No. There is no tipping culture in China. Restaurants do not expect a tip, hotels do not expect a tip, taxi drivers do not expect a tip, and nobody is working on the assumption that one is coming. Not leaving one is not rude here — it is the normal thing to do.
Why there is nothing to tip for
In the places most visitors come from, a tip is quietly part of how the work gets paid for: the bill covers the food, and the rest is assumed to be made up at the table. None of that applies in China. The price is the price, the staff are paid by the person who employs them, and the bill at the end of a meal is the whole of it.
So there is no gap for a tip to fill. Leaving money does not read as a compliment the way it does at home, because nothing in the transaction was waiting for it.
What the bill actually says
Almost always, just the dishes. A service charge is uncommon in China, and where one applies — a few upmarket hotel restaurants add one — it is printed on the bill, so you never have to calculate it.
The same logic runs through the rest of the day. A taxi fare is the number on the meter. A shop price is the price. There is no expectation of a little extra on top of any of it.
What if I want to leave something anyway?
You can. Nothing stops you, and nobody will refuse it. Just understand what you are doing: you are being unusual, not polite. If you have had a genuinely exceptional day with someone — a driver, a guide, a family who hosted you — that is your judgement and your business, and it is not part of any local custom you need to follow.
Questions I get on this one
Is a service charge added in restaurants?
Should I tip a driver or a hotel porter?
Do I round up in a taxi?
Will I offend anyone by not tipping?
Written from living and working here rather than from a guidebook. Related: what everyday things cost · how you pay for things · all essentials