I landed at Shanghai Pudong Airport at 11 PM on a Friday night, exhausted after a 14-hour flight from London. I had done my research — or so I thought. I knew about the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors, and that I should avoid tap water. What I didn't know was that I had just entered a country where my credit card was essentially useless. This is the story of my first three days in China without mobile payment, and how you can avoid making the same mistake.
Landing at Shanghai Pudong Airport
After clearing immigration and collecting my luggage, I needed a taxi to my hotel in the French Concession. Simple enough, right? I walked to the taxi rank and got in the first available car. The driver pointed at a QR code on the dashboard. "WeChat?" he asked. I shook my head. "Alipay?" Another head shake. He looked at me with genuine confusion, then reluctantly accepted my credit card — after a 5-minute process that involved calling his dispatch and manually entering the card number. The ride cost ¥180, and I tipped ¥20 because I felt bad about the hassle. That ¥20 tip alone would have bought me a full breakfast the next morning.
I later learned I could have used DiDi (China's Uber) from the airport — it has an English interface and accepts international cards through WeChat Pay. But I didn't have WeChat Pay. So I was stuck with the old-fashioned way, paying a premium for the privilege of being unprepared.
The First Real Problem: Getting a Taxi
The next morning, I needed to get from my hotel to Yu Garden, about 4 km away. I walked to the street and tried hailing a taxi. Three empty taxis passed me by. The fourth stopped, and the driver asked where I was going. I showed him the address in English. He shook his head and drove off. The fifth taxi stopped, and the driver pointed at his phone — he wanted me to pay through WeChat or Alipay. When I showed him my credit card, he waved it away and drove off.
After 20 minutes of failed attempts, I walked 4 km to Yu Garden. It was July, 35°C, and 90% humidity. By the time I arrived, I was drenched in sweat and my phone was overheating. A ¥15 DiDi ride would have taken 12 minutes in air-conditioned comfort.
Day 1 Survival Mode
Breakfast was my first challenge. I found a small noodle shop with a line of locals — always a good sign. I pointed at what I wanted and held out a ¥100 note. The owner looked at it like it was a museum artifact. "No cash," she said in broken English, pointing to the QR code on the wall. I left hungry and found a Starbucks that accepted my credit card. A ¥45 latte. In China. I was that tourist.
Lunch was slightly better — I found a food court in a shopping mall that accepted cash, though the vendors seemed annoyed by it. Dinner was at my hotel restaurant, where my credit card worked. Day 1 food budget: ¥280 for three meals. A local would have spent ¥60-80 for the same meals using mobile payment. I was paying a 3-4x "no mobile payment tax."
Day 2: The Subway Struggle
I tried to buy a subway ticket at the machine. It accepted coins and small bills — which I didn't have, because nobody gives change in cash anymore. The machine also had a QR code scanner for mobile payment. No option for foreign cards. A kind local saw my struggle and paid for my ticket with her phone. I tried to give her cash, but she waved it off with a smile and a "mei guanxi" (no problem).
That afternoon, I visited the Shanghai Museum. The entrance was free, but the audio guide cost ¥40 — payable only by WeChat or Alipay. I went without. At the gift shop, I tried to buy a book about Chinese art. Cash only, they said. I had no cash. I left empty-handed.
By evening, I had figured out a survival strategy: convenience stores (7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson) sometimes accepted cash. Hotels could process foreign cards. Large shopping malls had food courts that took cash. But every transaction felt like a negotiation, a minor embarrassment, a reminder that I was unprepared.
The Tipping Point: Street Food Markets
On day three, I visited a night market near my hotel. The smells were incredible — sizzling skewers, steaming dumplings, crispy scallion pancakes. I walked through the market three times, pointing at food and holding out cash. Vendor after vendor shook their heads. One older woman took my cash, but she had to find change from three neighboring stalls. The whole transaction took 10 minutes for a ¥15 plate of jiaozi.
I sat on a plastic stool eating my dumplings, watching families and couples effortlessly scan QR codes and move on. A group of college students ordered, paid, and received their food in under 60 seconds. I had spent 10 minutes buying one plate. That's when I decided enough was enough.
The Solution I Found
That afternoon, I sat in my hotel room and spent 20 minutes setting up both WeChat Pay and Alipay. It was embarrassingly easy. I downloaded both apps, created accounts with my UK phone number, linked my Visa card to each, and verified with an SMS code. The entire process for both apps took less time than I had spent trying to find cash-accepting vendors at the night market.
My first mobile payment was at a street vendor selling mango smoothies. I scanned the QR code, entered ¥15, and the vendor's phone chimed. She smiled and handed me the smoothie. The transaction took 5 seconds. I nearly cried.
What I Wish I'd Done Differently
1. Set up WeChat Pay AND Alipay before my flight — not three days into my trip. It takes 10-20 minutes at home with reliable Wi-Fi. It took me 20 minutes at the hotel too, but I wasted three days of my vacation being frustrated first.
2. Download the apps and complete verification while I still had reliable internet. Once in China, VPN connections can make SMS verification unreliable.
3. Carry ¥500-1000 in small bills (¥10, ¥20, ¥50) as backup. I had ¥100 notes that nobody could break. Small bills are essential for the few places that still accept cash.
4. Tell my bank I was traveling to China BEFORE trying to link my card. My first attempt failed because my bank blocked the transaction as suspicious.
5. Set up both WeChat Pay and Alipay — some merchants only accept one. Having both ensures you're covered everywhere.
Step-by-Step: How to Avoid This Nightmare
Don't be like me. Here's exactly what to do before your flight:
Step 1 (5 minutes): Download WeChat and Alipay from your app store.
Step 2 (5 minutes each): Create accounts on both apps using your phone number. Complete any verification steps.
Step 3 (5 minutes each): Link your Visa or Mastercard to both apps. If one fails, the other usually works.
Step 4 (2 minutes): Test each app by making a small purchase or sending ¥1 to a friend.
Step 5 (5 minutes): Download offline maps (Amap/Baidu Maps), a VPN, and translation apps.
Total time: 25-30 minutes. This will save you from three days of frustration, overpaying for food, and the embarrassment of being the tourist who can't pay for a bottle of water. Do it now, before you keep reading.