Top 40 Chinese Apps

Probably one of the most necessary applications for China is VPN. Without VPN, most of the services you are used to will not work. Even checking your mail or sending a message in one of the messengers can become a headache. I am not even talking about many of your favorite sites.

Google services are blocked in China, so forget about Google Maps (unless you're going to Hong Kong). So - which mapping services should you use in China? As an iPhone user, I rely on iOS apps, but most of these apps are also available for Android.

In addition to online maps, I also actively use offline map applications. Because of this, the number of these same mapping applications is quite inflated. This is due to the fact that some applications work well with addresses in Chinese, but work poorly with addresses in English and vice versa. Another important role is played by the fact that Chinese applications work great in China, but very poorly outside of it.

What I don't really like about the classic maps is that although they show the route including using the metro, this route does not fully give a clear understanding of how many stations you still need to go and where to change. Another disadvantage I can add is that there is no free universal application with several metro maps. Therefore, I have as many as 3 metro applications for 3 cities that I visit most often.

In China, you can easily go out on the street and hail a taxi by asking to turn on the meter. Most mapping services also have a built-in taxi call function and an approximate taxi fare. But I prefer to use the Chinese equivalent of Uber - Didi for these purposes!

If there are no problems finding a taxi in China, then there may be problems with finding a truck to send cargo or in case of moving. This application solves these problems. Here you can order a truck for moving.

The bicycle boom has passed. But sometimes you still have to rent bicycles. Now it is less and less common, but before I used to rent bicycles quite often. I used the services of two companies, although at the peak of popularity of these services there was some incalculable amount.

After I discovered the GPS tracking feature for the nearest bus I needed in AutoNavi Maps, the apps I listed below are no longer relevant to me. But maybe they will be useful to someone. These apps show the location of the nearest bus to you and the approximate arrival time at your stop.

Are you used to listening to music via various streaming services? In China, you will have to change your preferences and applications. Apple Podcasts and iTunes solve most of my problems, but only when the downloaded music does not start to get boring. Then QQ Music and the like come to my aid. In principle, every major Internet company in China has its own music service. So I am sure that someone uses alternative options.

If you haven't got a VPN in time, you can forget about YouTube. True, China has its own YouTube and there is much more content there, but most of this content is in Chinese, but you can still find films in English and even with subtitles.

To my standard list of messengers consisting of Viber, WhatsApp, Skype, Telegram and Messenger I had to add two main Chinese messengers WeChat and QQ. Sometimes I ask myself - Why so many messengers? But, unfortunately, most of the popular messengers, like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, don't work in China.

As alternatives to social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter in China, WeChat and Weibo are used. Since I have already mentioned WeChat above, I will only link to Weibo here. Although recently some alternatives have also appeared in the form of TikTok (a social network with the publication of short video clips)

In China, the most popular electronic payment systems are WeChat Money (from Tencent) and Alipay (from the Alibaba group of companies). At the moment, these two payment systems in China have actually replaced cash in large cities. Even beggars have QR codes to transfer money to them through one of these payment systems. In general, both of these payment systems are something that is very difficult to live without in China.

Unfortunately, in China, knowledge of English is not as widespread as knowledge of Putonghua (普通话). Therefore, you will have to use a translator in your life one way or another. Today, the best translator is the electronic translator from Baidu. Keeping in mind that Google Translate doesn't work in China.

Who doesn't know about Aliexpress? True, there is no Aliexpress in China itself! Aliexpress is a version for all those who are outside of China, and for citizens of the Mainland China, there are two large platforms from the Alibaba consortium - Taobao and Tmall. In addition, there is also a trading platform from Tencent - Jd.com

It seems to me that for the Chinese these are the most important applications. Starting from 11 am, every worker sits in these applications choosing their lunch. The same thing happens at 4-5 o'clock, when many choose and order dinner for themselves.

The pace of life in big cities of China is so fast that sometimes there is not enough time to walk around the supermarket choosing products for dinner. This application solves the problem of going to the store and buying fresh vegetables, fruits, meat and much more.

Renting a property in China is a kind of lottery. On the one hand, both the tenant and the landlord sign a contract. The tenant makes a deposit and pays for 1 month of living. But often many foreigners have problems with returning the deposit. Of course, it was usually possible to return it, but with nerves. This application allows you to avoid unnecessary nerves, although you will have to overpay a little for housing.

The application solves all issues related to household chores - install something, connect, configure. Then it will definitely come in handy. Don't have time to clean - this is also for you. In general, the application closes all issues related to household chores.

If you have the ability to pay for tickets in yuan using a bank card, WeChat or AliPay - then these two applications are just what you need. With these applications, you can buy tickets from China to anywhere in the world. And the number of options for plane and train tickets in China is in a large assortment here with better prices.

Almost completely forgot, but remembered in time. Another useful service is better known as SF or ShunFeng. In China, going to the post office as a phenomenon is dying out. And all this thanks to courier services. The leader in the field of parcel/letter delivery in China is SF Express. They deliver quickly, but at a price slightly above the market.

A pain point subject not only for expats, but also for the local population is the topic of air pollution. There are several ways to understand that the air is bad. One of them is when you can’t clearly see the neighbouring building because of the smog. Another option is when everyone around is wearing masks. Well, the easiest one is to open an app that tracks air pollution.