Dianping (大众点评): Your Key to China's Local Food Scene
Dianping is, simply put, the most important app for finding things to do and, most importantly, places to eat in China. It is the original and dominant review platform, combining the functions of Yelp, Google Reviews, and Groupon into one super-app.
If you want to eat like a local—from the most popular fine-dining restaurant to the tiniest, most-loved neighborhood noodle shop—this is the app all Chinese people use.
The Big Challenge: It's (Almost) All in Chinese
This is the bad news first. Unlike Amap or Trip.com, Dianping does not have a fully functional English version. It is built for locals, and the interface is 99% in Chinese.
Why It's Still a Must-Have App for Travelers:
Even if you cannot read a single character, the app is surprisingly usable for one simple reason: Photos.
- Discover Food Visually: You can use the "Nearby" function to see popular restaurants around you. Every restaurant listing has dozens, if not hundreds, of user-uploaded photos of the menu, the storefront, and every popular dish.
- Order by Pointing: This is the killer feature. You can simply scroll through the pictures of a restaurant's food, find something that looks delicious, and point to the photo to order. It completely bypasses the language barrier at the dinner table.
- Find Hidden Gems: Dianping's database is massive. It lists millions of tiny, family-run restaurants that will never appear on Apple Maps or Google Maps.
- Universal Ratings: A 5-star rating is universal. You can easily see what locals think is good.
- Copy the Address: You can copy the restaurant's address in Chinese from the app and paste it into Didi (ride-hailing) or show it to a taxi driver.
Download the App
- For iOS (iPhone/iPad): Download on the App Store
- For Android: Get it on Google Play
Bottom Line: Don't be intimidated by the Chinese interface. The learning curve is worth it. Dianping is your unfiltered, local-approved guide to finding the most authentic food in China.
