Tipping in China: 2026 Guide for Travelers

Restaurants, Cafés, and Bars

At local restaurants, dumpling houses, hot pot spots, and street stalls, pay the bill and nothing more. Prices on the menu generally already include tax, so the number you see is what you pay. Many restaurants now take payment by scanning a QR code at the table, which leaves no tip line at all.

Upscale restaurants and restaurants inside international hotels in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou often add a service charge (fúwù fèi) of 10–15%. When it appears on the bill, don’t add anything on top. Western-style cocktail bars in expat districts are the one place you may see a tip jar; leaving small change there is fine but not expected.

Hong Kong and Macau are different. Most sit-down restaurants in Hong Kong add a 10% service charge, and locals often leave small coins on top or round up a taxi fare. It’s a mild custom, not an obligation.

Tour Guides and Drivers

This is where tipping matters most. Guides on organized tours — especially group tours sold to foreign visitors — often earn a modest base wage and count on gratuities. Many tour operators print a suggested tip in your trip documents, and some collect it up front as part of the package. If yours does, you don’t need to tip again unless the guide went well beyond the itinerary.

• Group tour guide: CNY 50–100 per person per day.
• Tour bus driver: CNY 20–50 per person per day.
• Private guide for a day: CNY 100–200 for the group, more for a long or specialized day.
• Hired car and driver for a day trip (e.g. to the Great Wall): CNY 50–100 if they waited for you all day.

Give the tip at the end of the tour, in person, and preferably with the guide and driver tipped separately so each gets their share. Our tour guide tipping guide covers how US norms compare.

Hotels

At international chains and higher-end hotels, porters are used to receiving CNY 10–20 per bag, and leaving CNY 10–20 per night for housekeeping is a nice touch but not expected. At Chinese-run domestic hotels, no one expects a tip. Luxury hotels may add a 10–15% service charge to room and dining bills, which covers the staff. See our hotel tipping guide for the US equivalents.

Taxis, DiDi, and Getting Around

Taxi drivers don’t expect tips and will give you exact change. The same goes for DiDi, China’s main ride-hailing app, where the fare is set in the app. Rounding up a cash fare by a yuan or two is harmless but not a custom.

How to Pay a Tip in a Cashless Country

China runs on Alipay and WeChat Pay, and both now let foreign visitors link an international Visa or Mastercard. That works for meals and shopping, but tips for guides and porters are still usually given in cash. Withdraw some yuan on arrival and keep small notes — CNY 10, 20, and 50 — set aside for tips, since breaking a CNY 100 note for a porter is awkward.

Hand the money over directly and discreetly rather than leaving it on a seat. A rough conversion: CNY 100 is about $14. Check the current rate with our USD to CNY converter before you go.