Getting around China: transport and apps

Do not look for a ticket machine. Urban transport is run through the payment apps; the machines often refuse foreign notes and do not take international cards at all.

• Use the transport section inside Alipay. Once your foreign card is linked, generate the transit QR code for the city you are in and hold it to the reader at the metro gates on the way in and out, or when boarding a bus. It works out the distance and charges the card - and since every ride is well under 200 CNY, no service fee applies.
• For taxis use DiDi Chuxing, either its own app or the mini-programs inside Alipay and WeChat. You can enter the destination in English and it translates messages to the driver; the fare is charged after the ride.
• For navigation use AMap. Google Maps is blocked, and its Chinese data is also shifted from the real street grid, so even offline it puts you in the wrong place.
• For intercity trains use the official China Railway 12306 app. It takes foreign passports and issues an e-ticket you board with using the passport itself.
• In Shanghai, if you are not in a hotel, register within 24 hours through the Public Security Bureau's self-help declaration system or the Suishenban app - no lease or deed needed, and the registration form is generated for download.