I needed to get from my hotel near the Bell Tower to the train station in forty minutes. The subway would take twenty-five if I walked fast and caught the right line. A taxi would take fifteen if traffic cooperated. I opened DiDi because it was raining and I did not want to walk to the subway in the downpour.
That was my first mistake. Not using DiDi — that was fine. My mistake was not double-checking the destination.
The Ride That Went South — Literally
I typed “Xi’an Railway Station” into DiDi’s search bar. Three results appeared. I tapped the first one without reading carefully. The driver accepted within ten seconds. A black sedan pulled up three minutes later. I slid into the back seat, showed him the app screen, and he nodded.
Ten minutes in, I noticed we were heading south. The railway station is north of the Bell Tower. I pulled up Apple Maps on my phone — we were driving away from the station. I had selected “Xi’an South Railway Station” instead of “Xi’an Railway Station.” Two different stations, twelve kilometers apart.
I tried to explain. The driver spoke no English. I spoke no Mandarin beyond “ni hao” and “xie xie.” I pulled up Baidu Translate, typed “wrong station, go to Xi’an North Railway Station please,” and held the phone toward him. He read it, sighed — a real, theatrical sigh — and made a U-turn.
The fare jumped from 18 yuan to 41 yuan. I paid it. It was my mistake, not his.
How DiDi Actually Works for Foreigners
DiDi has an English-language version that works with foreign credit cards. You can download it as a standalone app or access it through WeChat’s mini-programs, which is what I ended up using after that first ride because I did not want another app on my phone.
The English interface is decent. You type your destination in English or pinyin, select from the dropdown, and the app shows you the fare range and estimated arrival time. Payment goes through WeChat Pay or Alipay — I had set mine up after wrestling with the process described in the [payment setup guide](https://www.dragonroam.com/china-travel-essentials/money-payment/how-to-set-up-wechat-pay-alipay-with-a-foreign-credit-card-2026-updated/).
Four More DiDi Rides and What I Learned From Each
Ride 2: The One Where the Driver Could Not Find Me
I requested a ride from a shopping mall in Chengdu. The app showed the driver was two minutes away. Five minutes passed. He was circling the block but could not find the entrance I was standing at. I could see his car on the map, twenty meters away, going around the building again.
The solution: I called him through the app. The call connected but neither of us could communicate. I walked toward where the car icon was on the map and waved when I saw a car with the matching license plate. He saw me. It worked.
DiDi pickup points are not always precise, especially at large malls or hotels with multiple entrances. Walk toward the car on the map, not away from it.
Ride 3: The One at 5am
Early morning rides to the airport or train station are the main reason I use DiDi instead of regular taxis. At 5am, there are no taxis on the street. DiDi had a driver at my hotel in six minutes. The fare was 65 yuan to Chengdu Tianfu Airport — about the same as a taxi would have been, but available at an hour when taxis were not.
Book these rides the night before if you can. DiDi has a scheduled ride feature. I did not know about it until after this trip.
Ride 4: The One Where I Used the Wrong Payment Method
I had both WeChat Pay and Alipay linked. The ride cost 23 yuan. DiDi defaulted to Alipay, which I had not topped up. The payment failed. The driver waited while I switched to WeChat Pay in the app. It took thirty seconds but felt like ten minutes.
After that I set WeChat Pay as my default payment in DiDi. One less thing to think about when you are standing on a sidewalk with your luggage.
Ride 5: The One That Was Cheaper Than the Subway
Four of us shared a DiDi from our hotel to the Zhangjiajie park entrance. The fare was 35 yuan split four ways — less than 9 yuan each. The bus would have been 12 yuan each and taken longer. When you are traveling with others, DiDi is often the cheaper option.
The [navigation apps guide](https://www.dragonroam.com/china-travel-essentials/transport-navigation/google-maps-doesnt-work-in-china-best-alternative-navigation-apps-for-english-speakers/) I used for the rest of the trip helped me figure out when DiDi made sense and when the subway was faster.
Logistics: Using DiDi as a Foreigner
- Download: Standalone app (“DiDi – Greater China”) or WeChat mini-program (search “DiDi” in WeChat).
- Payment: WeChat Pay or Alipay. Foreign credit cards work through both. Cash payment is not an option in the app.
- Destination: Always double-check the station or address name. Many Chinese cities have multiple stations with similar names (North, South, East, West).
- Pickup: The app shows your GPS location, which can be off by 20–50 meters. If the driver is circling, walk toward the car on the map.
- Communication: Have Baidu Translate ready. Most drivers do not speak English. A pre-translated “please go to [address]” saved as a note on your phone helps.
I left Chengdu on the 7:15am train with a DiDi receipt still open on my phone from the ride to the station. 65 yuan. The driver had helped me carry my bag to the entrance without being asked. I closed the app, found my seat, and slept until Mianyang.
