Tips for traveling in China

[OlivierU]

Just be aware that in China all Google Services are blocked: no GMail, no Google search engine (use baidu.com instead), no Google Drive, (Microsoft OneDrive worked when I was there but only via smartphone app), no Google Play, etc. nothing at all. No Facebook, no Worpress (your website/blog is only working if it runs on your own server/domain), no Twitter and heaps of other useful services. I tried lots of different VPN services and not a single one worked, not even the paid ones.

What is really important: try to download what ever you can before you're heading to China so all necessary stuff is available as an offline version. Very important is for example: offline translater (possible with Google translate), offline navigation (maps.me is a great app, Google Maps is often more accurate), offline travel guide (TripAdvisor app does a really good job and believe me I tried lots of other ones).

Go for it, enjoy China and have fun!

[Corrie]

Google Maps Offline features really come in handy when traveling internationally or in countries with access restrictions. The Google Maps blog recently shared this post with tips for getting around town (offline features and ride service options) without using data. This post here on Connect explains how to download offline areas of Google Maps to your phone for navigation and discovery on the go 🙂