Must-Have Apps for China: What to Install Before You Fly

Before you fly to China, install five things: a payment app (Alipay, plus WeChat if you can), a map that works there (Amap, or Apple Maps on an iPhone), a way to call a car (DiDi), a translator with Chinese downloaded for offline use, and a data plan that is ready when you land.

Do it at home, about a week ahead, for two reasons. First, some services you rely on for downloads and messages are hard to reach inside mainland China. China's official tourism website says Google services cannot be opened directly there, and it advises installing a VPN before you enter, because some VPNs cannot be downloaded from local app stores. Second, signing up usually means a code sent by text message to your phone, and that is far easier on your home network and home Wi-Fi than at an airport.

Each app also has one setup step, such as adding a card or downloading a language, that you want finished before you board.

The short answer: what to install, and why before you leave

Here is the minimum set, with the job each one does:

• Alipay (支付宝, Zhīfùbǎo): paying in shops, restaurants and taxis by QR code, using a foreign card.
• WeChat (微信, Wēixìn): messaging, and a second wallet if Alipay has a problem.
• Amap (高德地图, Gāodé Dìtú) or Apple Maps: walking, metro and bus directions.
• DiDi (滴滴, Dīdī): ride-hailing in English.
• A translator with Mandarin downloaded: menus, signs and short conversations.
• A data plan: a travel eSIM, roaming, or a Chinese SIM bought on arrival.

Add 12306 or a booking agency if you will take trains between cities.

The reasons to do this at home are practical, not dramatic:

• App stores. Your phone's app store account is tied to your home country, and the big Chinese apps are listed there: Alipay and the official 12306 rail app are both on the US App Store, for example. Android users have a harder time once they arrive, because Google Play is not reachable in mainland China; WeChat's own help centre tells Android users there to download its installer from weixin.qq.com instead.
• Text-message codes. Sign-ups and logins send a code to your phone number. WeChat's help centre says that if the code does not arrive, check the country code, make sure your number can receive texts, and turn on roaming and mobile data. At home, none of that is a problem.
• Wi-Fi. Public Wi-Fi in China usually logs you in with a code sent to a Chinese SIM, which a foreign number cannot receive. Some airports offer a passport login (more on that in the FAQ), but you cannot count on free Wi-Fi to finish your setup.
• Checks take time. Some apps ask for a passport scan or an extra security step on a new account. If that happens at your kitchen table, you have days to sort it out.

Payment apps: Alipay first, WeChat Pay as backup

Most everyday payments in China are made by scanning a QR code, and almost all of those codes belong to Alipay or WeChat Pay. Both now accept foreign cards. Our advice is to set up Alipay first, because it takes the fewest steps for a visitor, then add WeChat Pay as your backup. Cards and cash are your third line, not your first.

Alipay

Alipay's official page for visitors says to sign up, then choose the International Version and link a bank card; it can then be used in shops, for taxis and public transport, and for booking flights and hotels. You pick the International Version yourself after signing up, so look for that option rather than assuming the app sets it for you. China's central bank lists the cards Alipay accepts as UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Diners Club and Discover, with no American Express, and the add-card screen in the app shows the latest list. Before your first payment, Alipay asks you to enter your passport details, so keep your passport nearby while you set it up. Some features are not available to foreign-card users, including sending money to other people and red envelopes (红包, hóngbāo, gifts of money).

WeChat and WeChat Pay

WeChat Pay accepts the widest range of cards: the central bank's guide lists UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Diners Club and Discover, and the app's add-card screen confirms what it takes today. If your only card is an Amex, WeChat Pay is the wallet to set up. You can register WeChat with a phone number from more than 200 countries and regions, so you do not need a Chinese number. New accounts sometimes get an extra security check. WeChat offers three ways through it: another WeChat user scans a code for you, you verify a payment card, or you activate WeChat Pay and set a payment password. To add your card, go to Me → Pay and Services (or Services) → Wallet → Bank Cards → Add a Bank Card, and check the latest menu names in your version if they differ.

If your card was issued outside mainland China by UnionPay, it can be linked to both wallets. Fees and spending limits for foreign cards change from time to time, so check the current fees in the app before you pay. For which card network works where, plus prepaid options and card fees, see using international cards in China. The full step-by-step setup is in how to use Alipay with foreign cards and how to use WeChat Pay with foreign cards, and the WeChat account itself is covered in our WeChat setup guide.

China's digital yuan has its own official app, e-CNY (数字人民币, Shùzì Rénmínbì), which you can download from the App Store or Google Play before you go. Most visitors do not need it once Alipay works; read digital yuan for tourists if you want a third option.

Getting online: eSIM, roaming or a Chinese SIM, and the VPN question

None of these apps help without data, so decide how your phone will get online before you pack. There are three choices:

• A travel eSIM bought before you fly. China's official tourism website suggests buying a regional eSIM plan that covers China before you enter and switching it on when you arrive, and it names Airalo and Nomad as examples. Your phone must support eSIM. For most short trips this is the easiest option, and your home SIM can stay in the phone for bank codes.
• Roaming on your home plan. No setup, but check your carrier's China rates before you rely on it.
• A Chinese SIM card. Several big international airports, including Beijing Capital, Shanghai Pudong and Guangzhou Baiyun, have counters that sell tourist SIM cards on arrival. You get a Chinese number, which some apps like. Chinese carriers' own eSIMs are not an option for most visitors: Apple says iPhones bought outside mainland China cannot install them.

