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Mark Andrews

Ten years ago, tourists visiting China would have been struck by the cash-based nature of its society. But the country has since gone full swing, leapfrogging the use of credit and debit cards to run on a system based almost exclusively on phones.
However, a big problem for visitors had been that it was difficult to link foreign bank cards to the ubiquitous WeChat and Alipay QR payment systems.
That was, until recently. In July, both WeChat and Alipay began allowing users to link international cards to their payment systems. (Alipay is operated by Alibaba, which owns the Post.)
While this is a welcome development, what other hurdles do overseas visitors face when visiting China, and what apps are needed for a successful trip?

China was off limits to foreign tourists for three years during the pandemic and only began reissuing tourist visas in March. Visitor numbers remain low, registering just a quarter of 2019 levels up to the end of May, according to government figures quoted by American think tank the Council on Foreign Relations.
“Compared to the last three years it’s definitely picking up, but I’d say it’s not really comparable to 2019,” says Hu Ruixi, co-founder of Lost Plate, a food-tour company that introduces Chinese food to foreigners in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Xi’an, Lijiang and Suzhou.
“Now it’s more business travel than regular tourists.”
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Covid-19 sped up a process of digitalisation that was already under way in China, but this created additional problems for tourists who didn’t speak Chinese.
For example, in an attempt to restrict the spread of the virus, restaurants ditched paper menus in favour of digital ones accessed by QR code. Whereas all but the cheapest restaurants in larger cities used to have paper menus with English translations, the digital equivalents are mostly in Chinese only, and can be difficult for people with poor vision to see on their phones as many cannot be made larger.
Familiar names like McDonald's or KFC don’t necessarily make matters any easier. Some branches no longer even have menu touchscreens, relying instead on a WeChat mini program that is available only in Chinese – even if the main app does have an English component.

With few foreigners having been around for the last three years, many new digital solutions simply aren’t available in English or other foreign languages, and often won’t work without a shenfengzheng (Chinese ID card) anyway.
Even visiting a museum can be a challenge for the average foreign tourist, who most likely would think only of checking opening times.
Visitors to Suzhou Museum, for example, require an appointment, and the English-language webpage directs enquiries to a booking page available in Chinese only.
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Shanghai’s Astronomy Museum might be the largest planetarium in the world, but the ticket booking system is largely alien to foreign visitors, who are required to book a week in advance through a WeChat account. A booking could be made through a WeChat account opened overseas, but only in Chinese.
WeChat and Alipay are essentials in China and visitors will find that most of the apps they rely on to travel in other countries won’t work here.
“Visitors’ short-term challenges are navigating through the domestic apps they aren’t familiar with,” says Genie Yip, a Shanghai-based orientation consultant, who helps newly arrived people settle in to life in China. “Google Maps doesn’t work, for example.”

While a VPN, which enables users to circumvent the government’s regulation of the internet, might help to unlock familiar apps, Google Maps, like others, is hopelessly out of date in China, with whole subway lines often not showing up and information about businesses long since closed being shown.
Apple Maps, however, does work well in China, says Yip, who recommends Android users download an app from Alibaba-subsidiary Amap to get around.
While more expensive hotels and restaurants usually have English-speaking members of staff, tourists unable to speak Mandarin will definitely need a translation app elsewhere. With the Google suite largely unavailable, Baidu Translate, which has an English interface, is a good alternative and has a conversation mode.
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While it is advisable to download local apps before you arrive in China whether you have an Android phone or an iPhone, it is all the more essential for the former, as Google Play does not work in China without a VPN.
Furthermore, many Chinese apps are not available on Google Play. The best way to get one is to search for it and install it using the Chinese king of search engines, Baidu. You can type in English to find the apps, but most of the results are going to come back in Chinese.
A VPN is also essential for accessing Western social media and sometimes email accounts.
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Hu recommends the Trip app, which is available in English and is useful for booking flights, hotels and trains. Foreigners, however, are advised to double-check that hotels, especially cheaper ones, will actually accept non-Chinese guests, although this would also present a huge challenge for people unable to communicate in Chinese over a telephone.
Other transport essentials are DiDi, the Chinese Uber equivalent, and 12306, the railway booking app, both of which have an English interface.
Visitors from overseas will need to either pay for data roaming or get a Chinese SIM card when they arrive – often available at the airport. However, Yip warns, China doesn’t currently issue eSIM cards to foreigners, so make sure you have a phone with a SIM slot if you want a local number.
While it may now be easier than a few months ago for foreign tourists to pay for things in China, preparations are still essential.


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Asia travel

Best apps for foreign visitors in China and which are useless – like Google Maps

WeChat and Alipay are the best apps for foreigners to download to use for payments in China since both began allowing users to link international cards to their payment systems. Photo: Getty Images

A customer makes an electronic Alipay payment on his smartphone to pay for his food at a restaurant in Beijing. Photo: AFP

An Alipay QR payment code (right, in blue) and a WeChat QR code (left, in green) are displayed at a street stall selling gadgets in Beijing for customers to scan to pay for items. Photo: AFP

A customer makes an electronic payment with Alipay on his smartphone for his food at a restaurant in Beijing. Photo: AFP

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A passenger goes through border control at Sanya Phoenix International Airport in Sanya, in China’s Hainan province, on July 26, 2023. Mainland China is one of only three countries left in Asia that still have Covid-19 entry requirements. Photo: Xinhua

Tourists take a selfie at Zhuge Village in Lanxi City, in China’s Zhejiang province, on August 1, 2023. Photo: Xinhua

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Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: Shutterstock

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Lifestyle

Travel & Leisure

WeChat and Alipay might both have made it easier for foreigners to pay for things in China recently, but visitors still face many hurdles to a successful trip
Some of the other apps you’re advised to download: Amap, Baidu Translate, DiDi, 12306, Trip – and don’t forget that VPN


Foreigners visiting China are advised to download WeChat and Alipay for payments, Amap for maps, Baidu Translate for communication, Trip for hotel bookings – and don’t forget that VPN.


Best apps for foreign visitors in China and which are useless – like Google Maps

WeChat and Alipay might both have made it easier for foreigners to pay for things in China recently, but visitors still face many hurdles to a successful trip Some of the other apps you’re advised to download: Amap, Baidu Translate, DiDi, 12306, Trip – and don’t forget that VPN

WeChat and Alipay might both have made it easier for foreigners to pay for things in China recently, but visitors still face many hurdles to a successful trip

Some of the other apps you’re advised to download: Amap, Baidu Translate, DiDi, 12306, Trip – and don’t forget that VPN