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Yes, it has.

Hey, at 3:07, there is a screen shot of the Alipay interface. My 3rd button is Transport. The transport button only works when you are physically in China but even if you are in your own country, the transport button should be there. Try updating the app. My version is 10.5.88

@gibbontravelogue thank you for quick response, i am using android phone and it seems from Google Play store, their latest is 10.5.70. not sure how significant the update from 10.5.70 --> to 10.5.88 is, but unfortunately, i don't see the Transport button on my user interface. The 3rd button for me is Collect. thank you for referencing the 3:07, yeah i dont have that option. I'll probably try next week to see if the app updates itself to 10.5.88 or I may have to try it on an iPhone, which you have. But i'm sure there is something i'm missing or something isn't right or change, etc. Anyhow I appreciate the help. I don't think the "Transport" is a big issue for me. It looked very convienent for metro use. I could have imagine myself at metros scanning rather than using a physical metro cards to top up and scan. Thanks again Gibbontravelogue for your time and effort in these. If there is any new update or progress on my side, ill respond.

@@WM-eg4gh Hey, you are most welcome. I’m sure you will have a great time in China despite this!

@@gibbontravelogue Thanks! I found out the reason. Apparently I needed to allow the app to have Locations enabled. Also, Alipay needed to have the appropriate City on the top left. So when the top left says "City", I get the "Collect" option. But when I am or choose the relevant city (i.e. Beijing, Hong Kong, etc) the "Collect" option becomes "Transport". should anyone come across this, hope this will help. since i aint in China yet, i didn't see the reason to enable Location for the app. now my next mission is trying to order high-speed rail tickets but somehow find a way to reserve seats in advance. i heard some people could order KFC and take-away meals whilst on the travel.

@@WM-eg4gh This is excellent! If you are keen to take the high speed train, you can check this out th-cam.com/video/MKxNpwAf63Y/w-d-xo.htmlsi=cMhHwPZsd50frx-y

No printing needed. All you need to do is show the eticket with the QR code.

@@gibbontravelogue thank you for your valuable info!

Hey, yes you can! You don't need to have a Chinese phone number to register for an Alipay or WeChat account. You can simply register with your US phone number. Once you have registered, you can link your debit or credit card to the account for payments in China. Give it a go today! Let me know if it works

That’s right, so much to learn from history.

@@gibbontravelogue I my life journey, the wisdom of Ancient China, has both helped and guided me. Across the vast ocean we call..... Life*. Thank you, for your webcast*..... content....

@@johnparr5879 So glad that you enjoyed the video. China is one of my favourite travel destinations and I continue to be fascinated by it each time I travel there.

Hey Brenda, thanks and glad you find them useful. For the tickets to forbidden city and summer palace, we got the tickets at the ticketing counter when we arrived there. We didn’t need to pay in advance at that time. But I would advise advance booking to be on the safe side. For Great Wall, there are three popular sites, Badaling, Mutianyu and Juyongguan. We went to Mutianyu by a car that we hired for a day.

Glad it was helpful!

What about credit card? Did you mean if you can link your WeChat account to your credit card? Yes.

Not true. You just have to register for it. If the account turns inactive for a period, you will have to re-activate and one of the methods is to have your contact friend verify you.

Hmm am afraid i never really used any VPN in China. Have always stuck to my local telco roaming services.

Roaming is insanely expensive. That should only be used as an emergency option.

Hi! No fee if below 200rmb. If above, there is a 3% charge.

That’s great! Yes, you should be. Have a great trip!

Yes, can be done.

Thanks and thanks for watching!

Hey, max tickets per account is 5. Entrance is by QR code, no hard copy tickets.

Oh, i forgot to mention, you won’t regret going there, it’s world class.

Thanks for the prompt reply. 1 QR code for 5 tickets or 1 QR code for each ticket? The QR codes will be sent to MeiTuan account upon successful reservation?

@@mttay2801 I believe it’s one QR code for 5 people and the QR code will be sent to your WeChat account.

@@gibbontravelogue Thank you. Have booked the tickets to XiAn on this coming Dec. But the arrival time is at abt midnite, so no train service is available to the town area.

Thanks for your suggestion. I guess so

Agreed. Yes, whatever and wherever you are, it should be top of mind.

So glad to hear this. Thanks and safe travels!

Thanks for the visit!

@@gibbontravelogue Keep up the good work! Looking forward to your next video!

