In mainland China you are not generally expected to tip in restaurants, taxis, metros, hotels or cafés. Service is included in the price. A luxury hotel or a tour you have hired may be a narrower exception, and you should still not feel obliged. Bargaining is expected in some markets and on some unpriced souvenir stalls, and is not expected in supermarkets, chain restaurants, official ticket windows or the metro. We would rather you overpay slightly at a market than perform a haggle that was never part of the deal.
最終確認日 · 初出 · 出典 1 件
重要な事実
| Restaurants and taxis | No tip is expected. Rounding up is a personal choice, not a rule |
|---|---|
| Hotels | Not required. A luxury hotel concierge or a private driver you have hired for a day is a possible exception, and still optional |
| Where to bargain | Markets, souvenir stalls, and some electronics halls where the first price is a conversation. Not at official windows |
| How to bargain | A polite counter-offer, in numbers, is enough. Walking away is the usual close. We will not teach a theatrical script |
| Hong Kong and Macau | They are different systems, with their own tipping habits. This page is about mainland China |
Tipping is not the default
Mainland China does not have a tipping culture in the North American sense. In an ordinary restaurant, a café, a noodle shop, a taxi, a DiDi, the metro, or a mid-range hotel, you pay the stated price and you leave. Staff are not usually waiting for an extra 10 per cent. Offering one can even cause a moment of confusion. If you want to leave a small cash thank-you in a private setting, that is your choice; it is not a rule we will dress up as etiquette.
Two narrower cases are worth separating. Some hotel restaurants, especially in international or luxury hotels, add a service charge on the bill — that is a printed line, not a hint to add another tip. A private driver or a guide you have hired for a full day is a relationship where a modest extra at the end is sometimes offered, and still optional. We will not invent a “standard rate.”
Hong Kong and Macau have their own habits and are not covered by this paragraph. If you cross the border for a day, look at local practice there, not at this page.
Bargaining has a place — a limited one
Bargaining belongs where the price is clearly negotiable: a clothing market, a souvenir stall, some sections of an electronics mall such as Huaqiangbei, a small stall with no price tag. It does not belong at a supermarket checkout, a pharmacy, a chain restaurant, a scenic-area ticket window, a railway station or a metro customer desk.
A practical way to do it: ask the price, offer a lower number (not a theatrical fraction), and smile or walk away. If the seller accepts, pay. If they do not, you can raise a little or leave. Paying with Alipay or WeChat Pay is normal even after a haggle. We will not publish a “always offer 30 per cent” rule — it is often wrong, and it is how visitors become the rude story the stall tells next.
If a number was never going to move, a polite “thank you” and walking on costs nothing. For the handful of visitor-facing tricks that are actually scams rather than a high first price, see scams and etiquette.
よくある質問
Should I tip in a Shenzhen restaurant?
No. It is not expected. If a service charge appears on a bill in a hotel restaurant, that is a printed charge, not a request for a further tip. You pay the bill as shown.
What about DiDi or a taxi?
No tip is expected. Pay the fare in the app or on the meter. For a full-day hired car, a small extra at the end is a personal thank-you, not a standard.
Where is bargaining appropriate?
In markets and at stalls where prices are not labelled, or where the first number is clearly an opening. Not in a supermarket, a pharmacy, a chain café, a metro station, or a government ticket office.
Can I bargain at Huaqiangbei?
In some halls, yes, for accessories and grey-market electronics; in branded stores, no. See our Huaqiangbei guide, and only buy electronics you can inspect and test.