If you travel in China for work (or you’re doing expense reports back home), sooner or later you’ll see the word fapiao (发票). It’s often translated as “receipt”, but in practice it’s closer to an official tax invoice.

This is not tax or legal advice — it’s a traveler’s workflow guide so you can get the paperwork you need without derailing your trip.

What is a fapiao (发票)?

In many places in China, a basic “payment confirmation” and an official fapiao are not the same thing.

A fapiao is the receipt format that businesses typically want for accounting. It can be:

  • paper fapiao (printed)
  • electronic fapiao (often sent by SMS, email, or a QR-code flow)

When a foreign traveler might need one

You might want a fapiao for:

  • hotels (business travel reimbursement)
  • domestic flights / trains / attractions (company expenses)
  • ride-hailing (trip receipts for expense claims)
  • larger shopping purchases (warranty / returns context varies by merchant)

If you’re purely vacation travel and you don’t need expense documentation, you can usually skip the fapiao step.

Related planning:

The #1 rule: ask at the time you pay (not after)

The most common failure mode is paying, leaving, and then asking later — and being told it’s not possible or it requires extra steps you can’t complete quickly.

Practical playbook:

  • ask before or right when you pay
  • confirm whether they will issue it immediately or later (some places batch them)
  • if you need it for reimbursement, verify the fapiao amount matches your payment

How to ask (simple phrases)

You can usually just say:

  • “可以开发票吗？” (Can you issue a fapiao?)
  • “我要发票。” (I want a fapiao.)

If you want electronic:

  • “电子发票可以吗？” (Is an electronic fapiao OK?)

What information they may ask you for

What’s required depends on the merchant, but common asks include:

  • your phone number (for sending an electronic fapiao link)
  • your email address (sometimes)
  • for business reimbursement: company name and sometimes a tax ID (often called 税号)

If you don’t have a Chinese phone number, you may still be able to:

  • use your international number (sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t)
  • provide an email instead
  • get a paper fapiao

If connectivity is shaky, fix that first:

Where travelers get stuck (and what to do)

“We already closed the register for the day”

This is common. If you need the fapiao, the simplest mitigation is to ask earlier (or ask for a “can you issue it now?” confirmation before you leave).

“We can only issue electronic fapiao to a China phone number”

Try these options, in order:

  • ask if they can send it by email instead
  • ask for a paper fapiao
  • if it’s a hotel, ask the front desk to print it at checkout

“We can issue it, but the details need to match the payer”

If you paid via Alipay / WeChat Pay and the merchant says the invoice must match the payer identity, keep it simple:

  • use the same payer method consistently for business expenses
  • keep screenshots of the payment and order confirmation

Payments context:

Quick checklist (copy/paste)

Before you walk away:

  • fapiao requested at time of payment
  • method confirmed: paper vs electronic
  • receiving channel confirmed: phone vs email
  • amount matches your payment
  • you saved the fapiao (screenshot / PDF / photo)

If you’re organizing receipts for a longer trip, it also helps to keep one folder per city and include:

  • your hotel confirmation
  • major transport confirmations
  • any deposit/incidentals notes from hotels

Related:

Last verified: 2026-06-12