I am an American who has been traveling to China for 30 years. I usually go twice per year for a week or 2 at a time. For years I have had a China Mobile HK pay as you go phone with a dual number sim card, so I have HK and China phone numbers. I find with WeChat I use the actual phone numbers less and less. Everyone seems to do everything on WeChat these days.

A couple of years ago my friend in China helped me to register my name so I can still use the China number. I have nothing on that phone that I care if gov't officials see.

I see that I could download the Didi app, but could I actually use it without a Chinese bank account? I know I cannot download any money on to WeChat, but would Didi accept a foreign (US) credit card? There are times it would be helpful to use Didi, I use Uber in HK frequently.