You’re planning to visit Guangzhou, but you don’t speak Cantonese. You don’t speak Mandarin. Your only real option is English. Are you going to make it? Absolutely. Is it going to be easy? Not always. But it will be exciting — and from arrival and transport to food and communication, this guide will help you get ready for visiting Guangzhou with only English.

Arrival: Navigating Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport

• Internet Access: Have an eSIM ready upon arrival. The airport has Wi-Fi, but accessing it is truly irritating — among other things, logging in requires you to enter a picture of your passport.
• Arrival Card: Have all of this information ready for completing the digital arrival card: flight arrival and departure information, hotel name and address, passport number, and visa number.
• Transport to the City: DiDi, the Chinese equivalent of Uber or Grab, is your best option (there is metro access, but subways can be a real pain with luggage). Make sure you’ve downloaded and set up DiDi in advance, and follow the English signs to the e-hailing spot.

Apps & Tech

• AliPay: Essential for payments — cash and foreign cards are rarely accepted. Set up AliPay with your credit card before you arrive.
• WeChat: Essential for communication and as a payment back-up. Also set it up with your credit card before you arrive.
• DiDi China: Ride-hailing: Necessary for Uber-like transport. Also set it up with your credit card before you arrive. There are multiple DiDi apps, so make sure you download the right one. If you don’t, you may still be able to access DiDi through AliPay.
• Google Translate: Useful, particularly for voice translation. Download the offline version.
• Apple Maps: Useful, though not always reliable (see my note below).
• VPN: Pick one and have it ready. I didn’t end up needing mine — more on that below — but you never know.
• Pleco: Skip this dictionary app. Don’t pay for the OCR version, even if ChatGPT recommends it.
• Apple Photos — Live Text Translate: Incredibly helpful for menus and museum labels.

One of my biggest anxieties was not being able to test AliPay, WeChat, or DiDi before leaving for China. You really want these to work, so follow every single ChatGPT instruction for how to set them up in English before you head out.

On the plus side, all of my other apps worked in Guangzhou, from WhatsApp to Gmail, without a VPN. This was really nice, as I still felt connected to the rest of my world. That said, Google Maps and Apple Maps both led me astray from time to time. This was frustrating — you don’t want to find yourself at a back-alley community center instead of a temple — but it was manageable. Make sure to cross-check the two against each other.

Transportation: Visiting Guangzhou With Only English

The Metro

• The Metro is clean, organized, and crowded — especially during rush hour.
• Buy a token in the station for each trip; you’ll need one to enter and also to exit (so don’t lose it). Foreign visitors cannot use a phone or a credit card to tap in and out.
• Metro stations are large, and stops are far apart. If you use the Metro, you’ll probably end up doing a lot of walking.
• Announcements and signage are in English.

DiDi and Taxis

• Rush hour is miserable and long: 7:30-10:00 a.m. and 5:00-7:30 p.m. Unfortunately, those are exactly the hours when you’re likely to want to be out and about.
• DiDi is much easier to use than taxis, because you don’t need to communicate with anyone.
• To confirm your ride with your DiDi driver, put the last four digits of your phone number in a note and show it to your driver when you get in.
  

Food: Eating Without Fear

Food may be one of the trickiest parts of traveling in Guangzhou — with or without menus, it’s a constant adventure. After all, how do you know what you’re getting when a restaurant calls this dish of hot lettuce “Jelly Bean Soup”?

Elsewhere, we could have ordered Black Pepper Denim Bones, The Tsar Steamed the Money’s Belly, or Golden Legs with Salty Corners.

But don’t worry — you won’t starve. These tips will help:

• As you walk around, look at what diners are eating.
• If you’re at a restaurant with a WeChat menu, look for the translate button: start with the three dots in the upper right, then scroll across the bottom of the page.
• You may find yourself in areas where your only options are mall food courts — especially near the Baiyun Cable Car, Yuntai Garden, the Orchid Garden, and in the central business district.
• Ask your hotel for recommendations.
• Take a food tour to familiarize yourself with local specialities.
• Get ready to do a lot of pointing — at pictures on the wall, at other people’s meals, or at the noodle options arrayed before you.

Most of all, have courage! Trying things is fun, and Guangzhou’s amazing cuisine reputation is well-earned.

Language Preparation

There’s more English than you might expect in Guangzhou, and you don’t need to learn much Chinese before you go. A little bit goes a long way when it comes to politeness and getting around. I recommend learning, at a minimum:

• Hello
• Yes and no
• Thank you and no thank you
• I don’t speak Chinese

Truly, that’s all I needed — and I probably could have gotten by without yes and no. If you want one more useful phrase, “Where is the toilet” might be handy.

If you’re using a translation app, prepare to be confused and delighted. I love that my phone translated the signage next to this temple bell as, “Wooden fish and cloud boards are Buddhist magic weapons that prohibit tourists from knocking.”

And I still have no idea what to make of this translation of a folk art museum label.

Communication: The Heart of Visiting Guangzhou With Only English

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from years of travel, it’s that being confused is okay. People are kind — they want to help, even if they keep chattering away in a language you clearly don’t understand. Eventually, you’ll figure things out. You might even end up sharing a pot of tea with a total stranger along the way.

The key to moving forward is to be confident about asking for help. Be ready to point and gesticulate. You can make great strides with nonverbal navigation.

Finally, if your hotel has a helpful concierge or front desk, take advantage of whatever services they offer. If you need museum tickets, restaurant reservations, or directions, they’re a great place to start.

Signage: Enjoying the Adventure

As you wander, keep your eyes out for the signs — they can be helpful, baffling, or even laugh-out loud funny. Who doesn’t love a sign that says, “No Romping?”