Therefore, a practical combination is: foreign card linked to Alipay/WeChat (main), cash 2000–4000 yuan (backup). Here's one more tip:
Both need to be prepared. Foreign credit cards can be used at international chain hotels, large shopping malls, supermarkets, airlines, high-speed rail ticket counters, and major tourist attraction ticket offices; but they are almost unusable at street stalls, small restaurants, secondary consumption locations within scenic spots, wet markets, and some ride-hailing services. China's cashless system is based on mobile payments, and foreign cards linked to mobile payments have single-transaction limits and functional restrictions. Therefore, a practical combination is: foreign card linked to Alipay/WeChat (main) and cash 2,000–4,000 RMB (backup). Another tip: prepare two cards from different networks (one Visa, one Mastercard) to prevent a single channel failure, and inform the issuing bank of your travel plans before departure to avoid card locks from risk control.