My comments were in the context of just a simple vacation in China. But I have gotten by without a local number for long time in my part time living here. Not using a local number for Didi is a plus for me, it forces the driver to use the app to send messages instead of just calling to verify that I'm really there. I've never had a situation where I needed a local number for WeChat or any mini-program, although I don't use many mini-programs.

Bank account and Meituan for sure need local number, which is what inspired me to "re-get" a local number. But for a couple weeks vacation, I don't think it's necessary to have a local number. Many of my colleagues who come for 2 week business stays don't have one. They just use their T-mobile international data roaming plan which is much better than Verizon or AT&T. The hotel we stay in moved to an SMS or WeChat verification for WiFi, for SMS, a US number is fine with their system.