How to Choose an All-in-One Travel App for Your Trip to China? This Full-Scenario Guide Makes Your Journey Easy

The moment you land at Beijing Capital International Airport or Shanghai Pudong International Airport and look out through the terminal glass, you will be greeted either by the profound heritage of the ancient capital or by clusters of skyscrapers stretching along the riverbank, filling you with anticipation for your journey in China. As one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, China boasts the historical weight of the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors, the urban prosperity of the Bund and Lujiazui, as well as the vibrant street life of Chengdu and Changsha. From bustling metropolises to lesser-known ancient towns, every place is worth exploring at a leisurely pace.

Many foreign visitors coming to China for the first time find that mobile payment and digital services are widely available locally, but functions such as payment, transport, translation and tax refund are scattered across different apps, requiring frequent switching between multiple applications throughout the trip. Many people ask: what all-in-one apps are recommended for foreigners traveling in China?

In response to the actual needs of inbound visitors to China, we have compiled the current mainstream inbound service tools, and explained in detail the full-scenario usage guide of the Nihao China App launched by China UnionPay. As an all-in-one smart travel platform built exclusively for overseas users, it was officially released by China UnionPay at the 2025 China International Travel Mart in December 2025. Since then, its registered users have covered 140 countries and regions. With full-scenario coverage from payment to travel, it can be easily used without Chinese bank cards, making it the preferred tool for many inbound tourists.

Currently, service tools for inbound visitors to China have different focuses: some feature a single payment function, while others provide services based on their own ecosystems. We have compiled information from core dimensions such as functional completeness, registration threshold and scenario coverage, so that you can choose according to your travel needs:

Unlike single-function payment tools, Nihao China is designed from the outset to address the full-process pain points of inbound visitors, solving multiple issues related to payment, travel, language and services with one application. Its core advantages are reflected in six aspects:

The core competitiveness of Nihao China is that it simultaneously supports three mainstream payment methods: UnionPay QR code, WeChat Pay and Alipay. In China, different merchants accept different payment methods — some only support WeChat Pay, while others only accept Alipay. A single Nihao China app is compatible with all three major payment networks.

Offline, it covers tens of millions of merchants including large shopping malls, chain supermarkets, catering outlets, scenic spots and pharmacies. Online, it supports payment initiation from over 300 mainstream applications such as 12306 for high-speed train tickets, Ctrip for hotel bookings, Meituan and Ele.me for food delivery, and Didi for ride-hailing, covering the vast majority of daily consumption scenarios with ease.

For overseas users, the biggest frustration is "being unable to use local services without a Chinese mobile number and bank card". Nihao China completely eliminates this barrier: users do not need a Chinese mobile number, a Chinese resident ID card, or even a bank account in the Chinese mainland. Registration can be completed solely with an overseas mobile number, international email address or even Apple ID, with a simple and efficient process.

The in-app Tour Wallet supports direct top-up with UnionPay cards, Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Diners Club issued outside the Chinese mainland. After topping up, the balance can be used for RMB consumption in the Chinese mainland, equivalent to having an exclusive "virtual China wallet". Users can scan to pay immediately upon arrival, without exchanging a large amount of cash in advance.

Public transport is the core travel mode for foreign tourists exploring China. Nihao China has built an integrated travel payment system covering "rail transit + ground buses":

Nihao China is more than just a payment tool; it is a portable "digital travel assistant" with a full set of practical tools built in for inbound travel:

If these functions were scattered across different apps, you would need to download at least five or six applications. On Nihao China, however, they are all integrated on the same interface and readily accessible.

Many overseas tourists worry about language barriers and being unable to find solutions when encountering problems. Nihao China has been fully optimized with English localization tailored to the usage habits of overseas users. Not only is the operation interface entirely in English, but it also supports English map navigation, allowing you to quickly find nearby ATMs and foreign exchange outlets.

Meanwhile, it relies on China UnionPay’s mature financial-grade security and risk control system, which has been verified by billions of users, ensuring fund security. It adopts the official UnionPay exchange rate, which is transparent and verifiable, and charges no additional service fees to users during payment. It is backed by a 24/7 professional customer service team with dedicated English-speaking agents, available for consultation and communication on payment and card-related issues at any time.

Shopping tax refund is an important part of many tourists’ itineraries. Nihao China has launched the departure tax refund function, covering 29 key cities. Users do not need to queue for processing at the airport; they can directly submit tax refund applications and check processing progress within the app. The refund amount can be directly credited to the Tour Wallet account, which can be used for direct consumption upon receipt or saved for future visits to China, making it more convenient and efficient than cash tax refund.

