Shopping and money

Money

The Chinese use a straightforward decimal system for money. Because of inflation, there are a number of denominations of coin and note. The primary currency is Ren Min Bi, with the key denomination being 1 YUAN (also called Kwai, which means cash). This is then divided into 10 jiao, also called mao. Denominations are

1 jiao, 2 jiao, 5 jiao, 1 yuan, 2 yuan, 5 yuan, 10 yuan, 20 yuan, 50 yuan, 100 yuan.

Dealing with money

If you produce a wallet full of notes and credit cards, everyone will crowd round to see what you have got in it. The cool technique is to pull a handful of scruffy notes out of your pocket to pay with. In any case, don’t flash money around, and safeguard your wallet / purse in crowded buses and stations.

Change and ATMS

The Chinese way (varies in different provinces) of showing numbers with the fingers is worth getting someone to show you. Small shops dislike giving change for notes over 20 yuan as that accounts for a large portion of their daily takings. Change 100 yuan notes in a chain store or taxi. You can get RMB from cash machines that take VISA, Mastercard etc at some banks and the airport. They have an English option, but may not give account balances. Select ‘checking account’ not any of the others. Most Chinese do not use credit cards or cheques. They pay cash. Do not offer 250 元 for anything, it means a ‘stupid’.

Bags and backpacks

In bookshops and supermarkets you have to deposit your bags and backpack. There is no charge. In our experience, not all the shops that sell pictures, clothes etc ask twice the price from foreigners and expect you to bargain, though many do. If buying upmarket items like silk pictures, you first need to find out from a Chinese friend what they paid. Don’t stress yourself over prices. It’s only money.

Tea gardens

Tea shops are nice for sitting around in as an interlude from shopping. 5 yuan is the minimum price of a cup of tea, but in the smarter ones you may pay 30 yuan for a special cup of tea. There is usually a menu card showing the different types of tea on offer. Point to the one at the price you want to pay. Chrysanthemum tea is nice and fun if you want a suggestion. Take your own fruit and nibbles, and you can stay as long as you like. Sometimes in tea gardens people go for a walk, leaving their teacups on the table for their return. So be careful about taking over a table which has cups of tea on it - it may not have been vacated. Let the waitress confirm you can sit there. Don’t put your bag on the dirty ground – get another chair to put it on. (Never put your bag on the ground).

Shoe shining

In tea gardens and smaller restaurants you can have your shoes cleaned while you eat and drink. The normal charge is 1 yuan. When he/she has brought your shoes back and you have put them on, don’t ask the price, just casually give the 1 yuan note which you have ready. It will be accepted, maybe with a surprised look. If they demand 5 or 10 yuan, you will have a test of your life and language skills.

Overcharging

You can often see Westerners smile together as they point at goods for sale and make supercilious and derogatory remarks, as though they were commenting on the animals in a zoo. The shopkeepers aren’t stupid and know they are being criticised. You can’t blame them for getting their own back for the rudeness by overcharging. But why not be appreciative, even when shopping?

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