@@dave8229Thanks for the encouragement! It matters a lot. 😅

No need for a phone number. You will just need data access, WiFi or roaming data is good.

Hey, thanks. Yes, the WeChat account can be used at all Chinese merchants, both online and offline.

Hmm… June is hot and rainy, not the most ideal.

Hope you enjoy your cruise to Penang. I’m sure there are good durians within Georgetown as well. Safe travels.

Thanks. Glad that it has been helpful for you.

Oh no no. No need. My advice is to set up both WeChat and Alipay in case one doesn’t work.

@@gibbontravelogue thanks so much, friend!

Hey, no need to at the point of registration. You will need to provide a copy of your passport for full verification for a higher limit and more services.

Yes you can but from my experience, the money is going to be stuck for a while till the strict verifications are completed.

Yes, you will have to.

Alipay Tourpass has been discontinued since Mar 2023. So it wouldn’t work. Link your credit or debit card to the Alipay account and it should work. Give it a try

@@gibbontravelogue tourpass has been discontinued but replaced by tourcard, still active and I've been in correspondence with them

You don’t need a Chinese number to set up Alipay Transport. What you need to be aware of is that you can’t set it up outside China. Once you arrived in China, it will be good.

@@gibbontravelogue Ah ok Thank you

Hey no problem. Indeed we are Singaporeans. 🇸🇬 You can check out this video on how to get there. For us, we got there by high speed train from Guangzhou to Zhangjiajie. You can also choose to fly to Changsha via Scoot and then take the high speed train from there, around 2 hours. We stayed in Hilton Hotel in Zhangjiajie City. It’s relatively inexpensive and close to both Tianmen Mountain and the Zhangjiajie Train station. No worries, let me know if you need more tips or suggestions.

Thank you once again.

Hey, so so glad that you enjoyed our video. Yes, Zhangjiajie is a really fun place to visit. Have a great trip!

Yes, you can use a Chinese prepaid card for Chinese apps like WeChat and Alipay but not your everyday app like facebook, TH-cam and WhatsApp.

Glad you like them!

So glad that this video is useful to you. Have a safe trip to China

Hahaha thanks for watching. So glad you find it helpful!

Hi, thanks for watching the video. Yes, you can download WeChat from your home country with your own local mobile number. You can register and then link your locally issued credit card to this account. When u arrive in China, you can simply scan the QR code or show your QR code for scanning. It should work, no need to delete and re-install. If you cannot find Services in your menu, could you go to the chat function, then tap on the + at the top right to activate scan or money?

@@gibbontravelogue thank you for following up on my reply. I had a look, you are correct, on the + at the top right, I can see the "Money" option as alternative way to add the bank card. thank you so much.

@@WM-eg4gh fantastic! Have a great trip in China!

Thanks and hope it is helpful to you.

Glad it was helpful. Not sure why. What is the error message that you get?

Hey, it’s 60k Rmb in a calendar year. In your example, you only have 10k rmb left to spend for your account.

@@gibbontravelogue thanks

Hi, I read another article somewhere that talks about using Wechat to make payment in China as a foreigner visiting China. He describes basically the same like you. However, he also cautions that linking to a foreign bank may look ok, but when you use Wechat to make payment in China, you may find the transaction not going through. When that happens, the tourist in China may get stuck without any means to make any purchase if without cash or other methods of payments. I think I would bring some cash along just in case the Wechat payment method does not work. Thanks for the info.

@@seans2551 Yes, always good to bring some cash just in case. In addition to that, you can also set up Alipay as a backup

If you are using your local telco roaming service, then you don’t need a VPN

If that is the case, you can use your Alipay to pay for the purchase of the train or subway tickets

No problem. If u subscribe to your local telco roaming services, you will be able to use these apps seamlessly. Maybe with the exception of TikTok

Hey, yes, there is an international airport but is quite limited to a few airlines flying there. Alternatively, you can take a high speed train there from major Chinese cities. You can check out the details in this video. th-cam.com/video/MKxNpwAf63Y/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ERh3tovESYWnrmpr

You should!

Hey, for foreigners, the use of the wallet is not possible as you require a Chinese bank account. You may only link your Alipay account to your credit card for payments which is also possible for your purchases on taobao.

We stayed in Holiday Inn Express which is opposite Central Street, very convenient

Changi App is an app which contains a wallet for Singapore residents and it allows users to make payments in China using Alipay. Are you from Singapore?🇸🇬