Paying for Public Transport in China 2026: Alipay, WeChat, Transit Cards & Cash

Paying for public transport in China has changed dramatically in the past five years. The shift to mobile QR code payment has been so complete that many Chinese cities have reduced or eliminated cash payment options on buses and metros. For foreign visitors, this creates a specific challenge: the payment systems are excellent, but they’re built around Chinese bank accounts and phone numbers. Here’s the current state of play and the most practical options for international visitors.

Table of contents

The Three Payment Methods Ranked by Convenience

For international visitors in 2026, the options ranked by setup difficulty vs ongoing convenience:

1. T-Union Physical Transit Card — Easiest to get started; works everywhere without a phone
2. Alipay Transit Code — Best digital option for those who’ve set up Alipay with foreign payment
3. WeChat Pay Transit Code — Same as Alipay but via WeChat; works in the same cities
4. City-Specific Transit Cards — Good for single-city visits; refundable
5. Cash — Still works on some systems but increasingly unreliable as sole strategy

T-Union Card (交通联合卡) — The Recommended Option for Multi-City Travel

The T-Union card (全国交通一卡通, also marketed as “T-Union”) is a national transit card that works on over 300 Chinese cities’ metro and bus systems. It’s the closest thing China has to a universal transit pass.

How to get one: Available at metro service windows in major cities. You need to pay:

• ¥20 deposit (refundable when you return the card)
• Load however much you want to spend (¥50 minimum recommended)

Where it works: All major city metros (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Xi’an, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and 300+ others), most city buses, and some intercity buses.

Where it doesn’t work: The Hong Kong Octopus Card system is separate. Macau is separate. Long-distance train tickets (high-speed rail) are not on this card.

Refund: When leaving China, return the card at any major metro service window and get back the ¥20 deposit plus remaining balance, sometimes minus a small administrative fee.

Topping up: At any metro service window, at self-service machines in metro stations (cash or mobile payment), or via some convenience store locations.

This card eliminates almost all day-to-day urban transport payment problems in one step. If you do nothing else on this list, get a T-Union card on your first day.

Alipay Transit Code (支付宝乘车码)

Alipay has a built-in transit feature called “乘车码” (transit code) that generates a QR code for scanning at metro turnstiles and many bus card readers. It’s linked directly to your Alipay balance.

Setup:

1. Install Alipay from App Store or Google Play
2. Register with your phone number (international numbers work, though occasionally need multiple verification attempts)
3. Link a payment method — since 2023, international Visa and Mastercard link directly
4. Find “Scan to Ride” (乘车码) in Alipay’s features menu
5. Select your city and activate

Cities covered: Most major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Xi’an, and many others. Coverage expands regularly.

Using it: Open Alipay, navigate to 乘车码, select the right city, and hold your phone screen to the QR reader at the metro gate. Deduction happens automatically.

Advantages over physical card: No deposit, no carrying extra card, can be used immediately after setup. Payment is real-time from your linked card.

Disadvantages: Phone battery required. If your phone dies, you’re stuck (carry a backup power bank). Also requires initial Alipay setup which takes time if you haven’t done it before arriving.

WeChat Pay Transit Code (微信乘车码)

Functionally identical to Alipay’s transit code, but within the WeChat app. Find it in WeChat’s “九宫格” (services grid) → “交通出行” (transport) → “乘车码”. Select your city and activate.

International card compatibility: WeChat Pay for Foreign Visitors program (launched broadly since 2023) allows Visa and Mastercard linking. The transit code feature works once payment is set up.

Which to use, Alipay or WeChat?: Whichever you’ve set up first and find easier. Both cover essentially the same cities. Some smaller cities only have one or the other; in major cities both work.

City-Specific Transit Cards

If you’re spending the majority of your trip in one city, the city’s own transit card is another option:

Beijing Yikatong (一卡通): ¥20 deposit, works on Beijing metro and buses. Discounts on buses. Refundable.

Shanghai Public Transportation Card: ¥30 deposit, works metro and buses throughout Shanghai.

Shenzhen Tong (深圳通): Works on Shenzhen metro and buses.

These are physically similar to T-Union cards but are technically city-specific systems. The T-Union card does everything these do in most cases, plus works across cities — so for multi-city travel, T-Union is better.

Using QR Codes on Buses

City buses in China have increasingly switched from physical card readers to QR code scanners. Many have a fixed code displayed near the door that you scan, or a screen where a code appears when you board.

Bus QR scanning typically works with either Alipay transit code or WeChat Pay transit code. The process: open your transit code in Alipay or WeChat, scan the bus’s code or let the driver scan yours, payment deducts automatically.

Cash on buses: Some cities still accept cash, others don’t. If you’re relying on cash for buses in major cities, you may encounter buses that simply don’t accept it. Having at least one digital payment option removes this problem.

What to Do When Payment Doesn’t Work

Occasionally technology fails. In order:

1. Try the other app — if Alipay doesn’t work at a specific turnstile, try WeChat Pay, or vice versa
2. Try a physical card — if you have a T-Union or city card, use it
3. Ask station staff — at metro stations, staffed windows can handle edge cases (gate stuck, card not reading, etc.)
4. Carry small cash — ¥1 and ¥5 coins and small bills as backup for buses in smaller cities
5. Single journey token — at all metro stations, single-journey tokens can be purchased from automated machines

The Wider Context: Cash in China

Cash is still legal tender everywhere in China and must be accepted by all businesses by law. In practice, most locals haven’t used cash in years, and some younger service staff handle cash awkwardly. But it works. If everything digital fails, ¥50–¥100 in small bills covers most transit emergencies.

However, not having any mobile payment set up is a genuine inconvenience in modern China beyond just transit — restaurants, convenience stores, street food, many tourist attractions all run primarily on WeChat or Alipay. The transit setup process is part of a broader setup that makes the whole trip smoother.

Summary: What to Set Up Before You Arrive

If doing one city: Get the city’s transit card from the airport or first metro station you encounter. Done.

If doing multiple cities: Get a T-Union card + set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with your international card. This combination covers essentially all urban transport payment in China.

If in Hong Kong: Octopus Card system is completely separate from mainland China — it’s HKD, different technology. Buy one at Hong Kong Airport arrivals.