Didi is China’s main ride-hailing app, similar to the apps Malaysians use for cars at home. You enter a destination, see a car, and it comes to your pin.
How visitors reach it
Foreign visitors commonly hail Didi through the Alipay mini program, which charges the linked Alipay account and needs no Chinese phone number[1]. A mini program is a small app that lives inside another app, so you do not install anything separately.
Where you will meet it on a trip
You will use it outside stations and airports, between hotels and sights, and late in the evening when the metro is closed. Amap’s English version also offers ride-hailing in 360 or more cities, as of 2025[2]. If one app fails to load, try the other.
One practical tip
Fix the pickup point before the car arrives. Big stations have more than one exit, so walk to the zone shown on the pin and read the driver’s message. A screenshot of your hotel name in Chinese helps for the return ride.
Link your payment first, at home, so it works the moment you land. Read about Alipay and the taxi guide before you go.