We here at baopals want to do everything in our power to make your life in China just a little more awesome. So without further ado, here are our picks for the top 10 apps you need in China.
#10 - Memrise
Every expat living in China says they’re going to learn Chinese, but it seems that not many are able to follow through… and I’m one of them. After 3 years of living in Shanghai and multiple attempts trying to master the Chinese language, I was about to give up hope. Then I discovered Memrise. Choose a language you want to learn, set a daily goal, and get to work. Stick with it and you’ll impress your friends by being able to stumble through Chinese characters in a matter of months.
#9 - Uber
With the rise of Didi Kuaidi, hailing a taxi in China has become increasingly difficult. Save yourself the frustration from seeing all of those taxis with green lights zip by you because they’ve already been booked, and get Uber. Uber drivers often offer better service than your average taxi for roughly the same rate. And most importantly, there’s no more wondering if you can catch a cab to make it to your dinner party on a Friday night.
#8 - Bon App
Currently for Shanghai only, Bon App helps you explore new restaurants and meet fellow foodies. Content is user-generated, and you can see what's on people's wish lists, get personalized recommendations, and more.
#7 - WayGo
You’re in a country where if you want to be considered literate you gotta memorize upwards of 6,000 characters… or you can save yourself a lot of pain and get WayGo. WayGo is a Chinese, Japanese, and Korean translator. You simply scan the characters with your phone and get an instant translation. It even works offline. The days of randomly selecting dishes from the menu and praying you didn’t order chicken feet and a couple of live eels are over.
#6 - Baidu Music
Want to know what’s in right now in the music scene in China, or just want to listen to something new? This app shows the current charts and most popular downloads, among other things. You can also download most tracks to your phone for free.
#5 - MetroMan
MetroMan provides comprehensive metro maps of Beijing and Shanghai that can be used offline. You can put in your beginning and end station, and the app will plan the quickest route for you. It also tells you how much it costs and how long your journey should take. Maps of stations are included along with information about food, shopping, and entertainment close to each station.
#4 - Tantan
Tantan is simply Tinder on steroids. Used by Chinese and expats alike (though far fewer expat ladies), Tantan provides a seemingly unlimited pool of potential matches. Although if you prefer a more expat-oriented dating scene, stick to Tinder.
#3 - VPN Master
It's FREE! Compared to other popular VPN apps like Astrill, VPN Master runs on ad revenue. So you'll have some pesky pop-up ads every now and then. But as I write this, my Astrill isn't working smoothly, while my VPN Master is going strong.
#2 - Pleco
This is one of the best Chinese-English dictionaries on the market. It comes with a plethora of features including handwriting recognition so you can draw characters you don’t know, and voice recognition so you can get people to speak into it when you don’t understand what they’re saying. You don’t have to keep looking up the same words over and over because it saves your searches. Pleco also has add-ons like character flash cards for improving your Chinese.
#1 - WeChat
This one is a no-brainer. The only potential downfall to WeChat that I could even possibly envision is that WeChat might grow into some Terminator Skynet leviathan and end the human race. But until that happens, be thankful that you have WeChat in your life.
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