Essential Apps for Foreigners Living in China
Absolutes
An absolute must in China. Not only is this app great for payment, but you can access mini-apps to book attractions and services. I typically use AliPay for service mini-programs like DiDi (China’s Uber) or Meituan (food delivery), although WeChat also has them. However, most attractions use mini-programs that are exclusively in Weixin (WeChat), so make sure to have this app downloaded and ready to use when you come to China.
Alipay
The main reason that I use AliPay is for transportation related items. Whenever I use the metro, I pull out AliPay’s Transport feature to quickly scan the QR code. I’ve bookmarked DiDi and Meituan mini-apps to my phone home screen to quickly access them. If you ever want to use the blue bikes in a city, AliPay is needed to reserve them.
Amap and/or Baidu Maps
Google Maps definitely won’t work in China and I’ve heard that Apple Maps is touch and go. My go-to navigation apps are Amap (Gaode) or Baidu Maps. I honestly use both often. Amap has recently launched an English version which defintely helps if you don’t know any Chinese, but even before this new launch, typing in English locations usually pulled up the right location. However, every once in a while, Amap acts up or I can’t find my location (because China can be a maze at times) and I use Baidu maps to confirm that I’m heading in the right direction. I’ve also found Baidu Maps to be more accurate when it comes to public transportation options and time estimates.
Dianping
The Chinese version of Yelp, Dianping is my one-stop shop when looking for places to eat or explore. Often, you can find deals at restaurants so that you can get slight to sometimes massive discounts. And if you’re looking for any photo-worthy spots, this is the platform to search.
Railway 12306
I book all of my train tickets through the Railway 12306 app (Chinese language version). This app does also have an English version (just go into settings and change the language), but it’s much more limited and you can’t choose your seat preference. One thing I love about the Chinese version, besides being able to indicate that I want a window seat, is that it shows the different stops on your route so I can prepare when I need to get off. I also get the QR code that (theoretically) I can scan to get in, but I’ve always just used my passport.
VPN
As you might know, China bans a lot of sites from being accessed within the country. A good VPN is needed to be able to access Google, Instagram, and other apps. I mainly use LetsVPN on my phone and computer, but sometimes it’s finicky. I also have Astrill and Shadowrocket as backups, but the premium version of LetsVPN has been the most consistent in terms of performance and speed.
Bank app
If you’re living in China, getting a Chinese bank account is a must. Anytime you purchase something over 200 yuan, you have to pay a 3% fee if you use a foreign card (even if you don’t have foreign transaction fees) and you can get around this by using your Chinese debit card. Having the bank app allows me to sell my foreign currency (USD) to the bank while monitoring the rate fluctuations.
Google Lens
Despite being in China for so long, I still struggle often with signs. Google Lens is the easiest app I’ve found to translating them quickly. Yes, AliPay technically has a translate feature, but I’ve found it to be slow and buggy. Do yourself a favor and download Google Lens (and make sure you have a VPN handy.)
Google Translator
Similar to Google Lens, I just haven’t found a good alternative to Google Translate to quickly translate what I need. When talking to a police officer though, I do tend to use AliPay translate, just to be safe.
Nice to haves
Meituan
Want food delivered straight to your room? Then Meituan is the app for you. Like Uber Eats in the US, Meituan is the main food delivery app in China. There’s also Ele.me, but I personally prefer Meituan. While there’s a mini-program in AliPay, I also like having the app downloaded to my phone to be able to better track my delivery (down to the specific location of the driver). The interface is different enough to warrant me having both the AliPay short cut and the native app on my home screen. Also, if you ever want to ride the yellow bikes around the city, I’m pretty sure you need the downloaded app.
Xiaohongshu
Otherwise known as Little Red Book (or Red Note), Xiaohongshu is the main social media app used in China. If you’re looking for reviews, things to do, or places to see, this is a great app to find the best parts of a city.
Trip.com
I book everything through Trip.com if I can. Not only is it easy to use, but I get cash back through Rakuten and I can earn Trip coins which accumulate to actual money for future trips. Trip is actually a Chinese company, so they have a lot of access to the attractions throughout this country.
Xe
Converting USD To RMB is not too hard (just divide by 7), but every once in a while, I trip myself up and want to double check. I use Xe as my current converter when I want to make sure I’m not doing my math wrong. I use the app Unit Converter if I need to convert my weights or temperatures.
Spotify
Surprisingly, Spotify works in China and as my main preferred music platform, I continue to use it daily.
Starbucks
I have a Starbucks on my college campus (and 3 other locations within 10 minutes walking distance), so I go often. But not being able to speak Chinese means I need to find creative workarounds. Sure, I could just go up to the counter and practice my Chinese, but what’s the fun in that?! I’ve downloaded the Chinese version of the Starbucks app to be able to get rewards, discounts, and order ahead.
Mo Weather
For whatever reason, my weather apps on my Samsung phone and iPhone never seem to be accurate. I finally downloaded Mo Weather, a Chinese weather app, to get more accurate predictions. This has made a world of difference in determining whether there will be rain or not and how the air quality is in the city I’m exploring.
Bubble Translate
One way to tell who a foreigner is is by looking at their photo gallery and seeing if they have tons of random screenshots. One way to get around this is by installing a screen reader app that can translate through a click of a button rather than having to upload a photo. The one I use on my phone is called Bubble Translate, but I’ve also heard the app Pleco has a version too.
大麦 Da mai or 猫眼 or 票星球
Chinese performances are on another level and I highly encourage you to go see a concert in China if you’re able to. The platforms that I use to get tickets are 大麦, 猫眼 and 票星球.
Other resources
Klook
Like Trip.com, you can trust the tickets that you get from Klook. This Hong Kong based company is also a great start to get ideas about where to go or what to do.
JD
Similar to TaoBao, JD is the place to go if you want authentic electronics. Make sure to check that the store you’re ordering from is verified.
Pinduoduo
Can you imagine a store even cheaper than TaoBao? Somehow, someway, Pinduoduo is that store.
Pleco
Wondering what a Chinese character means? Pleco is a fantastic app for drawing a character and learning its definition. When I want to improve my Chinese, I find a random character and add it to Pleco.
Air Matters or Air Visual
The air quality in China has improved so much over the last decade, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t days when it’s a little rough outside. I use these two apps to check whether I need to wear a face mask or not. They tend to have different results, so I usually take an average of the two.