Internet and Apps for China

The connectivity wall catches people who assume their phone will work in China the way it does at home. Many foreign services, including Google, WhatsApp and Instagram, are blocked on Chinese networks, and the apps you’ll actually rely on are Chinese ones. Choose how you’ll get data, install the right apps, and test everything before you board.

Blocked foreign apps and websites in China

Many foreign websites and apps are blocked on networks inside mainland China. Commonly affected services include:

• Google (Search, Gmail, Maps, Drive, YouTube and the Play Store).
• Meta’s apps: WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook.
• X (Twitter) and many foreign news sites.

Some foreign services, such as Apple’s iCloud and App Store, Microsoft services and many airline and hotel websites, generally work but can be slow. Whether a foreign service works depends mostly on how your phone connects. Data that travels through a foreign network (roaming, most travel eSIMs) behaves differently from data on a Chinese network (a local SIM, any Wi-Fi in China).

Some visitors use VPNs. Their legal status for foreign visitors is a grey area, and many VPN services are unreliable in China. This guide doesn’t cover them. Roaming data is the common, straightforward way travelers keep access to their usual apps.

Roaming, travel eSIM or local SIM in China: which to choose

There are three main ways to get mobile data in China, and the choice decides which apps work.

• Roaming and most travel eSIMs send your data back through a network outside mainland China, so foreign services generally behave as they do at home. Your phone must support eSIM and be carrier-unlocked to use a travel eSIM.
• A local SIM gives you a Chinese phone number and fast local data, but it reaches only what’s accessible inside China. You must show your passport to buy one, at carrier counters in airports or at carrier stores in the city.
• Hotel and café Wi-Fi in China are Chinese networks too, so they don’t reach blocked services. Many public Wi-Fi networks also ask for a phone number to send a login code.

A practical combination for a first trip: roaming or a travel eSIM for data, and your home number kept active so card verification texts can reach you.

Check before you go: Roaming prices, travel eSIM plans and how each provider routes data change. Read the current plan details, including whether the eSIM supports mainland China and which network it uses, before you buy.

The essential app kit for China

These are the apps most first-time visitors to China rely on. Install them at home, where the app stores and verification texts work smoothly.

• Alipay: mobile payments with your foreign card, plus mini programs for transit QR codes, ride-hailing and some sight bookings. See Paying in China.
• WeChat: messaging, WeChat Pay, and the mini programs many sights, museums and restaurants use for booking and ordering. Hotels, guides and new friends will ask for your WeChat.
• Amap (Gaode Maps) or Apple Maps: reliable maps for China, with transit directions and walking routes. Amap has an English interface. Apple Maps in China uses Chinese map data and works well for navigation.
• Didi: China’s main ride-hailing app, with an English interface and foreign card payment.
• Trip.com: hotels, flights and train tickets in English, with customer service in English.
• Railway 12306: the official China Railway app for high-speed rail tickets. See Getting around.
• A translation app with offline Chinese: download the offline Chinese language pack so translation works without data. Camera translation is invaluable for menus and signs.

Why Google Maps doesn’t work well in China

Google Maps is unreliable in China. On a Chinese network it may not load at all, and even on roaming its map data for China is often out of date, with streets misaligned and transit routes missing.

Use Amap (Gaode Maps) or Apple Maps instead:

• Search for places in Chinese characters when English names don’t come up. Copy the characters from your hotel booking or a sight’s official page.
• Use the transit mode to find metro lines, exits and walking routes.
• Save your hotel, the sights you’ve booked and the train stations you’ll use as favorites.

Show the place’s name and address in Chinese characters to taxi drivers. Most drivers read characters, not English or pinyin.

Using WeChat and Alipay mini programs in China

Mini programs are small apps that run inside WeChat and Alipay, and much of daily life in China runs through them. You don’t install them separately; you open them by searching inside WeChat or Alipay or by scanning a QR code.

Common uses for visitors:

• Restaurant ordering: scan the QR code on the table to see the menu and order. See Food and ordering.
• Sight bookings: many museums and famous sights sell timed, real-name tickets through an official WeChat mini program. See Booking sights and the sight bookings tool.
• Transit codes: Alipay and WeChat can generate metro and bus QR codes in many cities.
• Official services: the National Immigration Administration’s arrival card has an official mini program.

Many mini programs are in Chinese only. Use your translation app’s camera mode, or WeChat’s built-in translate option, to get through them. Check that a mini program is the official one, usually marked with the organization’s verified name.

Set up and test your apps before boarding

Do every app setup step before you board your flight to China. Verification texts to foreign numbers can be slow once you’re there, and some app stores make it hard to download apps outside your home region.

1. Install Alipay, WeChat, Amap or Apple Maps, Didi, Trip.com, Railway 12306 and your translation app.
2. Register Alipay and WeChat with your home phone number and link your bank card in both.
3. Complete the passport identity check in each app that asks.
4. Download offline Chinese in your translation app.
5. Install your travel eSIM or confirm roaming is active for China.
6. Save offline copies of your passport, bookings, and your hotel address in Chinese characters.
7. Move important files off Google Drive or Gmail, or make sure you’ll reach them on roaming.
8. Tell family how to reach you if WhatsApp is unavailable, for example through WeChat.

Run through the pre-trip checklist to make sure nothing is missing, and see Your first 24 hours for what to do on landing.