| Responding to your EDIT2: I don't understand how you can both be concerned with the 'current state of roaming charges', yet think that getting a local SIM for a 2 week trip is 'overkill'. I agree that it's probably harder to find the right place to buy a SIM in a non-tier-1 city, but you can probably Google it before you get there. However, to get Alipay working you probably need a Chinese bank account. You can get one of those with your passport (even with a tourist visa) but I can understand if that seems like overkill for a 2 week trip :) Nevertheless, if we contrast the situations in the US and China, they each have pros and cons for tourists: USA pros:
- cash gladly accepted almost everywhere
- visa/MC accepted almost everywhere USA cons:
- can't get a local bank account as a tourist (at least not easily)
- can't set up a local mobile wallet (PayPal or Venmo) China pros:
- tourist can get a bank account
- tourist can get a mobile wallet (after getting a bank account) China cons:
- some places don't accept cash
- many places don't accept visa/MC So the US is a little more convenient for a tourist. You can get by fine without a local bank account or payment app. |