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Last updated: August 2026

Essential Apps and tools

  1. Access: Sims & VPNs
  2. Payments: Alipay & WeChat
  3. Navigation: A-map & Baidu
  4. Transportation: Didi, Trip, Railway12306, & Alipay 
  5. Accommodations: Trip.com

Extras

  1. Food Delivery: Meituan takeout
  2. Coupons: Meituan
  3. Luggage forwarding and delivery: Jingdong
  4. Ride-sharing: Shunfengche (WIP)
  5. Online shopping: Taobao (WIP)


Etiquette and observations

  1. Dining (WIP)
  2. Noise Levels (WIP)
Access

Sims and E-sims

While it’s probably possible to travel in China without a phone number, things will be a lot easier with one. There are a myriad of options out there, but due to limited English abilities in even major cities, airport kiosks might be a good option as an efficient option. 

I use China Mobile and its prices are reasonable; there are many locations across China and a very simple English version of the app to track usage or top up. 

I’d still recommend having an E-sim upon arrival as a backup. MobiMatter has much more competitive packages and prices compared to the very popular Airalo.


VPNs

Having a VPN is essential in China. I use LetsVPN across two devices and have had minimal issues for most of my time there, but I ran into a pretty wide outage in May 2026. An E-sim usually provides access to Western internet, but it might be worthwhile to have a few VPNs if it’s important to you. You can also check Reddit for the latest on what everyone is using.
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