Tool Guides

Make China's daily tools usable.

These guides explain the apps and systems foreign visitors actually need after landing: payments, maps, ride-hailing, metro planning, food delivery, and ticket reservations.

Recommended order

Do this before your trip gets complicated.

Start with payments

WeChat Pay and Alipay decide whether the rest of the trip feels easy.

Add maps and transport

DiDi, AMap, and MetroMan solve most movement problems.

Handle food, tickets, and local services

Meituan and ticket guides help once the basics are working.

Quick jump

Hover the Guides menu above, or use these direct links.

Meituan: Food Delivery & More Booking Attraction Tickets

MetroMan: Shanghai Metro Planner

What we cover

Practical guides for the exact moment you get stuck.

8 min

Payments

WeChat Pay for Foreigners

Step-by-step: how to set up and use WeChat Pay with a foreign passport and bank card.

Pay in shops, restaurants, taxis, and mini programs.

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7 min

Payments

Alipay for Foreigners

The complete guide to setting up Alipay as a foreigner — with or without a Chinese bank account.

Set up a backup wallet and use TourCard-friendly workflows.

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6 min

Transport

DiDi Ride-Hailing

How to use DiDi (China's Uber equivalent) with English UI, global phone number, and WeChat Pay or Alipay.

Call cars, choose pickup points, and avoid taxi confusion.

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5 min

Maps

AMap Global (高德地图)

China's first English navigation app for overseas visitors. Why Google Maps fails in China and what to use instead.

Navigate China when Google Maps is unreliable.

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6 min

Food and services

Meituan: Food Delivery & More

How to order food delivery, book hotels, and find activities using Meituan.

Order food, find local services, and understand delivery flows.

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8 min

Reservations

Booking Attraction Tickets

Passport-based ticket reservations for the Forbidden City, West Lake, and more.

Book attractions that require passport-based reservations.

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6 min

Transport

MetroMan: Shanghai Metro Planner

How to use MetroMan to plan Shanghai Metro routes — transfers, time, fare, and offline use. Not for payment or gate QR codes.

Plan metro routes, transfers, fares, and offline navigation.

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