How to Use Amap in English When Google Maps Fails

Short answer: Google Maps does not position correctly in mainland China, so locals use Amap, known as Gaode Ditu (高德地图). Since January 2025 it has a full English interface, runs in guest mode with no account for maps and metro, and can hail a taxi once you link Alipay or WeChat Pay. Here is the complete setup, in English.

The first week I landed in Shanghai, I opened Google Maps outside my hotel, watched the little blue dot float into the middle of a building across the road, and quietly panicked. Google Maps does not work properly in mainland China, and no amount of restarting your phone fixes it. The app almost every local uses instead is Amap, known here as Gaode Ditu (高德地图). The good news for the rest of us: since early 2025 it finally speaks English. Here is exactly how to set it up and use it without a word of Mandarin.

Why does Google Maps not work in Shanghai?

China requires all maps to use a scrambled coordinate system (the offset is nicknamed the "Mars" system), and Google never licensed the corrected local data. So Google's pins land anywhere from a few meters to a couple of hundred meters off, which is useless when you are trying to find a specific door. Amap and Apple Maps both use the correct China data, which is why your dot actually sits where you are standing.

Is Amap available in English?

Yes. In January 2025 Amap rolled out an official English interface (along with more than a dozen other languages), the first of the big Chinese map apps to do so. Menus, buttons and the turn-by-turn voice all switch over. To turn it on:

1. Tap Me / 我的 (the profile icon, bottom right).
2. Tap the Settings / 设置 gear.
3. Open General, then Language / 语言.
4. Choose English. The app refreshes into English.

One honest caveat: the interface is English, but many small business names stay in Chinese characters, because Amap pulls them from a database that only stores the Chinese name. Big landmarks and hotels usually show English; the noodle shop on your corner usually does not. That is normal, and there is an easy way around it, below.

Do I need a Chinese phone number to use Amap?

For plain map and navigation, no. You can use Amap in guest mode straight away, no account needed, to walk, take the metro, and find places. You only need to log in (with a phone number) for saved places, syncing, and calling a taxi. Whether a foreign number works for the login code is hit or miss: some international numbers receive the SMS fine, others get rejected. If yours is refused and you want the full features, a local SIM solves it in minutes. Our Shanghai SIM card guide walks through getting one.

How do I search for a place I only have in English (or in Chinese)?

Typing an English name works for big, well-known spots: "The Bund", "Jing'an Temple", "Shanghai Museum". It gets unreliable for hotels, clinics, and small or branch businesses. The trick every seasoned resident uses:

• When you have a booking or a WeChat message with the Chinese name or address, copy it.
• Paste the Chinese straight into Amap's search bar. It will find the exact venue every time.
• Keep your destination's Chinese text on your clipboard before you leave, especially for restaurants and clinics.

Ask your hotel, the venue's WeChat, or a Chinese-speaking friend for the 中文 name and you will never get lost mid-trip.

How do I get a taxi inside Amap?

This is where Amap quietly beats a standalone ride app. Amap owns no cars; instead its ride-hailing aggregator (聚合打车) fires your request to DiDi, T3, CaoCao and around a dozen licensed fleets at once, then shows you the fare estimate and how many cars are nearby. When DiDi alone shows nothing, the aggregator often still finds you a ride.

You cannot bind a bank card directly inside Amap. Instead you pay through a wallet:

1. Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay first and add your card. Both accept foreign Visa and Mastercard, so you do not need a Chinese bank account. Our Alipay and WeChat Pay guide covers this.
2. Link that wallet to Amap when it asks, and rides charge automatically.

If Amap's own hailing flow feels fiddly, the plain DiDi app has an English mode, lets foreign numbers register, and takes a foreign card directly. Both are covered in our full getting around Shanghai guide. One warning drivers and locals repeat: stand exactly on the pickup pin, not "near" it, or your driver circles the block and cancels.

How do I use Amap for the Metro and buses?

Type your destination, tap the route button, then choose the bus-and-Metro icon, and Amap plans the whole trip: which line, which platform direction, which exit to leave from, and how many stops, with live arrival times for many buses. It is the quickest way to read the Metro without decoding the wall map. Save your home and work under my places so a route is two taps from anywhere. You still tap into the Metro with your phone QR, and our guide to getting around Shanghai without a car walks through that setup.

Amap vs Apple Maps vs Baidu Maps: which should I use?

Here is the honest split I give every new arrival:

My setup: Apple Maps for a quick "which direction", Amap for transit and taxis.

Amap features locals actually use

• Which carriage to board: transit routing tells you the exact subway car that lines up with your exit or transfer, so you are not sprinting down the platform.
• Traffic-light countdowns: at many junctions Amap shows the seconds left on the red, which is oddly addictive and genuinely useful when you are driving or cycling.
• Offline maps: download the Shanghai map (roughly 50 to 150 MB) so navigation keeps working if your data drops in a basement mall.
• Nearby search: tap the categories for the closest metro exit, ATM, toilet, or pharmacy.

Common problems and quick fixes

• English reverted to Chinese after an update: reopen Me, Settings, Language and set English again. Updates sometimes reset it.
• No English option at all: availability can vary by app-store region and version. Update the app, or install the separate international app (listed as "AMap Global" in app stores), which opens in English by default.
• Your dot drifts: GPS can wander up to around 200 meters among tall towers. Step into the open for a moment and it re-centers.
• The route looks like the long way round: Amap occasionally picks an odd path and is slow to reroute. Check the alternative routes it lists before setting off.

Common questions

Does Amap work without a VPN?

Yes. Amap is a local app and works normally on Chinese networks, no VPN needed. It is Google Maps that struggles here, not Amap.

Can I use Amap to call a DiDi without a Chinese bank account?

Yes, as long as you have added a foreign Visa or Mastercard to Alipay or WeChat Pay and linked that wallet to Amap. The ride charges through the wallet.

Is Apple Maps or Amap better for a short trip?

For a few days of sightseeing on an iPhone, Apple Maps is the least hassle. If you want taxis and detailed transit, add Amap.

Why is the shop name still in Chinese even in English mode?

Amap only stores the Chinese name for many small businesses, so it shows that even when the app is set to English. Paste the Chinese name into search to pull it up.

What is the difference between Amap and AMap Global?

Amap (Gaode) is the mainland app most locals use, now with an English setting. AMap Global is the international version that opens in English by default and also maps other countries. Either works in Shanghai; try Amap first for the deepest local data.

Once your dot sits where you actually stand and you can summon a taxi in three taps, Shanghai stops feeling like a maze. Set Amap up before you need it, keep a Chinese address on your clipboard, and you are genuinely mobile in this city.