Quick answer
City buses cost CNY 1–2 on flat-fare systems in almost every city, and the tourist payment is the Alipay transit QR code: open Alipay, tap 乘车码 (Ride Code), pick the city, scan the door scanner once at boarding. Where fares are distance-based — Beijing and Shanghai — you tap on at the front door and tap off at the rear. Last verified: 2026-10-11.
Why buses still matter in 2026
Metros get the glory, but buses reach what metros skip: hutong alleys in Beijing, hillside neighborhoods in Chongqing, the old-town lanes of Suzhou and Xi'an, and every mid-size city whose single metro line (if any) does not cover the map. Fares are nominal — CNY 2 in Shanghai and Guangzhou, CNY 1–2 across most prefecture cities — and the payment stack has been rebuilt around QR codes that work with a tourist-mode Alipay. The bus is the cheapest powered transport in the country and, outside rush hour, a window-seat city tour for the price of a bottle of water.
Key facts at a glance
- Flat fares: CNY 2 in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou; CNY 1–2 in most smaller cities
- Beijing: distance-based — CNY 2 covers the first 10 km, then CNY 1 per additional 5 km
- Tap protocol: flat-fare cities tap once at the front door; Beijing and Shanghai tap on at the front and off at the rear
- Payment: Alipay 乘车码 (Ride Code) per city, WeChat transit mini-programs, physical transit cards, and in many cities contactless UnionPay bank cards
- Cash: still accepted, exact fare, no change given
- Children: under 1.2–1.3 m ride free with a paying adult
The Alipay ride code, step by step
Step 1: Set the city once
Open Alipay, tap the Ride (出行/乘车码) tile, switch to the Bus tab, and select your city. The first time, you activate that city's transit code — one confirmation, a few seconds.
Step 2: Generate the code
The code lives one tap away on the Alipay home screen. It refreshes itself; no network fumbling at the door (the code works offline for a window).
Step 3: Scan at the door
The scanner sits on the handrail post inside the front door. Hold the phone's code to the glass; the green tick and a beep take under a second. On distance-based systems, repeat at the rear door when leaving — the system calculates the fare from the two taps.
Step 4: Payment settles silently
Fares bill to your linked card through Alipay after the ride — CNY 2, no receipt unless you ask the driver. The in-app record lists every leg, which doubles as your travel expense log.
The alternatives
- WeChat Pay: every city transit agency runs a WeChat mini-program issuing the same kind of code. Add it for the cities you ride in most.
- Physical transit cards: Beijing's Yikatong and Shanghai's public transport card cost CNY 20 refundable deposit and work on bus and metro alike — a good offline backup and a keepsake.
- Contactless bank cards: many city fleets accept tap-to-pay UnionPay cards directly at the same scanner.
- Cash: exact fare into the box by the driver; no change, no ticket. The least good option but it works.
Common scenarios and use cases
1. The sightseeing loop
Beijing's buses 1 and 52 run the Chang'an Avenue spine past Tiananmen — a CNY 2–4 ride with the best street-level view in the city. Chengdu's buses thread the temple-and-teahouse districts the metro bypasses.
2. The old-town crawl
In Suzhou, Xi'an's Muslim Quarter edges, and Guangzhou's old streets, bus stops sit inside the fabric the metro can't touch. CNY 2 per hop, 5–10 minute headways on trunk lines.
3. Airport and station connectors
Airport shuttles (机场大巴) run CNY 20–40 to city centers — pay the same way or cash to the attendant.
4. Late-night fallback
Major cities run night buses on trunk routes; the same ride code applies, and fares on night services run CNY 2–5.
Costs and pricing breakdown
- Typical ride: CNY 1–2 flat in most cities
- Beijing distance fare: CNY 2 first 10 km + CNY 1 per 5 km
- Airport shuttle bus: CNY 20–40
- Transit card deposit: CNY 20, refundable
- Monthly cap: some cities cap commuter spending (e.g., discounts after CNY 40–100/month) — tourists rarely reach it
- Child under 1.2–1.3 m: free
Pitfalls to avoid
- Forgetting the tap-off: on Beijing and Shanghai distance fares, exiting without tapping off bills the maximum segment. Two taps, every ride.
- Wrong-city code: codes are city-locked; switching cities takes one tap in the app — do it before boarding, not at the door.
- Front-door exit confusion: board front, exit rear, except where the driver waves you otherwise. The scanner position tells you the rule.
- Assuming English signage: route apps (Amap, Baidu Maps) speak English in transit mode; the bus itself may not. Let the app call the stops.
- Rush-hour luggage: 08:00–09:00 and 17:30–19:00 buses are standing-room with suitcases unwelcome — shift 30 minutes or take the metro.
Alternatives and trade-offs
- Metro: faster on trunk corridors, crowded but predictable; CNY 3–7 typical fares versus the bus's CNY 2.
- Shared bikes: the 1–3 km complement to both; CNY 1.5 per ride.
- Didi: door to door for CNY 12–25 within a district — the bus costs a tenth of it on any route both serve.
- Walking the old town: in Suzhou or the Beijing hutongs, the streets themselves are the attraction — ride the bus between neighborhoods, walk inside them.
Local context and customs
Bus culture is grandma-and-schoolchild culture: give up the front-row seats (they are priority seating, 博爱座/爱心专座), and expect the whole bus to police queue-jumping at popular stops. Board through the front door where the scanner lives; exit at the rear, thanking the driver (谢谢师傅) as locals do. Announcements run in Mandarin and English on tourist-trunk lines, Mandarin only elsewhere — set Amap's transit mode to auto-refresh so you get the "get off now" vibration before your stop.
Verifying current information
Fares and payment support change by city:
- Alipay's transit tile: city list and live fares
- City transit bureau sites: fare tables and night routes (e.g., Beijing 北京公交, Shanghai 上海公交)
- Amap / Baidu Maps: real-time bus arrival times — usually within a minute of accurate
- Station and stop signage: QR codes on every bus stop post open the local schedule
Putting it all together
Set the ride code on day one: Alipay, transit tile, your city, done — then CNY 2 buys any seat on any bus in town. Tap on at the front, tap off at the rear in Beijing and Shanghai, once everywhere else. Keep the CNY 20 transit card as the offline backup, let Amap call your stops, and ride the trunk lines at midday when the front row is free and the city scrolls past the window. Last verified: 2026-10-11.
FAQ
How do I pay for buses as a foreigner?
Alipay's Ride Code (乘车码) works in essentially every major city with a tourist-mode account — set your city in the transit tile, scan at the door.
How much is the bus?
CNY 1–2 flat in most cities. Beijing is distance-based: CNY 2 for the first 10 km, then CNY 1 per additional 5 km.
Do I need to tap when exiting?
In Beijing and Shanghai, yes — tap off at the rear door or you are billed the maximum segment. Flat-fare cities need only the boarding tap.
Can I pay cash?
Yes, exact fare, no change. The QR code or a CNY 20-deposit transit card is smoother.
Is there a bus card?
Beijing's Yikatong and Shanghai's transit card: CNY 20 refundable deposit, work on bus and metro, sold at station counters and convenience kiosks.
How do I know which bus to take?
Amap or Baidu Maps transit mode: enter destination, pick the bus option, and follow live arrival times and English stop names.
Are buses crowded?
Rush hours (08:00–09:00, 17:30–19:00) are standing-room. Midday and evening rides are comfortable.
Do buses run late?
Trunk routes run to 22:00–23:00, and major cities operate night buses (CNY 2–5) on main corridors. The transit tile or Amap shows last departures.