EnglishTop 3 Apps to Survive Summer in the City
Posted on Jul 19, 2013 by Samantha Lancaster
It may be hot but life goes on – here are three apps to get you through the season.
Weixin (微信)/ WeChat
A super-hot-at-the-moment app, WeChat has been described as something of a glorified WhatsApp, but it’s really so much more, with social networking capabilities similar to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and a “Look Around” feature that helps you to locate nearby users, allowing you to move a little closer - or farther away, depending on how cozy you’d like to get - with a stranger. Best of all, it’s totally free, and you won’t pay to send or receive messages; all reasons to justify WeChat’s continued reign as THE essential China app to get you through summer in the city. Available for iOS and Android.
China Air Quality Index
As the mercury soars, so do pollution levels, and this neat little app references data from foreign and domestic government indices to give a detailed picture of air quality. This app is particularly useful if you regularly exercise outdoors or use a bicycle, and the app flags an appropriate warning if the air quality is poor, letting you know when it’s prudent to wear a mask. There’s also a handy map feature that allows you to pinpoint pollution hotspots within a city, showing which areas might be better avoided on any particular day. The app covers 120 cities within China, and is available for iOS and Android.
City Weekend
This highly popular English language listings magazine is an essential planning tool for locals and tourists alike during the busy summer party season. The Shanghai and Beijing editions are now available for download as a handy dandy app. Categories are broken down into bars, restaurants, listings, deals, blogs and events, which can all be sorted according to rating or area. It’s possible to both read user reviews, and to post your own. Each listing features buttons to link to Google or Baidu Maps and includes a printable taxi card. A Suzhou version is due to launch shortly. Available for iOS and Android.
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