Things that just work better in China
From airports, travelers often combine local ride-hailing, metro QR, and local map apps to navigate pickup zones and routes.
In China, many travelers still rely on local map apps for richer local POI, transit, and integration features.
Contactless ‘tap’ payments aren’t the universal default in China. QR wallets are typically more widely used in daily life.
Bike sharing is common in many Chinese cities, often integrated into local apps with QR unlock and wallet payment.
Cash exists, but many everyday payments in China are optimized for QR scanning rather than handing over notes.
In many countries, tap-to-pay is everywhere. In China, QR scanning wallets are often the more universal daily flow.
In China, local map apps are commonly used for navigation, transit, and nearby places.
In China, QR-based wallet payments are often more common than contactless tap-to-pay for everyday use.
High-speed rail is a major way to travel between Chinese cities, with ticketing and station flows that can differ from other countries.
Ride-hailing in China is typically done with local apps rather than global defaults.
Like Visa, Mastercard may work in some places, but daily life in China often revolves around QR wallets.
In many Chinese cities, metro access often supports QR entry flows through apps, alongside physical cards.
PayPal is common internationally, but in China many offline payments are dominated by QR wallets designed for local flows.
QR wallet payments are a core daily payment pattern in China, used for everything from coffee to taxis.
Taxis exist, but many travelers prefer app-based rides for clearer pickup points, route visibility, and cashless payment.
China's rail network is huge, and booking flows often use local platforms and ID-linked tickets.
In China, the most common ride-hailing default is different. Travelers typically use local apps for rides and pickups.
In China, everyday payments are often QR-based. Card acceptance can be inconsistent for small merchants.
For China travel, local map apps are more commonly used for routing, POIs, and local transit information.
