What "MAP" app can be used from Google Play in China?
 

What "Map" app(s) are you guys using to get around in China from the Google Play store?

For those of us with Google Android phones, Google Map doesn't work in China. I don't plan on buying a I-phone

osmAnd should work. It is based on open street map.

Baidu maps are very good, but I strongly recommend that you use a VPN because many Android apps use Google maps via default.

But never count on that VPN working, espcially if you mainly connect through hotel wifi networks.

Good VPNs almost always work.

No, unless you're just making a circular statement: "Well, if yours doesn't work, then it's not good!"

And for the record, mine -- PureVPN based in HK -- almost never works, notwithstanding all their special options for users in China.

I use Express, I stay in hotels weekly, and I almost never have problems with my Android/Google. There is nothing "circular" about my statement; my phone and computer both work every day.

Well, you're fortunate then.

But in advising others, you should recognize that not everyone is so fortunate. Lots of people have lots of problems these days with VPNs in China, including Express.

May 21, 2016: "ExpressVPN has been useless for me in the last few weeks. Horrible. Useless. When I actually DO connect to a server, it MAY work for 10 minutes or so, then it drops off into internet hell, and I’m at dial-up speed. Sometimes I think it is literally a few bytes per second. If that."

May 14, 2016: "I was advised to use ExpressVPN, as I run an online business that involves live webinars and i need decent speed! My first two weeks, not matter if I connected to HK, Taiwan, Seoul, or the US, my speeds were horrible and impacted my business."

March 19, 2016: "So I purchase ExpressVPN, but speed does not fast as much as hide.me, also does not works well. sometimes failed to connection."

And yet someone there, unlike me, claims to have no problem at all with PureVPN:

May 25, 2016: "I’ve been a loyal PureVPN user for years. It’s very easy to set up with the detailed tutorials they provide. They also offer excellent customer support, if you do run into a problem. I reccomend it to everyone, especially those who may be a little 'technically challenged'."

https://greycoder.com/best-vpn-china/

Point is, heading to China, you need to plan defensively and assume your VPN will not work. Maybe you'll be fortunate, maybe you'll be not. But don't bet your job on something that demands access via VPN.

This is most definitely not a matter of "good fortune".I use Express every single day, and it works. I will admit that optimizing it is not especially user friendly, though.

To expand upon my previous post, I want to clarify that Express is not especially user friendly, but it really does work well if you are patient.

Several months ago I met a lady on 老外街 who was bedazzled by my ability to use Express to access Google. After I taught her how use hk3, she was also able to access Google.

Beijing can be challenging at times, but has yet to defeat me (e.g. switching to Tokyo 1 is often a good fix).

The people that 889 quoted don't appear to be especially intelligent.

Patience! I don't want to spend 20 minutes looking for a server that'll connect, trying out both UDP and TCP, then switching from the app to a direct connection and going through all the servers again. Or contact technical support. Each time I want to go online. And then have to go through the whole process again 20 minutes later when the connection I worked so hard to find breaks down.

I just want to go online through a VPN. Right away. Like I do outside the Mainland. No patience required.

And no particular intelligence, either. You shouldn't have to be a graduate of a top U.S. university to use a VPN.

I've used VyprVPN since I started traveling to China. Haven't had a problem where there's a decent internet connection.

@889: I think you're overstating the patience that's required to use commercial VPNs.

My regular travel circuit is comprised of Shanghai, Beijing, Nanning, Shenzhen, and Hk.

In each city, I use different servers. While I admit to having run speed tests on many occasions in order to figure out which serves were best, and occasionally tinkered with my DNS settings in order to optimize, after I learned the drill, it was and is smooth sailing.

As noted above, Beijing can be challenging at times, but we're not talking about a 20 minute wait to connect. Rather 30 seconds to connect with Tokyo or Los Angeles. Neither of these are especially fast, but they work.

You know how planes have 2, 3, or 4 engines so that just in case one fails, you don't crash? Get multiple VPNs. The chance that all of them would fail at the same time is very low. And even if that happens, you can still use a cross border HK/CN SIM card or your home country SIM card as an emergency VPN to get back online.

I used ExpressVPN, vpn.ac, and shadowsocks and all of them worked well.

One VPN is enough for me. There is no need to pay for more.