China Travel Check
← All guides

The 6 apps to install before landing in China

VERIFIED 2026.09.29·5 min read

All apps installed and used on a foreign phone with a foreign number, September 2026.

Chinese apps have gotten genuinely foreigner-friendly — but only the six below, and only if you install them before you land (home Wi-Fi, uncensored app store, zero stress). All work with your foreign number and passport.

The six

1. Alipay (支付宝) — your wallet, and more. Pay everywhere, plus ride the metro/bus, call DiDi taxis, book 12306 trains, translate menus by camera — all through built-in mini-programs. Set it up fully (see the payment guide) before departure. If you install one app, it’s this one.

2. WeChat (微信) — the social operating system. You need it for attraction reservations (many museums and temples only take bookings via WeChat mini-programs), group tours, and anyone you meet. Sign up with your foreign number; skip the wallet unless you want a second payment rail.

3. AMap / AMap Global (高德地图) — the map that actually works. Google Maps can’t navigate China; Apple Maps is okay; AMap has English in its international version, real-time transit, and works with your eSIM data. Set your hotel as “Home” the day you arrive.

4. China Rail 12306 — the official train app, now with an English interface and passport-based accounts. Free of the booking markups OTAs add, and the source of truth for schedules. Trains open for sale ~15 days out and popular routes (Beijing–Shanghai, Chengdu routes) sell out for holidays — book early.

5. Trip.com — the foreigner-friendly OTA. Its real value: hotels that reliably accept foreigners and easy train tickets with a small markup when 12306’s app is being difficult. Useful as backup, comparison, and English-language reviews of Chinese hotels.

6. A translation app — download Google Translate offline packs (works offline forever) and/or Pleco (the best Chinese dictionary, with camera OCR). AI translation inside Alipay (camera → translate) is shockingly good for menus.

Worth adding

  • DiDi — only if you’ll take taxis outside Alipay. The Alipay mini-program covers most needs.
  • Xiaohongshu (RedNote) — where young China actually decides where to eat and go. It has an English mode now; search in Chinese via image translation. Optional but eye-opening.
  • eCNY (digital yuan) — the central bank’s wallet. Foreign visitors can use it with a foreign number; it’s a curiosity unless Alipay rejects your card.

Setup order, honestly

Day 1: Alipay + card linked. Day 1.5: WeChat. Day 2: AMap, 12306, Trip.com, translation packs. Then stop — you’re more prepared than 95% of visitors. Everything else you can install from China over your eSIM if it turns out you need it.