In China, nobody says “eleven yuan” at the market. They say shíyī kuài — “eleven kuai” (十一块). Kuai is the everyday word for the yuan, the way “bucks” is for dollars. This site takes that word as its name and its starting point: a short, practical guide to how money actually works in China for travellers, students, online shoppers and anyone who is simply curious.
Yuan, kuai & mao
Renminbi, yuan, kuai, jiao, mao and fen — what each word means, how to read a price tag and how to say prices out loud.
Read the guide →Paying in China
Alipay, WeChat Pay, foreign cards, cash and fees. A step-by-step setup for visitors before and after landing.
Set up payments →Everyday prices
Rough costs for food, coffee, transport, hotels and SIM cards, so you know what “cheap” and “expensive” look like.
See price ranges →Singles' Day 11.11
How a student joke about the date 11/11 became the biggest online shopping festival in the world.
Read the story →China's money in 60 seconds
- Currency: the renminbi (人民币, “people's currency”), ISO code
CNY. Its unit is the yuan (元), written ¥. - Spoken: 1 yuan = 1 kuai (块). 1 yuan = 10 jiao (角), which people call mao (毛). 1 jiao = 10 fen (分), which you will almost never see.
- Paying: most people pay by scanning a QR code with Alipay or WeChat Pay. Visitors can now link a foreign Visa or Mastercard to both apps.
- Cash: still legal tender and shops are required to accept it. Carry a few small notes as a backup.
- Tipping: not expected in restaurants or taxis in mainland China.
Why “11 kuai”?
Because two of the most common things about money in China fit inside it. Kuai is the word you hear at every noodle stall, taxi and corner shop, and 11 brings to mind November 11th, the day hundreds of millions of people shop online at once. Between those two, everyday cash and record-breaking e-commerce, you have most of the story of money in modern China.