The 10 Apps You Actually Need in China

Download these before you land: Alipay, WeChat, Didi, Gaode Maps (Amap). That covers payments, communication, rides, and navigation. Everything else can wait until you need it.

If you're staying longer than a week, add: Meituan, 12306, Xiaohongshu. If you're living here, add: Taobao, Baidu Maps, Dianping.

These four apps are non-negotiable. Without them, basic daily tasks become painful.

App	What it does	Why you need it	Works in English?
Alipay (支付宝)	Payments	Pay for everything — food, transport, shopping, even street vendors	Yes
WeChat (微信)	Messaging + payments	How everyone communicates. Also has mini-programs for ordering food, buying tickets, everything	Mostly
DiDi Global (滴滴)	Ride-hailing	China's Uber. You can't hail taxis without it	Yes
Gaode Maps (高德地图)	Navigation	Google Maps doesn't work in China. Gaode is the most accurate for walking, driving, and transit	Partial (UI is Chinese, search works in English)

China is cashless. Alipay is how you pay for 95% of things. We wrote a complete guide to setting up Alipay, but the quick version:

• Download "Alipay" (blue icon, white "a")
• Sign up with your phone number + passport
• Add your Visa/Mastercard
• Activate Tour Pass for seamless merchant payments

The killer feature you don't know about: Alipay's mini-programs. Inside Alipay you can order food delivery, buy train tickets, rent bikes, pay utility bills, and use Didi — all without downloading separate apps. Think of Alipay as an app store inside an app.

WeChat is not just a messaging app. In China, it's the operating system of daily life. Your hotel might send you a WeChat message instead of an email. Restaurants have WeChat-only menus. Your Chinese friends will assume you have it.

What you'll use it for:

• Messaging — group chats, voice messages, video calls. This is how China communicates. Nobody uses SMS.
• WeChat Pay — backup payment method to Alipay. Some vendors only accept WeChat Pay.
• Mini-programs (小程序) — thousands of apps-within-WeChat. Restaurant ordering, bike rental, government services, event tickets.
• Moments — like Instagram stories but permanent. Your Chinese friends post here, not on Instagram.
• Official Accounts — follow restaurants, clubs, brands. This is how Zhaodai announces events, how restaurants push deals.

The catch: New WeChat accounts need verification from an existing user. Set this up BEFORE you arrive — ask a Chinese friend, colleague, or your hotel to verify you.

We wrote a full Didi guide. The summary: download DiDi Global (orange icon), add your card, type destinations in Chinese characters. The driver will call you — say "我在这里等你" and hang up.

Pro tip: You can skip downloading Didi entirely by using the Didi mini-program inside Alipay or WeChat. Same drivers, same prices, payment already linked.

Google Maps is blocked in China. Apple Maps works but has limited transit data. Gaode Maps (高德地图) is what everyone uses — 700+ million users, most accurate map data, real-time traffic, and the only map app with reliable transit routing in every Chinese city.

Why not Baidu Maps? Baidu Maps is also popular but its interface is more cluttered and it's harder to use without reading Chinese. Gaode is slightly cleaner. Both work — pick one and stick with it.

What Gaode does that Google Maps can't:

• Accurate walking directions (Google Maps often routes you through walls)
• Real-time bus/subway arrival times
• Indoor navigation for malls and airports
• Built-in ride-hailing aggregator (searches Didi + other services)
• Speed camera and traffic enforcement alerts (if driving)

Language tip: The app is in Chinese, but you can search in English and pinyin. Search "Starbucks" or "xingbake" and it'll find it. For specific places, search the Chinese name — copy it from your hotel booking or ask Cheelin.

Meituan is China's delivery super-app. Food delivery in 30 minutes from any restaurant near you, plus group-buy deals, movie tickets, hotel bookings, and services (massage, haircuts, etc.).

The foreigner reality: Meituan is entirely in Chinese. No English version exists. You'll need to either:

• Use the translate feature on your phone (screenshot → translate)
• Ask a Chinese friend to help you set up your first order
• Text Cheelin — we can walk you through the ordering process or find deals for you

Worth the effort? Absolutely. Food delivery in China costs ¥20-40 ($3-6) per meal delivered to your door in 30 minutes. Once you figure out Meituan, you'll use it daily.

China's high-speed rail network is one of the best in the world. Beijing to Shanghai in 4.5 hours for ¥550 ($75). The 12306 app is the official (and cheapest) way to book tickets.

Setup: Download "12306" or "Railway 12306". Register with your passport number. The app now has a basic English interface (it didn't used to). Pay with Alipay or WeChat Pay.

Alternative: Trip.com has a much better English interface and accepts foreign cards directly. Tickets are the same price or slightly marked up (~5%). Worth it if you can't navigate 12306 in Chinese.

Important: You must collect physical tickets at the station using your passport for some routes. Bring your passport to the train station even if the app says "e-ticket." The gates don't always accept foreign passport scans.

Think of Xiaohongshu as China's Instagram meets Yelp. Users post photo/video reviews of restaurants, cafes, travel spots, and everything else. The content is overwhelmingly in Chinese, but the photos tell the story.

Why it matters: The best local recommendations in China are NOT on TripAdvisor or Google. They're on Xiaohongshu. When a Chinese friend tells you about an amazing hidden cafe, they found it on RED. Search any neighborhood + "探店" (tàndiàn — "store exploration") and you'll find dozens of curated reviews with photos.

How to use it as a foreigner: Download, scroll the "Explore" feed, search in Chinese for what you want. You don't need to post — just consume. The algorithm learns fast and starts showing you relevant content within a day.

Every "China apps" listicle includes 30+ apps. Most are useless for foreigners. Skip these:

• Baidu (search engine) — just use Bing. It works in China without a VPN and handles English better than Baidu.
• Douyin (TikTok China) — entertainment, not utility. Download if you're bored, not because you need it.
• Ctrip/Trip.com — useful for flight/hotel booking but you can use the website instead of the app.
• Pleco (dictionary) — good if you're learning Chinese, unnecessary if you just need to survive.
• Google Translate — works without VPN for camera translation. But it's not an app you "need" — your phone's built-in camera translate does the same thing.
• Any VPN app — you need a VPN, but install it BEFORE arriving. It's nearly impossible to download VPN apps from inside China.

This isn't an app recommendation — it's a survival warning. Install your VPN before you get on the plane.

In China, these don't work without a VPN: Google (all services), Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, Twitter/X, Telegram, most Western news sites.

What still works WITHOUT a VPN: iMessage, Apple Maps, Bing, Outlook/Hotmail, LinkedIn (sometimes), Spotify (sometimes).

We won't recommend specific VPN providers here (they change constantly — what works today might be blocked tomorrow). Ask in expat forums or text Cheelin for current recommendations. The one universal tip: install at least TWO VPNs. When one goes down (and it will), you have a backup.