There’s also voice input if you don’t feel like writing manually. You don’t have to worry about switching between the handwriting and pinyin keyboards built into your phone, as Sogou lets you do it all on one screen. Sogou Input or 搜狗输入法 (sōu gǒu shū rù fǎ) is an intuitive keyboard that makes Chinese typing a breeze. Just remember that you need to download the app and follow these steps before you come to China. While it might be pricier compared to similar apps, Chinese residents favor ExpressVPN because of its multi-platform capability, vast number of servers and overall speed. And if you’re an Android user, ExpressVPN will let you access the Google Play store. ExpressVPNĮxpressVPN will help you bypass the Great Firewall and let you browse the internet as you normally would. Depending on what establishments you visit, you may be asked to present your health code for entry. Since only certain establishments accept foreign bank cards as a payment method, it’s better to be safe with Alipay than sorry.Īlipay also includes a health mini-program. But if you download the international version of Alipay, you can sign up with your regular number and connect an international bank card to the app. Most Chinese e-Wallets require a Chinese phone number and a local bank account. If you’re staying in China for three months or less, Alipay or 支付宝 (zhī fù bǎo) is what you need. If you select the “Pay” function, you can pay for utilities, phone bills and more. WeChat Pay is one of the most popular methods of payment in China.

In addition to being the main form of online communication, it’s also an e-Wallet. Plus, it’s equipped with OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology, meaning you can translate images of text scanned with your phone. WeChat has several in-app translation functions.

Referred to locally as 微信 (wēi xìn), it’s your primary line of online communication with family, friends and coworkers. If there’s one app in this list that you can’t live without in China, it’s WeChat. Monthly active users: Over 1.2 billion users This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that youĬlick here to get a copy.

Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, moving here for study or work, learning Chinese or not, here’s a list of the 28 must-have Chinese apps that cover all the bases. The Great Firewall of China might prevent you from browsing your usual sites and platforms, but there are plenty of alternatives and essentials that will tide you over. No access to Google, YouTube, Facebook or Whatsapp in China? No problem!

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