How it works in practice, and the questions Korean travellers ask most.
China does not have a tipping culture in the sense most travellers know. Tipping in restaurants and taxis is not the norm and no service charge is added to the bill. Thanking your guide and driver is entirely up to you and never required, and costs not included in your quote should not be asked for at all.
In China there is no custom of tipping in restaurants, taxis or hotel service, and no service charge is added to the bill. It is not the structure found in the US or parts of Europe, where a tip is effectively mandatory.
Offering a tip in a restaurant can even feel awkward. A habit that is unremarkable at home can put the other person in an odd position here.
Thanking your dedicated guide and driver is a personal choice. It is not an obligation, and a cost excluded from your quote should never be requested separately.
If someone asks you mid-trip for an 'extra charge', that is not a tip, it is a different problem. Check your quote to see what it lists as included and excluded.
| Who | The norm |
|---|---|
| Restaurants and cafes | No tip |
| Taxis | No tip, metered fare only |
| Hotel staff | No tip |
| Dedicated guide and driver | Optional, never required |
Cash requests during a trip should be separated from tipping. These are items that should already be itemised in your quote.
Not tipping does not mean cash is useless. Markets, small shops and some street stalls may take cash only.
Payment apps are widespread and cover most transactions, but carrying a little cash smooths the exceptions.
JoyoTour operates on a strict no-shopping, no-forced-options principle: no shopping stops, no compulsory optional tours, and nothing added on the ground.
Because the vehicles and guides are run in-house, the quote states from the outset what is included and what is not. Not having to worry about extra costs, tips among them, is part of the design.
In many Chinese restaurants you do not pay at the table but at a counter near the exit. Tell a member of staff you would like to pay and they will point you there.
Ordering and paying by QR code has become widespread, so scanning a code to see the menu and pay is increasingly the norm. Having a payment app ready makes meals much smoother.
Updated: 2026-10-13 · Preparation
Tipping in Chinese restaurants is not the norm, and no service charge is added automatically.
It is optional and never required. Costs excluded from your quote should not be requested separately.
Generally no. You pay the metered fare.
Not for tips. Some markets and small shops take cash only, so a small amount is useful.
The right measure is not how many cities you list but how much time transfers eat. Distances in China are long, and every extra city costs roughly half a day of travel. For a first visit, two cities in 7 to 9 days is a reasonable start; focusing deeply on one region works in 5 to 7 days.
Read the answerAim to start at least two to three months ahead. The usual order is to fix flights first, then build hotels and intercity travel around those dates. Chinese public holidays compress availability sharply, so either avoid those windows or start much earlier.
Read the answerTravel insurance is better treated as a planning item than an optional extra for a China trip. Overseas medical costs are hard to predict, and the things that go wrong on a trip, from delayed flights to changed plans, can be covered. Coverage and exclusions vary a great deal between policies, so read them before you buy.
Read the answerYou can hail a taxi on the street in China, but using a ride-hailing app is far safer: you set the destination on a map and the app handles the fare and the payment, which removes most of the language problem and much of the room for dispute.
Read the answerAlways re-check the latest conditions on the official sites before you travel.
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