Canton Fair preparation

10 Apps to Install Before Visiting China for Canton Fair

Set up ten practical apps and offline tools before Canton Fair: payment, maps, translation, rail, flights, hotels, WeChat, ride-hailing, ChinaConnect247 and documents.

ChinaConnect247 EditorialPublished September 11, 2026Last reviewed September 11, 202614 min read

Smartphone app icons representing a practical pre-travel setup for Canton Fair visitors.

A Canton Fair trip can depend on a small collection of apps: one for payment, one for a ride, one for the hotel address, one for a supplier message and another for the document you need at the airport. Installing them is only the first step. The important work is signing in, verifying your identity, testing payment and saving essential information offline.

Quick answer

Set up the essentials before you fly: Alipay, WeChat, AMap Global, an offline translation app, Railway 12306, DiDi China, your airline’s official app, a hotel-booking app, ChinaConnect247 and an offline document-storage tool. The official Canton Fair app/platform is an additional fair-specific tool for registration, exhibitor search and itinerary planning.

The ten-app setup at a glance

No.	Tool	What it does	Prepare before departure
1	Alipay	Payments, transport and local services	Link an eligible card and complete identity checks
2	WeChat	Supplier messages, contacts and mini programs	Verify the account and agree a backup contact route
3	AMap Global	Local maps, transit and navigation	Install, test English search and save key places
4	Google Translate or Apple Translate	Translation and offline language support	Download Chinese language data and test camera/text tools
5	Railway 12306	Official train search and booking	Register with the exact passport details
6	DiDi China	Ride-hailing	Register, confirm pickup and payment options
7	Your airline app	Flight status, booking and check-in	Add the booking and save the confirmation offline
8	Trip.com or your hotel’s app	Hotels, bookings and travel records	Confirm the address, passport policy and cancellation terms
9	ChinaConnect247	Fair planning, supplier records and follow-up	Add the web app to your home screen and sign in
10	Files or offline document storage	Tickets, addresses and working documents	Download files, not only cloud links

App names, supported countries, card acceptance and features can change. Download from the developer’s official site or your phone’s official app store, and avoid random APK mirrors.

1. Alipay: your payment and transport foundation

Alipay is often the first app to configure because it can support merchant payments, ride-hailing, public transport and local services. Official guidance for international travelers explains that eligible overseas cards can be linked without opening a mainland bank account, although card networks, issuers, transaction limits and individual merchants can differ.

Before leaving home:

Register with the phone number you expect to keep available.
Complete passport or identity verification if requested.
Link a primary card and consider a second card from another bank.
Find the payment, transport and Translate functions.
Test the app while your bank can still approve a verification request.

Carry a physical card and some RMB cash. A payment app is useful, not a reason to remove every backup.

2. WeChat: communication and mini programs

WeChat is useful for supplier conversations, group chats, location sharing and many mini programs. Tencent describes mini programs as covering travel, transportation and public services, but a service may still require identity verification, a local payment setup or a Chinese-language flow.

Install and verify WeChat before the fair. Ask important suppliers to share their company name, booth number and a second contact detail. Agree with family or colleagues what to do if WeChat messages do not arrive. Do not make every recovery route depend on the same blocked email account.

Keep business contacts organized with the company, product, booth, next action and date. A contact name alone is difficult to use after several busy fair days.

AMap Global, from AutoNavi, is a practical local-navigation layer for visitors. Its official store listing describes China maps, transit, taxi routes, walking, driving and travel information, with English support. Guangzhou airport guidance also points visitors toward Gaode/Amap, Baidu or Tencent Maps for local navigation.

Test the app before you fly by searching your hotel and Canton Fair Complex. Save the Chinese name when the search result is correct. If a hotel has multiple branches, compare the full address and map pin before choosing it.

Keep Apple Maps or Baidu Maps as a second layer if your phone supports them, but do not install five map apps without testing any of them. One tested map plus screenshots is more useful than a long unconfigured list.

4. Translation: download the language before you need it

Google Translate supports downloadable offline language packs, and Apple Translate also provides offline language options for supported languages and devices. Download Chinese before travel and test text, camera and saved phrases while offline.

Prepare phrases for:

“Please take me to this address.”
“Which exit is for Area B?”
“I have a reservation under this name.”
“Please write the company name and booth number.”
“Is this the correct entrance?”

Translation helps communication; it does not replace checking the Chinese address or confirming a contract detail.

