Which apps should I set up before my first China trip?

At a glance

• Alipay’s visitor flow is phone registration followed by Add Now for an eligible international card; it supports mainland merchant purchases. [1]
• WeChat’s official payment guide uses Me → Services → Wallet → Bank Cards → Add Bank Card. [2]
• The English 12306 site and app support eligible foreign-passport train bookings, while the original booking passport is needed to travel. [3]
• Apple’s travel guide gives Settings → Cellular → Cellular Data for choosing the travel-data line; preserve access to the home number used for codes. [4]

What to do next

1. Before installing more apps, write down the first 24 hours of the trip: reaching the hotel, contacting reception, buying food and using the next booking. Choose the app or offline alternative that completes each task.
2. Set up one payment wallet fully. Register, add the intended card, complete the identity prompts and retain the issuer’s approval route. Add a second wallet if useful, but keep card or cash arrangements for the arrival ride and first meal.
3. Prepare a map route to the hotel and save the hotel’s Chinese name, full address and telephone number offline. Test whether the map finds the exact property and entrance. Keep the text address available even when navigation is working.
4. Install the booking app you actually used, or save the confirmations from the website. Open each order and check its status. Keep train station, flight terminal, passenger identity and accommodation details outside the app as well.
5. Arrange travel data or roaming and keep the home number needed for SMS. Install any provider profile and save the setup instructions while you have a reliable connection, taking account of the plan’s validity-start rule.
6. Download a translation tool and the language content you need, then save a few useful Chinese cards for taxi, payment and dietary requests. Test the offline material before leaving rather than assuming it will load without a connection.

If your situation is different

You are booking several trains: set up 12306 early or use your chosen booking service consistently. Add accurate passenger details before sale dates, and distinguish advance requests from issued tickets.

You only have a short airport connection: prioritise the boarding documents, entry eligibility if leaving airside, the hotel or rest option and return-to-airport navigation. A full collection of restaurant or shopping apps can wait.

You travel with someone who does not use a smartphone: give them the Chinese hotel address, your contact details and a payment fallback. A shared itinerary should still be usable when the person holding the main phone is elsewhere.

A particular app rejects an overseas number: look for its official foreign-visitor, email or staffed route. Solve that specific task rather than replacing every working part of the setup.

Common mistakes

• Counting icons as readiness: open the account, booking and payment screens and finish the required setup.
• Leaving all confirmations inside one phone app: keep essential references and addresses offline and accessible to a companion when appropriate.
• Testing payments by sending money to a friend: use a real merchant purchase after arrival for the international-card shopping route.
• Installing a new account at the airport while the driver waits: prepare the essential arrival tasks before flying.

Quick questions