Essential apps for daily life in China

The non-negotiables

• WeChat (微信) — messaging, contacts, payment, mini-programmes for everything from booking taxis to paying utilities. The single most important app in China.
• Alipay (支付宝) — payment, plus thousands of mini-programmes and government services.
• Didi (滴滴) — ride-hailing.
• Meituan (美团) — food delivery, restaurant booking, hotel booking, attraction tickets, almost-everything-delivery.
• Pleco — Chinese-English dictionary, OCR, handwriting, flashcards. Even if you only stay six months.

For getting around

• Amap (高德地图) — the better domestic map app. English mode is okay; Chinese mode is fuller.
• Baidu Maps (百度地图) — the older domestic map.
• Google Maps — works only with VPN, and the addresses don't always match Chinese street naming.

For shopping

• Taobao (淘宝) — Alibaba's consumer marketplace. Cheap.
• Tmall (天猫) — Alibaba's brand-store platform. Mid-tier.
• JD (京东) — JD.com, the second-largest e-commerce. Strong electronics, fast delivery.
• Pinduoduo (拼多多) — bargain group-buy.

For food

• Meituan for everything; Ele.me (饿了么) is the Alibaba alternative for food delivery.
• Dianping (大众点评) — Yelp-equivalent. Restaurant reviews, ratings, queue numbers, reservations.

For news and search

• Baidu (百度) — search. Chinese-language; English results limited.
• Bing — works without VPN, English-friendly.
• Toutiao (今日头条) — newsfeed/aggregator.

For travel

• Trip.com / Ctrip — flights, trains, hotels.
• 12306 — the official China Railway booking. Foreigners can register with a passport.

For health

• WeDoctor — telemedicine and appointment booking with major hospitals.
• Pingan Good Doctor — similar telemedicine network.

Setup tip

Sign up to all the major apps in your first week. Mobile-number-based registration is universal; your Chinese SIM number unlocks most things. Bind your bank card to WeChat and Alipay early.