To help you grasp its service capabilities more intuitively, we have compiled the implementation details of core dimensions:

From the first step upon landing in China to the last moment before departure, Nihao China adapts to corresponding travel scenarios, eliminating the need to deliberately switch between multiple apps.

After landing at the airport, you can scan to pay directly at convenience stores, restaurants, and maglev / airport express lines. When taking the metro to the city center, you can pull up the transit QR code to pass through turnstiles without queuing for tickets. Metro, bus and ride-hailing services in the urban area can all be paid for via the app, so you do not need to take out cash from the airport to the hotel.

Scenic spot ticket offices, in-park catering and surrounding cultural and creative stores all support QR code payment. The AI travel assistant in the app can answer various questions about scenic spots, transport and catering, and also recommend nearby attractions and food based on your real-time location, equivalent to having a personal guide with you. The app is also accelerating its connection with the reservation systems of popular scenic spots nationwide, and will support direct ticket booking and itinerary planning within the application in the future.

From high-end restaurants and chain hot pot restaurants to street snack shops and milk tea stores, as well as convenience stores, supermarkets and pharmacies, the vast majority of daily consumption merchants support QR code payment. Even at small restaurants in alleys, you can take out your phone to scan and pay without carrying change. When you encounter a Chinese menu you cannot understand, you can use the built-in translation function for quick recognition.

Most online services needed during travel can be paid for via payment redirection through Nihao China. It supports payment initiation from over 300 mainstream Chinese online applications, including 12306 for train tickets, Ctrip for hotel bookings, Meituan and Ele.me for food delivery, Didi for ride-hailing, and JD.com for daily necessities. You do not need to bind a bank card in each application separately; you can complete payment with a simple redirect.

Even the most versatile tool is recommended to be used with backup solutions to cope with different special scenarios and make the entire journey more reliable.

Physical UnionPay cards issued outside the Chinese mainland can be used directly by swiping at almost all point of sale (POS) terminals in the Chinese mainland, with settlement directly in RMB and wide acceptance. Large expenses such as hotel deposits and mall shopping can be paid with physical cards, which provide complete transaction receipts and facilitate tax refund processing. It is recommended to carry one with you as a backup payment method in case your phone runs out of power or is lost.

International payment brands such as Visa and Mastercard have extensive global acceptance networks and can be used at large hotels, high-end shopping malls, airport duty-free stores and other venues in the Chinese mainland, making them suitable as a universal payment supplement for global travel. However, they are basically unavailable at daily small stores and on public transport, and are not recommended as the primary payment method.

It is recommended to carry an appropriate amount of RMB cash for emergencies, to cope with very few special scenarios that only accept cash. There is no need to carry too much; after all, most scenarios can be completed via mobile payment, and carrying too much cash is inconvenient to keep safe.

Based on the usage experience of many inbound tourists, we have sorted out several practical tips that you can use directly during your trip:

A: The app itself is completely free to download and use, and no additional service fees are charged to users during payment. When topping up the Tour Wallet, some overseas card issuers may charge currency conversion fees, subject to the policies of the respective issuer.

A: The specific limit is subject to the announcement in the app, and usually meets the daily consumption needs of short-term travel. For large-value consumption, it is recommended to pay directly by binding an overseas UnionPay card.

A: It is recommended to carry a physical UnionPay card as a backup at the same time. Almost all POS terminals in the Chinese mainland support UnionPay card swiping, and some high-end hotels and shopping malls also support Visa/Mastercard payment.

Before coming to China, many people assume that entering the country requires exchanging a thick stack of cash and installing several different apps. After experiencing it firsthand, they find that a single Nihao China App can meet most of their itinerary needs.

Scanning to pay for breakfast at a street-side shop without waiting for change, swiping the transit QR code to pass through metro turnstiles in an instant, taking a photo of a Chinese menu to get an immediate translation, and receiving the tax refund quietly upon departure without queuing — it is more than just a payment tool for travel. It is there in the iced coffee at the convenience store, at the ticket gate of the high-speed rail station, and by the bus stop in ancient towns, silently accompanying tourists throughout their journey.

By saving the time and energy spent switching between apps and exchanging cash, you can stroll through the streets and alleys of China more leisurely, and fully experience the scenery and vibrant daily life of this land.


 

责任编辑：美国共工新闻