Answers for your Chongqing Travel
Prepare for your visit to Chongqing and China with our helpful FAQ. Covering topics from transport and accommodation to chongqing culture and attractions, it provides the information you need for a hassle-free trip.
Essential Apps
How do I Set-Up Wechat
WeChat is the essential App, and the main communication tool in China. As the process of setting up an new WeChat account for your travel to Chongqing is better to understand visually, we linked a Video for you, explaining all steps. Have a look at the Video below on how to install WeChat.
How do I Set-Up Alipay
Alipay is, besides WeChat the most important App in China. It can be used for payment, but also includes many services like hello bike which are shared bicycles. Below you will find a Video on how to set-up an account on Alipay.
How do I Set-Up Meituan
Meituan is another very powerful App. It is used to order anything you need, buy tickets in advance or even hotels and flights. This powerful App is only available in Chinese, however in the Video below you can see how to set-up an account and use the App.
Transportation in Chongqing
How to call a Driver
There are two Apps, the first one being DiDi, that allows you to call DiDi drivers, which is similar to UBER. The App has an english version and is easy to use. Payment can be done by connecting either WeChat or Alipay. You can find a guide n how to use DiDi here.
The second option is to use the AMAP or Baidu navigation App directly, which is comparable to Google Maps. You simply need to create an account which you can do by using the login via Alipay or WeChat function. If you then enter an address, you can choose between metro, bicycle, can or ride-haul. You different it by the icons below the search bar, same as in Google maps.
How to Buy Metro Tickets
There are several options to buy metro tickets in Chongqing without using the ticket machines, which come with advantages, that you do not need to buy a new ticket for each ride.
The first one is to use Alipay. If you open Alipay you will see a menu item called “transportation”. Turn on the location access for Alipay and it will automatically open the Chongqing metro app in Alipay itself. You can also download the metro wechat mini app separately, if you do not use Alipay.
How to Use Shared Bicycles
No shared bicycles in Central Chongqing, to much hills and layers!
Travel Essentials
How to take the Train
The train stations in Chongqing are huge. Each of them looks like a small airport. This article will guide you through the process, and shows you how to buy tickets online yourself. The blog Postcards from Mimi made a extensive guide about train travelling in China in general. You can have a look at it. For tickets you can either use the official chinese app “12306” Or go with the easy option for buying train tickets on trip.com.
How to Get a Sim Card
There area several options to go with. If you stay longer in China, the best way is to go to a China Unicom or China mobile store and buy a sim card that can be top up monthly as these are usually the cheapest option. If you are a traveler, you might consider services like three.hk which is a Hong Kong based mobile service provider. They offer travel sims, which according to users on reddit, surpass the Chinese firewall.
What are some Basic Phrases
The main language in China is Mandarin, and almost everyone in Chongqing speaks it. However the locals have their own dialect, and this is what you will hear inside the old-town parts of Chongqing. We are working on video and PDF courses for everyone to learn some essential Chinese phrases. In the meantime, my former Chinese teacher started a YouTube channel, which is worth having a look.
If you need further in depth help about travelling to Chongqing, China or Asia in general. Visit our Asia Insider Blog for help and details about travelling in between cities and countries. We also cover topics for each city there. For example gym prices and how to buy a one week membership.