Best map app for China

Use Amap, also called Gaode, on any phone. If you have an iPhone and you’re mostly in big cities, Apple Maps is easier to read and needs no setup. Keep Google Maps only for the list of places you’ve already saved.

That’s different from most countries, where Google Maps is the obvious answer. In China, Google has two separate problems. The service is blocked on Chinese SIM cards and Wi-Fi, and even if you can reach it, its China data is out of date. A roaming eSIM fixes the first problem and does nothing about the second.

China requires digital maps to use its own coordinate system, known as GCJ-02, which shifts positions from the GPS coordinates the rest of the world uses. Chinese apps handle the shift for you. On Google Maps, the road layer and your position can disagree, so your blue dot may sit a street or two from where you’re standing. Reports put the gap at up to about 500 metres.

That’s a data issue, not a network issue, so it’s the same on every connection. It also matters more than it sounds: walking directions start from the wrong place, and a pin you send to a taxi driver could be on the wrong block.

The other problem is age. Shops, metro lines and business hours change quickly, and Google doesn’t have the local data feed that Chinese apps do. A restaurant saved from a blog post may well be gone. Before you walk across town, check it in Amap too.

Amap is what many people in China use every day, so it’s the most complete map you’ll get: live traffic, metro exits, bus routes, walking directions, and shops down to the floor of a mall.

The challenge is language. Amap has an English mode, and there’s a global version for visitors, but some place names and reviews stay in Chinese. A few habits help:

• Search with the Chinese name when you have it. Copy it from your hotel booking, Trip.com or a translation app.
• Save your hotel’s name and address in Chinese as a note, so you can show it to a driver or paste it into any app.
• Use the metro exit numbers. Big stations can have more than a dozen exits, and the right one saves a long walk.

If it isn’t in your country’s app store, look for the global version, or install it from Amap’s own site on Android. Do that at home, where downloads are easier.

Apple Maps uses AutoNavi data in mainland China. AutoNavi is the company behind Amap, so the coordinate problem is already handled and your dot should land on the right street. For an iPhone user who wants an English interface with no setup, it’s the simplest option.

Reports suggest transit coverage is good in big cities and thins out elsewhere. If you’re heading to a smaller city, have Amap installed too. Our test will compare the two on the same route.

Baidu Maps is the other big local map, and it’s just as detailed in cities. Most of it is in Chinese, though, and for a visitor it does little that Amap doesn’t. If you read Chinese, or a local friend sends you a Baidu link, it’s worth having. Otherwise you can skip it.

A map app is really three tools in China: finding a place, finding the right metro exit, and showing a driver where to go. For taxis, Amap can compare ride services inside the app, and many visitors use DiDi, which has an English version. Payment usually runs through Alipay or WeChat Pay, so set those up first.

For long-distance trains and flights, Trip.com in English is easier than any map. Then use the map for the last part of the journey.

We’ll walk the same route in each app, then note how far the dot sits from where we’re standing, whether the metro exit is right, and how much of the route is in English. Until then, the comparison above comes from public reports, not from our own walk.