Best Apps for China Travel

The apps for China travel that actually matter fall into five jobs: paying, navigating, getting a ride, translating, and booking trains. China runs on your phone more than almost anywhere else, so the apps you install matter as much as your passport. The good news for first-time visitors is that the daily-driver apps now have English interfaces and accept foreign Visa and Mastercard cards. The catch is that most Western apps you rely on at home are blocked, and the Chinese apps you actually need work best when you set them up before you land. Sort your phone out at home and the trip gets dramatically easier. The eight apps below are the short list, broken down by what each one is for.

Payments: Alipay and WeChat Pay

Install these first, because almost nobody takes cash or foreign credit cards in person. Both Alipay and WeChat Pay let foreigners link a Visa or Mastercard with just a passport and pay by QR code, which covers taxis, restaurants, shops, metro gates, and ticket machines. Lead with Alipay: it has the smoother dedicated tourist flow and bundles ride-hailing and metro passes. Keep WeChat Pay as a backup, since the odd merchant takes only one of the two. American Express is not supported on Alipay and is unreliable on WeChat, so bring a Visa or Mastercard as your main card. Payments under 200 CNY have no service fee; a roughly 3 percent fee applies above that, and WeChat caps foreign cards at about 6,000 CNY per transaction with monthly and yearly limits well above normal trip spending.

Maps: Amap, not Google Maps

Google Maps is blocked and unreliable inside China, with a coordinate offset no VPN can fix, so use Amap (Gaode Maps). Amap added a full English interface in January 2025, works in guest mode with no Chinese phone number, and gives metro directions down to which station exit to use. iPhone users can also use Apple Maps, which licenses the same Autonavi data with the offset handled automatically. Download Amap before you fly and switch the language to English in settings.

Ride-hailing: DiDi

DiDi is China’s standard ride-hailing app and has an English interface. The most reliable setup for foreigners is to open DiDi inside Alipay (look under Transport or Ride-hailing in the mini-programs) and let it bill your Alipay-linked card. Linking a foreign card to DiDi directly works mainly in big cities and is sometimes blocked by bank fraud checks, so the Alipay route saves hassle. This is confirmed current for 2026.

Translation: Pleco and Google Translate

Pleco is the best offline Chinese-English dictionary: point its camera at a menu or sign and it reads the characters with no internet. Google Translate adds familiar voice and camera translation, but it is blocked on Chinese networks. To use it live you need a roaming eSIM that routes your data through a foreign network, or a VPN tested before arrival; otherwise download the offline English-Chinese text pack at home (camera mode still needs a connection). An eSIM is the simpler fix because it keeps Google, WhatsApp, and your other home apps working with no extra software.

Booking trains and flights: Trip.com

Trip.com is the English-language way to buy China’s high-speed train tickets, domestic flights, and hotels with a foreign Visa or Mastercard, which most local booking sites refuse. For getting underground without signal, MetroMan adds clean offline subway maps with English station names for Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, and more.

Do these apps need a VPN?

Only Google Translate (and other Google services) need a way around the firewall; the Chinese apps above all work on a normal Chinese network. The cleanest fix is a roaming eSIM for China that carries your data over a foreign network, so blocked apps simply work without you configuring or testing a VPN.

Pre-flight checklist: set these up before you fly

Do all of this at home while you have stable internet, so you arrive ready to pay and navigate from the airport onward.

1. Install Alipay and WeChat, link a Visa or Mastercard, and complete passport verification.
2. Download Amap and switch the language to English (iPhone users can rely on Apple Maps too).
3. Install DiDi, then connect it to pay through Alipay.
4. Install Trip.com for trains and flights.
5. Download the offline English-Chinese pack in Google Translate and Pleco’s offline dictionary.
6. Add offline city subway maps in MetroMan.
7. Buy and install a roaming eSIM so your blocked apps work on landing.

Planning the trip itself? See our first-time China itinerary for the route, and if you are connecting through China, check whether you qualify for 240-hour visa-free transit before you book.

Frequently asked questions

Which apps should I download before visiting China?

The core set is Alipay or WeChat Pay for payments, Amap (Gaode) for navigation and taxis, DiDi for ride-hailing, and Trip.com for trains and hotels. Add a translation app like Google Translate with the Chinese pack downloaded for offline use. Install and log into all of them at home, since some need SMS verification that is harder to complete on arrival.

What is the best translation app for China?

Google Translate works well if you download the Chinese language pack for offline use and connect through an eSIM, and its camera mode reads menus and signs instantly. Many travelers also keep Baidu Translate or Pleco as a backup, since they run on the local internet without a VPN. Save key phrases and your hotel name in Chinese characters so you can show them to drivers and staff.

Can I use DiDi ride-hailing in English in China?

Yes. DiDi has a full English interface and accepts foreign Visa and Mastercard as well as Alipay and WeChat Pay, so you can hail a car without speaking Chinese. Enter your destination in the app and the driver gets it in Chinese automatically, which avoids language problems with taxis. Have a working data connection through your eSIM, since you need to be online to book and track the ride.