Dear students, are you anticipating the upcoming life in Shanghai? We are pretty sure that you’ll  soon feel at home here! Here are some apps that we recommend for a more  convenient, efficient life in China. Wish you enjoy them!  

I.Social

Wechat

A must-have in China nowadays and an equivalent of Facebook. Share photos, “Like” and  comment at Moments. Announce and discuss at Groups. Read about various  stuff at Subscription (including this introduction you are scanning  now). Send messages, pics, videos, voice clips or small amounts of  transfer to contacts. And pay for transactions. By the way, files  uploaded to Wechat will be cleaned up from the server in a few days, so  remember to download them promptly.

MicroBlog

A  substitute to Twitter and Instagram, mainly focusing on entertainment  news. Follow your favorite idol or post your own pics as you like.  Remember to protect your privacy - and finish your schoolwork first!

Tik Tok

A hub of video clips. Share your highlight moments with masters from every field all over the world, and sit back for the “Wow!”s! 

II.Life and Shopping

Alipay

Mobile payments are accepted in Shanghai everywhere, from malls to stands, so there’s  no need of bringing a wallet everywhere with you. This app is also a  must-have in China, with functions covering paying bills, reservation  and registration, tracking on personal credits, booking tickets...and  much more. An all-in-one!   

APPs of banks

It  is advisable to get the corresponding app once you have established a  bank account in China. Check the balance, transfer, and receive  immediate messages at your fingertips.

Taobao/JD

These  are the two most popular shopping sites in China. Online shopping is  extremely popular in China, and logistics is top among the world. You  can often get more discounts online for the same goods, yet be aware of  fakes! Online flagship stores are more reliable than private retailers,  generally.

Ele me/Meituan Delivery

Food!  Food! Food! Getting 30-minute yummy delivery at fingertips! Food  delivery is also popular in Shanghai with many, many choices. Here are  two most well-known apps for ordering. Be it morning or midnight, sunny  or rainy, blazing or freezing, just make an order if you like.  Nevertheless, it is more encouraged that students living on campus dine  at the canteen - for the sake of your food safety.

Freshippo/Dingdong

Spare  yourself of the queue at supermarket checkout! These apps offer  door-to-door grocery delivery. Freshippo is one of the largest chain  retailers with both online and offline stores. Most of the retailers  deliver within 1 hour in most cases. Make sure your address locates  within the delivery range first.

Dianping

A  comprehensive app resembling TripAdvisor. Check the rates and comments  for malls, stores, restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, hotels, sites,  movies, shows....and have a preview of the specialities before you go!

III. Transportation

AutoNavi

Good  news: Shanghai comes with world-class public transportation system. Bad  news: Roads zigzag with one-way streets everywhere, and surely you are  not expecting losing way or a fine ticket! Enter your starting point,  destination, and transport mode (walking, cycling, metro/bus, driving,  etc.), and several routes will be recommended for your choice. Current  traffic status and approximate time needed will also be given.

Hellobike/ Meituan

There’s no need of owning a bike in Shanghai - since “shared bikes” are  everywhere, and these are the two mainstream operators with most bikes.  Payment is based on rides while passes with more discounts are offered.  Stay safe with your ride, keep away from no-cycling sections, and do  not leave a bike in prohibited areas.

Didi/Xiangdao

Equivalent  of Uber. It seems that you can hardly grab a taxi in street nowadays,  since people prefer ride-hailing apps. There are taxis and private cars  of various sizes and fares for you to choose from.

12306

Official  booking app offered by China Railway. Railway net in China is highly  developed, and high-speed railway is well-known for convenience and  comfort. Foreign passport holders can book tickets by the app, yet need  to go to service desk at the railway station for registration and paper  tickets for boarding. Please follow the instructions at each station.  Here we kindly remind that students are NOT encouraged to leave Shanghai  before the COVID-19 pandemic ends - for the sake of your safety. 

IV.Study Tools

Pleco

One  of the most popular Chinese dictionary apps. It supports looking up by  Chinese, English, pinyin, handwriting and radical, provides relevant  phrases and lists characters with similar looks. And English paraphrases  are also presented.

Learning Mandarin

This  app provides classes on difficult points of Mandarin, along with words,  phrases and passages for practice. Wanna improve oral Mandarin? Try it. 

Tencent Meeting

This  is another widely used online class app besides Zoom. It can run on  mobiles, iPads, PCs and supports multiple systems including Andriod,  iOS, Windows, MacOS, etc. Files in PPT, PDF, DOC, and many other formats  can be displayed during meetings.

And here we are! Hope these apps help you in some way. Wish you a safe, smooth journey, and enjoy your life and study in China!