5. Railway 12306: official train booking

Use the official English 12306 website or app for China Railway bookings. The official service accepts foreign-passport registration and requires the passenger details to match the travel document. Keep the same passport with you when travelling.

Register before a busy travel day, save the booking reference and check the station name carefully. Guangzhou has more than one major rail station, so “Guangzhou” is not enough. Confirm whether your ticket uses Guangzhou South, Guangzhou East or another station, then save its Chinese name and route.

Do not use an unofficial ticketing site simply because it appears first in a search result. Start at 12306.cn.

6. DiDi China: rides when the metro is not practical

DiDi’s official download page separates DiDi Greater China from its international version. For a fair visitor, the useful preparation is knowing which China app or in-app service is available to your phone and account, not assuming the app used at home is identical.

Set up the account before you are standing outside an airport with luggage. Check the pickup point, vehicle plate and driver identity. Save the Chinese address for the destination because app search can return several similar properties. If your data or payment fails, use the official taxi rank as your fallback.

7. Your airline’s official app

Use the app or mobile site of the airline actually operating your flight. Add the booking reference, passport name and flight number. Useful functions may include flight status, check-in, seat selection and booking management, but availability varies by airline.

Save a screenshot or PDF of the booking and baggage rules. Do not assume the airline app will load after landing or that an email link is enough.

8. Trip.com or the hotel’s official app

A hotel and travel app can keep the booking, cancellation deadline, phone number and Chinese address together. Trip.com is an international-facing booking service with hotels, flights and trains, while individual hotels may offer their own official app or booking channel.

Confirm that the property accepts your passport, supports the arrival time and can provide the documentation you need. Save the hotel’s Chinese address outside the booking app. This is especially important if a property has multiple branches or is inside a large complex.

9. ChinaConnect247: your fair follow-up workspace

ChinaConnect247 is available as a mobile web experience rather than something you should assume is a native app-store download. Open the official website, sign in, and add the page to your phone’s home screen if your device supports it.

Use it for the work that begins after the first greeting:

Capture supplier contacts and business-card details.
Keep products, quotations, photos and questions together.
Record the next action while the conversation is fresh.
Organize follow-up after several days of meetings.

The Canton Fair’s own app is a separate, optional tool for official fair registration, exhibitor search, itinerary planning and venue navigation. Use the official Canton Fair domains for that service.

10. Files or offline document storage

Your phone already has a Files, Documents or equivalent storage app. Use it deliberately. Create folders for Travel, Fair, Hotels, Suppliers and Emergency. Download the actual files you need: tickets, hotel confirmations, insurance, passport copies where appropriate, fair registration, meeting lists, maps and product requirements.

Cloud storage is useful when it works, but a cloud link is not an offline file. Open each important document after switching to airplane mode. Keep sensitive files protected with your device security and remove copies you no longer need after the trip.

Optional: the official Canton Fair app

The official Canton Fair app/platform is worth adding when you are attending the fair. Official materials describe online buyer services, exhibitor and product search, itinerary planning, messaging, electronic business-card exchange and venue navigation. It belongs alongside the ten core tools, not in place of payment, transport or document backups.

Use the Buyer Service System or official Canton Fair app pages rather than third-party download links.

The setup order that saves time

Do not install everything at the airport. Use this order:

Install the apps from official stores or official websites.
Create accounts and verify phone, passport and cards.
Save Chinese addresses and key contacts.
Download offline translation, documents and map material.
Test one payment, one translation, one route and one document in airplane mode.
Tell a colleague where the backup files and contact plan are stored.

Before you travel checklist

Alipay is verified and a card is linked.
WeChat is verified and a backup contact route is agreed.
AMap Global or another local map has been tested.
Chinese translation data is downloaded.
12306 uses the exact passport details.
DiDi is registered and its pickup process is understood.
Airline and hotel bookings are saved offline.
ChinaConnect247 is on the phone home screen and ready for follow-up.
Essential documents open without an internet connection.
The official Canton Fair platform has been checked for registration and fair-specific services.
A physical payment backup, charger and written emergency details are packed.

The aim is not to collect apps. It is to remove the moments when one failed login, missing address or unverified card can derail a day of supplier meetings.

App availability, payment support, identity checks and service features can change. Confirm current details with each official provider before departure.

Sources and evidence

Keep the context with the contact.

Save supplier cards alongside products, quotes, questions, samples, and the next action.

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