China travel apps: seven to install before you fly

Seven apps cover almost everything a visitor needs in China: Alipay and WeChat Pay for money, Amap for maps, DiDi for cars, Railway 12306 for trains, and a VPN plus an offline translator for the gaps. Install and register them at home — SMS codes for app registration often arrive slowly once you are on a local network.

Payments: Alipay and WeChat Pay

Both link Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Diners Club and Discover cards; WeChat Pay also accepts American Express. Register with your home phone number and verify your identity with a passport — no Chinese bank account is needed.

In Alipay: Me → Bank Cards → Add International Card. In WeChat: Me → Services → Wallet → Cards.

Fees are the same on both: transactions of 200 RMB or less are free, and anything above 200 RMB carries a 3% service fee. Alipay's verified single-transaction limit for foreign cards is USD 5,000.

Almost every shop takes QR codes — you scan theirs, or they scan yours. Alipay's Transport section also issues a metro QR for most major cities.

Maps: Amap, not Google

Google Maps does not work reliably in mainland China. Install AMap Global — a separate store listing from the domestic Amap (高德地图) — which has an English interface and runs on China's GCJ-02 coordinate system, so pins land where you actually are. It names specific subway exits, which is the difference between surfacing on the right street and walking two blocks the wrong way.

Rides: DiDi

The DiDi China app has an English interface, registers foreign mobile numbers, accepts international bank cards and translates messages between you and the driver. Drivers confirm the booking by asking for the last four digits of your phone number.

Trains: Railway 12306

The official railway app runs in English, and foreign passport holders register with a verified email address rather than a Chinese number. You must complete passport identity verification before buying: if the automatic check fails, upload a passport photo or take the original passport to a station counter. Tickets go on sale 15 calendar days ahead, including today. Commercial platforms also sell Chinese rail tickets in English if verification stalls.

Before you fly: VPN and data

A working VPN is the only way to reach Gmail, Google Maps and WhatsApp from a mainland network, and you cannot reach the vendors' sites to buy one once you are there.

Install one at home and test it there — compare the main VPN options — rather than gambling on a free app after landing.

For data, a travel eSIM saves hunting for a SIM kiosk on arrival and leaves your home SIM in place for the SMS codes your bank sends.

Buy and install it before you fly; compare the China eSIM plans if you need more data than the standard package.

Finally, download an offline Chinese pack in your translation app of choice. It works with no data connection, which is exactly the situation you will be in when the menu is entirely in Chinese.

Last checked: 2026-10-01