Taxis and DiDi

Three ways to get a car

Ride-hailing works for visitors in every big Chinese city. DiDi (滴滴出行) is the big platform. You can use it through its own app or from inside Alipay, and a street taxi is always the fallback. Any of the three will get you where you are going; what differs is the setup.

Amap (高德地图), the map app, also books rides from its English version, but when it launched it only took mainland, Hong Kong and Macau phone numbers, so for most visitors DiDi or Alipay is simpler.

Book from Alipay

If you have already set up Alipay (Paying in China covers it), you have a ride-hailing app. Nothing else to install, and the fare comes off the card you linked.

1. 1Open Alipay and tap Transport, then Taxi.
2. 2Enter where you are going. English place names often resolve; the Chinese name resolves every time.
3. 3Check the pickup point on the map. Move the pin to a spot a car can actually stop at, such as a hotel entrance or a side street, not the middle of a flyover.
4. 4Choose a car type and confirm. The app shows the plate number of the car coming for you.
5. 5Check the plate before you get in, then ride. You pay in the app at the end.

Set up the DiDi app

The DiDi app with the Chinese name 滴滴出行 is the one to install; in some app stores it is listed as DiDi-Greater China. The separate DiDi Rider app is for DiDi’s services outside mainland China.

1. 1Install DiDi and switch the language to English in the settings.
2. 2Register with your own mobile number. Foreign numbers are accepted; keep your home SIM or eSIM able to receive the verification text.
3. 3Add a Visa or Mastercard as the payment method. If your bank blocks the first charge, approve it in your banking app or call them.
4. 4Book the same way as in Alipay: destination, pickup point, car type.

Messages you send the driver in the app are translated for them, and theirs for you. Drivers sometimes call when they are close. If you do not speak Chinese, let it ring out and send a message instead, or type something short like “I’m at the main entrance” and let the translation do the work.

Street taxis

Street taxis are metered, and in most cities honest. Flag one down where there is room to stop, or join the queue at a station or airport taxi rank. Many display a QR code you can pay with Alipay or WeChat Pay; carry some cash in case.

Fares are set by each city. Beijing’s, as an example of what to expect:

Tolls on the route are added on top, and the per-kilometre rate goes up by half after 15 km on a one-way trip, which is why a ride in from a distant airport costs more than the meter’s first minutes suggest.

A few words for the driver

A receipt is worth asking for from a street taxi. It shows the taxi’s number, which is what you need if you leave something in the car. With DiDi or Alipay, the trip is in your ride history already.

Sources

Checked in September 2026. If something has changed, tell us with the feedback buttons below.

1. Transportation: ride-hailing and metro for foreign travellers (Beijing Municipal Government), 24 Apr 2024.
2. Cruising taxi fare standards (Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport), 10 Mar 2023.
3. DiDi app 7.0: English service for visitors, foreign numbers and cards (Tencent News), 20 Jan 2025.
4. DiDi app 7.0 adds overseas rides; DiDi Rider is the international app (TechNode), 20 Jan 2025.
5. Alibaba's Amap offers ride-hailing function catering to foreign visitors (South China Morning Post), 25 May 2025.
6. Didi offers an English language option for foreigners, with in-app message translation (TechCrunch), 8 May 2017.