the apps

here’s the thing nobody tells you: the apps you use every day at home mostly don’t work in china. google maps is unreliable, uber left years ago, whatsapp and instagram are blocked on local networks, and your credit card barely gets used.

china runs on its own app stack, and once it’s on your phone, travel there is honestly smoother than most places. this is the list to download before you fly, what each one is for, and the foreigner setup quirks that trip people up.

the quick list

alipay: the one app you can’t skip

if you only download one thing, make it alipay. it’s your wallet, and it’s also a mini-app hub. inside alipay you can hail a didi, get a metro qr code, order delivery, book trains and translate menus. no extra downloads, no chinese phone number.

foreigner setup: sign up with your home number, verify your passport in-app, then link your visa or mastercard. payments up to about $30 are usually fee-free, and above that there’s usually a ~3% fee. we wrote the full walkthrough in how to set up alipay + wechat pay, and what to do if it locks up mid-trip in my alipay froze on me.

wechat: how everyone in china talks to you

wechat is whatsapp, instagram, venmo and a mini-app store in one. you need it because that’s how people message in china. hotels, tour guides, airbnb hosts and the cool person you met at the bar will all ask “do you have wechat?”

it also matters for food. a lot of restaurants have you scan a table qr code that opens a wechat mini-program to order (more on that in our chinese food guide).

foreigner setup:

• sign up with your home number. new accounts sometimes need an existing wechat user to scan a code and vouch for you. if you know anyone on wechat, ask them now, not from the airport
• add your card under me → services → wallet and verify your passport
• turn on the built-in translate. long-press any chat message and hit “translate”. it works great with hosts and guides

amap (gaode) or apple maps: navigation that actually works

google maps in china is a trap. the data’s outdated and the map is literally offset from the satellite layer, so your blue dot will float a block away from where you’re standing.

amap (高德地图, gāodé) is what locals use. it added english in january 2025 and 14 more languages in july 2025, so you can download it from your normal app store and switch it to english in settings. it gives you walking, metro, bus and driving directions, live traffic, and it can even hail taxis through partner ride apps.

apple maps is the lazy-but-fine option for iphone users. inside china it runs on amap’s data, so it’s accurate, and it works without a vpn. the downside is that a lot of smaller places only show chinese names, and transit detail isn’t as good as amap.

didi: china’s uber

taxis are cheap in china, and didi is how you get one without miming directions. the standalone app has a full english interface, takes foreign phone numbers and accepts international cards.

foreigner setup: a lot of travelers skip the standalone app and use didi inside alipay instead. search “didi” in alipay, and it’ll use the card you’ve already linked. it’s generally the more stable route for foreigners, and it auto-translates messages with your driver.

• set your pickup pin carefully. at big stations and airports, walk to the signed ride-hailing pickup zone
• the app shows the driver’s plate number. check it before you get in
• drivers often call to confirm your location. if you don’t speak chinese, just send a message in the app instead. it’ll be translated

trip.com: trains, hotels and flights in english

trip.com is the easiest way to book china’s bullet trains as a foreigner. it connects to the official 12306 rail system, takes foreign cards, and you just scan your passport at the station gate. it’s also solid for domestic flights, attraction tickets, and hotels that are actually licensed to take foreign guests (not all chinese hotels are, which is a fun surprise at 11pm).

you can also use the official 12306 app or website, which has an english version, but it’s clunkier and payment can be finicky. our china train guide covers both, plus how to pick seats.

meituan + dianping: food delivery and “where do locals eat?”

• dianping (大众点评) is china’s yelp. it’s the best way to find the restaurant with the 40-minute line of locals. it’s mostly in chinese, so use your phone’s screenshot translate
• meituan (美团) is the delivery giant, food, groceries, medicine, even phone chargers, delivered in 30 minutes

foreigner setup: neither app lets you link a foreign card directly. instead, you pay through alipay or wechat pay at checkout. the main meituan app is chinese-only and can be fussy with foreign numbers, so the easiest route is the meituan mini-program inside wechat or alipay. wechat can translate the page for you.

translate apps: menus, signs and taxi drivers

you’ll use a translate app every day. the best ones are the ones with camera mode, where you point your phone at a menu and it overlays the english.

• google translate is great, if you have a roaming esim or a vpn. on local wifi or a chinese sim it’s blocked. download the offline chinese pack before you fly, just in case
• apple translate (iphone) works in china without a vpn and supports offline mode. download chinese in settings first
• baidu translate or youdao are chinese apps, so they always work, and their camera translation is really good with menus
• pleco is an offline chinese dictionary. it’s a nerd favorite, and it’s perfect for “what is this one character”

honestly, a roaming esim fixes most of the “is google blocked?” stress. it routes your data through outside china, so google translate, gmail and instagram just work. details in internet in china.

metro apps: getting through the gates

china’s metros are cheap, fast, and spotless. you’ve got three ways in:

1. alipay transport code (easiest). tap “transport” in alipay, make sure your current city is selected, and activate the metro code. it works in 100+ cities, including beijing, shanghai, chengdu, chongqing and xi’an. scan the qr at the gate going in and out, and it charges your linked card
2. tap your foreign card. as of 2025–26, some lines in beijing, shanghai, guangzhou and chengdu let you tap visa, mastercard, amex or unionpay contactless cards right at the gate. it’s rolling out unevenly and not every gate works, so treat it as a bonus, not a plan
3. ticket machines. most take cash and some take alipay. they’re fine in a pinch, but the lines are annoying at rush hour

for maps, metroman has offline english metro maps for most chinese cities and plans routes across lines. amap does the same thing if you’d rather keep fewer apps.

a backup vpn (just in case)

with a roaming esim you mostly won’t need a vpn. but hotel wifi, a local sim, or a long trip are when a vpn earns its keep. you have to install it before you land. vpn sites and app store listings are blocked from inside china.

your pre-flight checklist

do this on good wifi, a week before you go:

• alipay: signed up, passport verified, card linked
• wechat: signed up (get a friend to vouch if needed), card linked
• amap: downloaded, language set to english
• didi: logged in, or you’ve found it inside alipay
• trip.com: account made, train and hotel bookings in
• translate: offline chinese downloaded in google and/or apple translate
• esim installed (don’t activate it until you land), plus a vpn as backup
• hotel address saved in chinese in your notes app

the vibe check

• alipay + wechat are your wallet and your phone number now. set both up at home
• amap (or apple maps) for getting around. google maps is a trap here
• didi for taxis, trip.com for trains and hotels, meituan/dianping for food
• keep a translate app with camera mode and download offline chinese
• an esim keeps everything else working. a vpn is your backup

next: set up your payments, sort your internet, then plan the fun part with our first-time china itinerary. trust, future you at the metro gate will be grateful.

heads up: some links above are affiliate links. if you book through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — it keeps this guide free. more on that.