These are the list of the essential apps I used daily in Beijing and Inner Mongolia. China is known for its Great Wall and the Great Wall of Internet Blockade. So here are the must-have apps to be able to post your travels (daily awra and #OOTD) and to get around easily:
- PSIPHON. This is a free and open-source Internet censorship circumvention tool that uses a combination of secure communication and obfuscation technologies. This will give you VPN (virtual private network) so you can access and post your gala in your FB and IG. Cause baby, these sites are banned there.
- WIFIMASTERKEY. For someone like me who does not want costly internet roaming charges, this is important. This will enable your phone to connect to any public wifi without password or login. This is a app that help users connect to the Internet through shared WiFi access shared by hotspot owners.
- MAPS.ME. I've been using this in most of my travels. Just pre-download the map where you are going so you can use if offline. It has detailed routes, streets and buildings. Helpful also when you want to check out the nearest restaurants.
- WAYGO. This is your visual translator. Just point it on the picture, example the restaurant menu you can't understand and it will translate the Chinese characters in English. However, this is quite limited, only 2 lines max. Unless you pay for its premium.
- BEIJING Real Time Bus app. This is helpful for those who wish to be adventurous and take the public commute. You can choose and click on the target bus line. Select the direction you are heading to and finally you choose the bus stop where you are wish to start your journey. But using this esp in Beijing is quite tricky since traffic condition makes it impossible to be 'real time'.
- BEIJING SUBWAY. This is the official app for the train. The train is easy to navigate and has English signs. This app is helpful to know the arrival, departure and stations. I roam around most of attractions that are near stations, like the Beijing Zoo and Beijing National Stadium or the Bird's Nest.
- ENGLISH CHINESE TRANSLATION. This easy app that supports translation from Chinese into English and vice- versa not just words, including phrases and sentences. It also recognizes modern and traditional Chinese characters.
- GOOGLE TRANSLATE. Despite having humorous errors in translation, this app still gives fast offline translation. Also, you will need VPN to make it work.
- PLECO. This is helpful especially for those learning advanced Chinese. This is great to use on traditional characters which is quite tricky. And it has a pinyin, touch pad where you can draw the character to know what it is, and quickly translate it and even provides examples how it is used in a sentence. I find this the coolest option for all of the apps. It is free, offline and no-ads!
Wo ting budong. Wo zhou zhongwen. Feleiben ren.
I do not understand. I do not speak Chinese. I am a Filipina.
Xiǎngshòu nǐ de zhōngguó zhī lǚ
ENJOYYYYYYYYYY your trip to China!
ADDITIONAL.
10. WECHAT. This is the 'official' multi-purpose messaging, social media and mobile payment app. If you are travelling longer than a week there, you should download this.
ProTip: There is a group of Cultural Exchange Trip (CETrip) in WeChat that has affordable weekend trips, such as featured 'Welcome to my hometown' trips and Couchsurfing program. They have English-speaking guides. This is mostly organized by local university and foreign exchange students. This is where we have booked our 2019 New Year Inner Mongolia trip.
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| Welcome sign at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) |
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| Inner Mongolia Trip with this gang. uuhmm and it turned out, we are the only 'foreigner' in the group! 😅 |
享受你的中国之旅
ENJOYYYYYYYYYY your trip to China!
