After our trip to China, I found a handful of very helpful apps that might be helpful for you too. I was not sponsored by any of these apps, I just used them during my time in China and found them very helpful.
- China Train Booking – FREE
Great for finding train schedules all throughout China. The app can be used to look for high-speed trains and regular trains (sleeper, seating, and standing).
We definitely used this app a lot while in China. Train was our main transportation system between cities.
2. Ctrip – FREE
We personally did not have to use this app very often but other travelers have said many good things about this app.
The app can be used to book flights, hotels, and trains. Sometimes you can find good deals on this app.
3. maps.me – FREE
There is a chance you might not get any connection while traveling in China. When that happens, there might be a chance of getting lost.
This app is a navigational app, but can be used OFFLINE. This has helped us so many times.
Just make sure you download the app of the region you are in using WIFI before going outside.
It might also be helpful to bookmark your accommodation before adventure to no WIFI land. Sometimes the app can’t recognize addresses offline.
4. Google translate – FREE
A lot of people in China do not speak English so this app might come in handy.
Just be warned that Google translate isn’t very good at translating whole sentences. You might be able to get away with just single words here and there.
But this app is still very helpful because you can use it OFFLINE! You can also use this app to READ Chinese. How amazing is that, simply click on the camera button in the app, hover it over a Chinese sentence and you might just be able to figure out what it says.
5. Wechat – FREE
When you get to China, Wechat will be one of the words you hear very often.
This is a messaging app SUPER popular in China. We used this to make many friends, Chinese and other foreigners.
This app is also used in almost all the stores as a way of paying bills.
6. ExpressVPN – FREE or you can pay for better service
PLEASE do yourself a big favor and download this before getting into China.
This app will help you access your normal websites and apps because they will probably be censored in China. We couldn’t access any of our normal apps and website for a few days because we didn’t have a VPN. Don’t make the same mistake as we did.
7. Hotspot shield VPN – FREE trial available
This is another VPN I used besides ExpressVPN. Depending on which city, I switched back on forth between ExpressVPN and Hotspot shield VPN. Each VPN app worked better depending on the our locations.
I hope you find this helpful!
Happy Travels!
