Rental and application apps for the road

Information about different rental and application apps for the road that is useful in China. If needed to rent or use GPS, below is some examples that could be useful on the road. Also mentioned the different rentals we have been using.

Applications for iOS and Android phones

Woyouzhijia

 4.5/5

iOS, Android and no web site. This is what we mostly use for checking the campsites and routes. Rental, service and sales places and prices. One of the best apps for travel

RV2GO

 3.5/5

Maxus brand own website. Rental, sales, booking of custom tours with designated drivers and guides. Nation Wide company

RV China

 2/5

News and travel information. Seems only updated information nowadays is the exhibitions. No app available but from the web site you can scan QR code for their mini program.

RV CAT

 4/5

Sales of new and second hand RV/caravans. Blog pages have varying information about traveling. Tests and evaluations about RVs

lvyouw

 3/5

Sales of new and second hand RV/caravans. Blog pages have varying information about traveling. Tests and evaluations about RVs

RV Net

 3/5

Sales of new/ second hand RV, cars and caravans. Blogs about campsites and travelogues

Navigation for iOS and Android phones for the road

Some good GPS apps for the road. A car number plate function is good if you drive in number plate-restricted areas in some bigger cities as it will re-direct you to allowed roads.

*”Number plate” function. In some cities, there are some restrictions on license plates/ numbers. Entering the license in the GPS it re-routes the track accordingly

Apple ios maps

 4/5

Apple iOS maps is the only well working GPS navigation software in mainland China. Download from Apple Store.

Autonavi

 4/5

iOS
Android
English
License number*
Map Web
VPN needed
Link

This is the best Chinese GPS app from my experience. Can be found on both Apple store and Google Play. This app is also known as Gaode

Baidu maps

 3/5

iOS
Android
English
License number*
Map Web
VPN needed
Link

Can be found on both Apple store and Google Play

Google maps

 2.5/5

Google Maps can function in China. Two big issues are, needed VPN and also the offset on the map is 50-100m so the exact location is difficult to get. Download from Google Play store

Tencent maps

 2.5/5

Tencent QQ It includes all the functions we need for travel, it is relatively not so frequently used as Baidu Map or Amap. Both its PC and mobile systems are available.

Lingo Maps

 3.5/5

LingoMap is a map app for foreigners who cannot read Chinese to use in China. It shows places, transit routes, and street names in the original Chinese, Mandarin Pinyin, and English.

Rentals

Here is the list of the rentals what we have experienced

These are the rentals we have rented from or have paid visit when looking for one. About half of them don’t really have official pages and we have been able to find them either from internet or by one the apps we are using.
This way of traveling is still in early phase in China and for example caravans are totally impossible to find for rent. Notice the caravan will need class C6 driving license from April 2022.

We were lucky and found one place in Shanghai that rented caravans (MIY) when searching from internet.

We cannot provide the direct contacts on the pages for the renting companies but those can be found in the apps or by contacting us. Mostly our communication with rentals have been thru WeChat.

TIANDE RV SHANGHAI

 1/5

First-time rental and the last. Tiande RV pushed membership and we paid 5 days and used 3. Now the company has disappeared, and we lost the 2 remaining days.

Avoid this company

RV2GO SHANGHAI

 4/5

One of the most reliable and also have big network in China. Little bit pricey but comes with quality. This place also have nice camping area close to Shanghai Disney with fixed caravans. Nation wide company

YOUYOUFANGCHE SHANGHAI

 3/5

Small company with 4 RV’s. The one we got was fully equipped. Owner even got us BBQ and camping tables and chairs for use. RV from here was used on our first Road trip in China.

RV China shanghai

 4/5

Network of sales of new/ second hand RV and caravans. Very close to the venue where the yearly travel and leisure exhibition occurs in Shanghai. Professional sales and very friendly. Selling all of the most famous local RV’s and local/ foreign made caravans.

Yequ fangche

 3.5/5

The only place in Shanghai we have found a caravan. Local MIY brand. The local brand and caravan were a little too small for us 4. The one we hired was the biggest. Have been looking for a larger one to rent without success.

Review of the MIY caravan

Han Wang Fang Che shanghai

 2/5

Some small rental we checked out. Few RV’s and the condition was not the best. Mostly concentrating of modifying and repairing RV’s