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: Jindong
- Ride-sharing: Shunfengche
Etiquette and observatons
- Dining
- Noise Levels
DiDi
The English version has noticeably fewer features than its Chinese counterpart, including the very useful “hitch-hiking” option that can be half the price. More of that in a later section.
Didi is available as a “mini-app” both within WeChat and Alipay, but you can download it separately as well.
How-to
- Enter the Didi mini-app via WeChat or Alipay.
- You’ll need a phone number. A mainland number is better, but you can also enter an international number. A verification code is required, so make sure to do this while you have access to sms when registering.
- You can now hail a car! It’s very intuitive, but make sure to enter clear addresses for both the starting and ending points rather than relying on the pinned location, especially if there’s a language barrier.
- You’ll see a few options with different prices. Just pick the one(s) that’s within your budget.
- You might need the last four digits of your phone number for your driver. Have that handy especially if you have a new Chinese number.
The English version of DiDi is similar to other ride-hailing apps.
Choose the ride of your choice.
The Chinese version has more ride options, but the price differences only vary largely if the distance is longer.
Trip.com
You might not be able to check in and choose your seat online unless you access the mini-apps though; I haven’t found that to be a big deal. Airport counters have usually been pretty efficient.
Railway12306 & Trip.com
Note that when traveling long distances, high-speed rail tickets might sometimes be more expensive than airfare.
You can buy train tickets on Trip.com as well. I personally have not tried it, but it appears to have the basic functionalities within reasonable price ranges.
Alipay
How-to
- Tap the “transport” tab on the homepage. If you have your location services turned on, it should already show your current city. You an also select locations manually.
- Tap “get now” to either obtain a metro or bus pass. If you haven’t entered your ID info when you registered for Alipay, you’ll need to do so now.
- You’ll receive a QR code to enter and exit the metro or buses. Accompany this with A-map and you’ll take public transit like a pro.