Which apps do foreign visitors actually need in China?

You do not need to fill your phone with Chinese apps for one trip. For most visitors the minimum install set is two wallets — WeChat and Alipay. Between them, mini-programs (lightweight apps that run inside WeChat or Alipay, with no separate download) cover ride-hailing, the metro, shared bikes, food delivery, trains, and attraction tickets. The one service that generally needs its own app is Amap for navigation — and iPhone users can lean on Apple Maps for basic point-to-point routing instead. Trip.com is optional and also works in a plain web browser.

See Mini Programs for how mini-programs work, and Mobile Payment for setting up the two wallets.

Do I need to download all these apps? (service by service)

Legend: ✅ works · ⚠️ conditional / partial · ❌ no · — not applicable

Service	Needs its own app?	Reachable via mini-program	Also usable on the web?	Foreigner catch
WeChat Pay	✅ yes — install WeChat	it is a host app	❌	Signup from a foreign number often needs a qualifying contact to vouch for you
Alipay	✅ yes — install Alipay	it is a host app	❌	Lower friction: foreign SIM + passport, bind a foreign card directly
DiDi (ride-hailing)	❌ no	✅ WeChat & Alipay	—	The mini-program avoids the phone-verification issues the standalone app can have
Amap (navigation)	✅ yes on Android — the one app you generally must install	❌	—	No account needed; iPhone users can use Apple Maps for basic navigation instead
Dianping (restaurant reviews)	❌ no	✅ WeChat	✅ web	Foreign numbers accepted to browse; coupons / group-buys need a Chinese payment method
Meituan (delivery / hotels / bikes)	❌ no	✅ WeChat & Alipay (food delivery, bikes)	—	Hotel booking and some features may need the standalone app or a +86 number; set up a wallet first
Eleme / 淘宝闪购 (delivery)	❌ no	✅ Alipay	—	The Alipay mini-program inherits your already-verified Alipay identity
12306 (train tickets)	❌ no — has an English app	✅ WeChat & Alipay	✅ web (English)	Foreign passport numbers are sometimes rejected; ID verification can take 1–2 days
Trip.com (hotels / flights / tickets)	❌ no	—	✅ web	The most foreigner-friendly: email signup, foreign card / PayPal, 24/7 English
Metro (city transit)	❌ no	✅ WeChat & Alipay (per city)	—	Tier-1 cities are easy; some smaller cities are local-card-only. Beijing’s whole network and Shanghai also take a foreign contactless card tapped at the gate — see Transportation
Shared bikes	❌ no (Hellobike, Meituan Bike)	✅ WeChat & Alipay	—	No deposit via mini-programs; DiDi Bike does need the DiDi app
Attraction tickets	❌ no	✅ WeChat & Alipay	⚠️ Trip.com or an official ticketing site	Real-name, passport-linked; Trip.com is the easiest path, while official or mini-program booking can hit more registration friction

The “web” column marks only services with a documented browser option. Most China services are designed for the app or a mini-program, so a blank web cell means “use the app or mini-program,” not that a website was tested and failed.

The minimum install set

If you install nothing else, install these:

1. WeChat — messaging plus WeChat Pay, and the host for most mini-programs.
2. Alipay — payments plus the host for the rest (DiDi, metro, bikes, 淘宝闪购).
3. Amap — navigation, on Android. iPhone users can skip it and use Apple Maps for basic routing.
4. (optional) Trip.com — hotels, trains, flights and tickets in English; also works in a browser.

Everything else in the table above — DiDi, the metro, shared bikes, Meituan, 淘宝闪购, 12306, attraction tickets — runs inside WeChat or Alipay as a mini-program, so you rarely need a separate app for each. The main trade-off is the registration wall: a few standalone apps still ask for a +86 Chinese mobile number, which mini-programs usually sidestep because they inherit your already-verified wallet identity. See the registration-wall note in Mobile Payment and when you actually need a Chinese phone number.

See Also

• Mini Programs — how to open and use mini-programs
• Mobile Payment — setting up WeChat Pay and Alipay with a foreign card
• Transportation — metro, DiDi and trains in depth
• Attraction Ticketing — passport-linked ticketing and Trip.com