Essential Apps and tools
- Access: Sims & VPNs
- Payments: Alipay & WeChat
- Navigation: A-map & Baidu
- Transportation: Didi, Trip, Railway12306, & Alipay
- Accommodations: Trip.com
Extras
- Food Delivery: Meituan takeout
- Coupons: Meituan
- Luggage forwarding and delivery: Jingdong
- Ride-sharing: Shunfengche (WIP)
- Online shopping: Taobao (WIP)
Etiquette and observations
- Dining (WIP)
- Noise Levels (WIP)
There isn’t a Chinese version, but there may be screen translators to make this app usable if language is an issue; hotel staff will also be able to help. Below are some general guidelines to get started, but it will likely be a tad challenging without some Chinese knowledge.
Meituan Takeout (美团外卖）
To sign up for Meituan, you might need your passport to verify your identity. A local phone number is useful for Meituan, but there’s a messaging feature in the app that allows you to contact a business or your delivery person, if absolutely necessary. You can also put down your hotel’s phone number.
Categories
Food options range from coffee to 24-hour bbq chains. Some unique features include:
->24-hour medicine delivery services;
->grocery delivery services;
->group orders (拼好饭) that optimize location and product type, so you get much cheaper options;
-> inner-city delivery service (跑腿) that can, for example, have a delivery person bring a hair straightener from your’s to your friend’s house.
While getting set up might be a barrier, the rest of the app is pretty straightforward, and you can gauge what you’re ordering with comprehensive photos and prices across most businesses. You’ll be redirected to Alipay or Wechat upon checkout, and you can track the status of your order after payment.
you can also choose to pick up your order instead, though this might not be a common use for short-term visits.
Menus for almost all businesses will include photos for each menu item, with very good discounts if you’re a first time customer.
Some items will require you to choose customizations.
Upon checkout, you can double check your address and see associated fees. Make sure you select your discount (红包) if you see one - usually when you hit a minimum spend.
->I prefer to order from vendors with physical stores for extra reassurance on hygiene, but of course this is not guaranteed.
->There is almost always a coupon or discount you can use, and sometimes a larger order can actually decrease your final bill once you hit a minimum spend.
->From my experience, ordering groceries can be a hit or miss; online storefronts shows a large selection of items that doesn’t reflect actual inventory. This will often elicit a call from the seller, and it gets complex with refunds, replacements, etc.