CNY
Chinese Yuan
1
1
CNY banknote
1 CNY banknote · West Lake
About 14 cents
China
travel money guide
Money in China
Learn why renminbi, yuan and kuai can describe the same money, then build a visitor-ready QR wallet without forgetting the bank card, cash pouch and tax-refund receipt behind it.
China gives one price three names, turns the phone into a wallet and still protects cash as the payment method that must remain available.
CurrencyRenminbi
Main unitYuan
Everyday wordKuai
Mobile checkoutAlipay + Weixin Pay
Routine tipUsually zero
The quick answer
Should you carry cash in China?
Set up Alipay or Weixin Pay with a supported foreign card before the first queue, then carry a physical card and a modest RMB reserve. Keep every payment in CNY and read app fees before confirming.
China's everyday checkout is mobile-first, not mobile-only. UnionPay dominates the domestic card rail, international cards depend on the merchant's displayed network, renminbi cash remains legal tender and tourist VAT refunds became faster and more flexible in July 2026.
Give one price three namesRMB names the currency, yuan names the unit and kuai is the word that often reaches your ear at the counter.
Make the QR code earn its placeRegister, verify the foreign card and test both scan directions before the payment app becomes the daily wallet.
Keep an offline layer under the phoneA physical card, small yuan notes and a power bank stop one battery, issuer block or app login from owning the day.
Meet the CNY
Paper money
Chinese yuan notes climb through a bright colour ladder, pairing Mao with landscapes across China; the 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 yuan are easy to sort at a glance.
CNY
Chinese Yuan
5
5
CNY banknote
5 CNY banknote · Mount Tai
About 70 cents
CNY
Chinese Yuan
10
10
CNY banknote
10 CNY banknote · Three Gorges and Kuimen
About 1 dollar 40 cents
CNY
Chinese Yuan
20
20
CNY banknote
20 CNY banknote · Guilin landscape
About 2 dollars 80 cents
CNY
Chinese Yuan
50
50
CNY banknote
50 CNY banknote · Potala Palace
About 7 dollars
CNY
Chinese Yuan
100
100
CNY banknote
100 CNY banknote · Great Hall of the People
About 14 dollars
Renminbi notes share a consistent portrait side, while the reverses travel through celebrated Chinese landscapes and landmarks including West Lake, Mount Tai, Guilin and the Potala Palace. Cash by Country artwork is an original, simplified interpretation and is not legal tender.
Pocket converter
Turn an amount into cash
Choose your currency. CNY stays locked to this guide.
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Go deeper
China travel money guides
China's wallet moves between language, phone and paper. Start with the names on the money, turn a foreign card into a useful QR wallet, build a cash-and-card fallback, keep a qualifying shopping receipt alive to the departure port and leave routine percentage tipping at home.
01 One wallet, three names
Renminbi, Yuan and Kuai
Decode the formal and spoken names, meet six landscape banknotes and learn why one yuan may arrive as either paper or metal.
Meet Chinese money 02 The QR code needs a wallet
How to Join China's Mobile Checkout
Link a supported foreign card, understand the two scan directions and read the 200-yuan fee line without mistaking a promotion for a permanent rule.
Build the mobile wallet 03 Three rails, one backup plan
UnionPay, Foreign Cards and Cash
Give mobile, plastic and banknotes separate jobs, find the right ATM network and use cash confidently in a market that cannot simply refuse it.
Layer the travel wallet 04 The ¥200 receipt that can travel
China's Faster Tourist Tax Refund
Follow an eligible purchase from the store to a paperless departure check and understand what an instant refund still needs from your credit card.
Keep the refund alive 05 The zero that feels local
When Not to Tip in China
Pay the stated restaurant or taxi total without guilt, separate a service charge from a tip and handle private-tour thanks with context.
Learn the local zero
Source desk
The China source desk
Sources include the People's Bank of China, State Taxation Administration, Ministry of Commerce, China Customs and current municipal visitor-payment guidance.