ChinApps
微信
Messaging, payments and mini programs in one
Full English Foreign cards accepted No Chinese number needed
About
The app the whole country runs on. Beyond chat and calls it holds WeChat Pay, and thousands of businesses — restaurants, museums, bus companies, hospitals — exist only as Mini Programs inside it, so you rarely need their own app.
Before you go
- Register before you fly. New accounts usually need an existing WeChat user to scan a verification QR code for you, which is much easier to arrange at home.
- Add a foreign Visa or Mastercard under Me › Services › Wallet › Bank Cards to switch on WeChat Pay.
- Enter your name exactly as it appears in your passport — payment verification rejects mismatches.
Tips
- Press and hold any received message and choose Translate to read it in English.
- Scan restaurant table QR codes from Discover › Scan; the menu opens as a Mini Program.
- Foreign cards are charged a small fee on transactions above ¥200.
Not available everywhere
WeChat is blocked or unpublished in some countries, so the store links below may not open for you. Where that happens, the official download page is usually the only route.
Get it
ChinApps is not affiliated with WeChat or its developer. These links go to the public store listing or the developer's own site.
Where this comes up
- Before You Fly — the things that are hard to fix once you have landed
- Paying for Things — how a cashless country actually works in practice
- Eating — ordering, paying, and saying what you cannot eat