If you want an eSIM ready before you leave, Airalo and Holafly both sell China plans you can install at home and switch on when you land.

The VPN question depends on how you connect. On a Chinese SIM or hotel Wi-Fi, Google, WhatsApp and Instagram will not load without a VPN, and the tourism website advises installing one before you enter because some VPNs cannot be downloaded locally. Many travel eSIMs and home roaming plans send your data out through another country, so before you fly, ask your provider whether its China plan can reach Google and WhatsApp. If WhatsApp or Gmail is how you stay in touch with home, sort this out before you fly. The details are in our China SIM card and eSIM guide and internet and VPN guide.

Maps and getting around: Amap, Apple Maps, DiDi and metro codes

Maps. Install Amap. It launched an English version in January 2025 and added 14 more languages in July 2025, and you can get it from the App Store or Google Play. On an iPhone, Apple Maps is a good second choice with no setup at all, since Apple lists mainland China for turn-by-turn directions, live traffic and public transit. Baidu Maps lists English as a language in its App Store page, but Baidu has no English guide aimed at visitors, so most visitors are better served by Amap. Leave Google Maps out of your plan, because Google services cannot be opened directly in mainland China. Our map apps guide compares them side by side.

If you want metro routes and day plans that keep working underground or without a signal, the WaysChina app does offline metro routing and trip planning for 10 Chinese cities. It is a planning helper, not a live map, so keep Amap or Apple Maps for door-to-door directions.

Ride-hailing. DiDi offers an English version for visitors and lets you sign up with a foreign phone number. It takes international bank cards and has English in-app support around the clock. Install the regular DiDi app, not "DiDi Rider", which is DiDi's app for other countries such as Japan, Australia and Mexico. Shanghai's government English guide notes you can also call DiDi from inside WeChat or Alipay, with the fare charged to that wallet. Amap can also call cars in English and sends your request to several ride-hailing companies at once, which helps when DiDi is slow. See our DiDi guide for your first ride.

Metro. You rarely need a separate metro app. In Beijing, once your Alipay account is verified and has a card linked, you can turn on a metro QR code (free to set up) under Transport → Metro → Get now on the home screen, and the fare is charged automatically when you exit; enter and exit with the same code in the same app. Beijing's metro gates also take tap-to-pay Visa, Mastercard, JCB and American Express cards at every station. In Shanghai, more than 500 stations accept contactless chip cards at the gate, as long as small password-free payments are switched on for that card, and the city's SH MaaS (随申行, Suíshēnxíng) app issues one QR code for metro, bus and ferry that you can pay for with a foreign card. Other cities run their own systems, so check what your city accepts when you arrive; in many places the Alipay transport menu is the first place to look.

Trains and flights: 12306 or a booking agency

China's railway sells tickets officially through the 12306 website, the 12306 app and a 12306 mini-program inside Alipay. Foreign passports are accepted for online booking. The step to do before you fly is registration and passport verification: you can only buy tickets online once your status shows as passed, and you can verify by uploading a photo of your passport in 12306 or by taking the passport to a station ticket window. You do not need a Chinese phone number, because you can register with an email address and confirm it through an activation email. Type your name exactly as it appears on your passport, with a space between your surname and given name. Ticket sales and changes run from 5:00 to 1:00 the next morning, Beijing time (5:00 to 24:00 on Tuesdays), so do not count on buying a ticket late on a Tuesday night.

The 12306 app describes 12306 as the only official online ticketing platform for China's railway. Agencies are a convenience layer on top of it: if you would rather skip verification, an agency such as Trip.com books Chinese train tickets, domestic flights and hotels in English, and charges a service fee, so check the total price before you pay. Alipay's International Version can also book flights and hotels. Either way, you show your passport at the station: passport holders use the staffed gate, because the automatic gates cannot read passports. Our guide on how to book train tickets walks through both routes.

Translation: one offline app is enough

Pick one translator and download Mandarin to the phone before you leave. On an iPhone, Apple Translate works fully offline once you download the language under Settings → Apps → Translate → Languages. On Android, Microsoft Translator can translate text and photos offline after you download its language pack. If you want a Chinese-made app as well, Youdao Translate (有道翻译官, Yǒudào Fānyìguān) has an English interface and camera, voice and offline translation. If you already use Google Translate, download the Chinese offline pack before you leave, so it works without a connection. WeChat can also translate a chat message (long-press it and choose Translate), text you photograph with Scan, and the Chinese in pictures people send you, which helps when talking to hotels or drivers. Our translation apps comparison covers the other options.

Your setup checklist before you fly

Work through this list at home, on Wi-Fi, with your passport and card on the desk. Do payments first, because they are the most likely to need an extra check.

Then do one last check the day before you fly: open each app, make sure you are still logged in, and note any password you might forget. Passport, cash and medicines are a separate list; see our essential items checklist.

Summary

Install Alipay, WeChat, Amap (or Apple Maps), DiDi and an offline translator at home, sort out your data plan, and finish the one step for each app in the checklist above. Start with the payment apps a week ahead so any extra check has time to clear, then open everything once more the day before you leave.

Last updated: October 2026