Apps you need before visiting China

China has its own ecosystem of apps and services that is completely independent from the outside world.

For that reason, there are a few things you need in order to get by in the country. Not to worry though, these are easy to use!

Things to download before you arrive:

1. Wechat: Everything, and I mean everything, functions within Wechat. Ticket purchasing, public transport tickets etc - it all falls under wechat. Make sure you download it and make an account in advance to make contacting places and people easier once you arrive. The scan feature also allows you to translate Chinese text (either image or screenshot) into english - great for reading menus.

2. Aliapay: Similar to wechat but more on the services side. Everything works via payment qr codes and alipay is the easiest to set up with a foreign bank card. There are also travel cards for each city under the transport tab, as well as taxi services. The scan feature also allows you to translate Chinese text (either image or screenshot) into english - great for reading menus.

3. Didi: Chinese UBER, and it even has an English version. For most trips this is the easiest way to get around within a city. Didi's are relatively cheap and very efficient. If you need to get anywhere, it is usually the best way to go.

4. Trip: Trip is one of the better apps for booking flight and train tickets within China, and will allow you to collect points for discounts later. They also have a good selection of hotels that are guaranteed to accept foreign guests so it's good to use it as the go-to travel app.

5. Google Translate Library: As mentioned, Google services are unlikely to work and english-speakers are few and far between so make sure you have the Chinese library downloaded for offline use - otherwise you will be reduced to hand signals only in a lot of places.

6. Maps: Apple maps will work fine, but otherwise you'll need an app that's not google maps. Chinese apps like Baidu maps will work but will be only in Chinese so could be worth making sure yours is compatible.

   For this guide, I've included all the Chinese names of all the spots so if you do download a Chinese map like Baidu or AMAP, you can copy and paste the Chinese name into there.

7. E-Sim: Getting a local sim is not always the easiest in China, so if you can get an e-sim before you arrive then that would make it a lot simpler.

8. VPN: Yes, almost all outside internet is blocked within China so if you need to do anything you'll need to use a VPN. Services like Astrill, Express VPN etc are solid options with a good history of working in China.

9. XiaoHongShu: This one is a little different but it's essentially the Chinese version of Instagram. It's all in Chinese but if you paste your location into the search bar you can find images and references of things people are going to. Great for if you have a spare afternoon.

10. Dianping: Essentially China's version of tripadviser. If you're looking for good food, coffee, or anything else really, you can type in the Chinese translation and find the best rated spots near you.