Install before departure
Start with Alipay or WeChat for payment, DiDi for ride-hailing, Railway 12306 for official train tickets, and a map app that has current China data.
Keep your airline, hotel and translation tools. Avoid installing many duplicate apps that create more accounts and verification steps.
Prepare account recovery
Use an email address and phone number you can access abroad. Store booking references outside the apps and save your hotel name and address in Chinese.
Make an offline layer
Screenshot the first night’s hotel, airport transfer plan, passport information page and emergency contacts. Download any supported offline maps and language packs before flying.