Maps in China: why Google Maps fails and what to use instead

Maps in China for a Nigerian buyer: Google Maps is blocked and offset, Amap has an English mode, Apple Maps works. How to get an address a driver can read.

Do not rely on Google Maps in mainland China.

Even if your travel eSIM lets the app open, it is still a poor choice for finding a Guangzhou market, factory gate or metro exit.

For a Nigerian buyer, the better setup is:

Amap for everyday navigation.

Apple Maps as an easy backup on iPhone.

Chinese addresses and location pins saved before every supplier visit.

That is enough to move around Guangzhou without guessing.

Why Google Maps is a bad choice in China #

There are two problems.

First, Google services are blocked on ordinary mainland Chinese internet. Google itself is among the services current travel guidance lists as permanently blocked.

Second, mapping inside mainland China uses China's GCJ-02 coordinate system. Google Maps data and satellite imagery can therefore appear offset from the actual road, building or entrance. Google's own Maps community documentation acknowledges the coordinate-system issue.

For sightseeing, being a little off may be annoying.

For a buyer trying to find Building 3, Gate B of a wholesale market, it can waste an hour.

So even if your eSIM makes Google Maps load, do not make it your main navigation app.

Use Amap first #

Install Amap — 高德地图 (Gaode Maps) before leaving Nigeria.

This is now much easier for foreigners than it used to be.

Amap launched an English version for international users in 2025 and has since expanded multilingual navigation. The official Guangzhou foreign-affairs site says it supports English menus, translated destinations, walking, driving, cycling, public transport and an English ride-hailing interface.

For a Nigerian buyer, use Amap for:

• metro routes
• walking directions
• market entrances
• factory addresses
• bus information
• driving routes
• Didi/ride-hailing pickup points
• finding nearby banks, restaurants and hotels

You can use most navigation functions without becoming an expert in Chinese.

The app may still show some small businesses and factory names only in Chinese.

That is normal.

Which leads to the most important rule on this page.

Always ask the supplier for the Chinese address #

Do not ask:

“Send me your address.”

Ask:

“Please send me your full address in Chinese and your location pin.”

You want both.

For example:

广州白马服装市场
广州市越秀区站南路16号

That is Guangzhou Baima Fashion Market's official address. The market itself lists it as 16 Zhannan Road, Yuexiu District, opposite Guangzhou Railway Station.

The Chinese version is what you paste into Amap or show to a driver.

Do not depend on an English translation of a Chinese factory address.

A road can have several English spellings.

Chinese characters remove that problem.

Save the address before leaving the hotel #

For every supplier meeting, save four things:

1. Company name in Chinese
2. Full Chinese address
3. Amap location pin
4. Supplier's WeChat contact

Take a screenshot too.

If your data fails in an industrial estate, you still have something to show a taxi driver, security guard or shop owner.

That screenshot is more useful than saying:

“The factory is called Golden Future Electrical Manufacturing Company.”

Nobody around you may know the English name.

Apple Maps is a good option on iPhone #

If you have an iPhone, Apple Maps is useful in mainland China.

Apple's current feature list confirms that turn-by-turn navigation and several Maps functions are available in China mainland.

For a first-time traveller, it has one advantage over Amap:

you already know how to use it.

Apple Maps is good for:

• metro stations
• hotels
• major roads
• walking
• airports
• railway stations
• major landmarks

But Amap generally has deeper local business information.

For factories, wholesale markets and obscure entrances, keep Amap installed even if you prefer Apple Maps.

What about Baidu Maps? #

Baidu Maps is widely used in China and has excellent local data.

For an English-speaking Nigerian visitor, however, Amap is usually the easier starting point because Amap now has proper multilingual support.

You do not need three Chinese map apps fighting for space on your phone.

Start with Amap.

If somebody in China sends you a Baidu location link, you can deal with that when it happens.

The five Guangzhou names worth saving now #

Save these before your trip:

Canton Fair Complex
广交会展馆

Pazhou
琶洲

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
广州白云国际机场

Guangzhou South Railway Station
广州南站

Xiaobei
小北

If you are sourcing clothing, also save:

Guangzhou Baima Fashion Market
广州白马服装市场

You do not need to memorise the characters.

Keep them in a note titled:

GUANGZHOU ADDRESSES

Then copy and paste when needed.

Our Guangzhou wholesale markets guide covers the main sourcing areas by product.

Finding a factory outside Guangzhou #

This is where maps become more important.

A supplier may tell you:

“Factory is in Foshan.”

That is not enough.

Foshan is a large city.

The same applies to Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen and other manufacturing areas.

Ask the supplier:

“Which railway or metro station should I use?”

Then ask:

“Can you send the factory location in Amap or WeChat?”

A real supplier that regularly receives customers should be able to answer both questions easily.

Train first, Didi second #

If the factory is outside central Guangzhou, the practical route is often:

Guangzhou → train/metro → nearest station → Didi → factory

Do not take a Didi from central Guangzhou to a distant Dongguan factory just because the app lets you.

You may spend far more money and time sitting in traffic.

Take the fast transport for the long part.

Use Didi for the last few kilometres.

Our getting around Guangzhou guide explains the train and Didi setup.

If the supplier offers to collect you, use it #

Many factories will offer to collect a serious buyer from the nearest railway station.

That is often the easiest arrangement.

But do not assume pickup is free.

Confirm:

“Will your driver collect me from the station?”

and, if necessary:

“Is there any charge?”

Then send the supplier:

• your train number
• arrival time
• your WeChat
• your name
• number of people travelling

When you arrive, message them from the train before reaching the station.

Do not search a Chinese factory by English company name #

This wastes time.

The name printed on Alibaba may be:

Guangzhou Bright Future Household Products Co., Ltd.

The sign outside the factory may contain only:

广州XX家居用品有限公司

Searching the English company name may return nothing useful.

Ask for:

Chinese company name + Chinese address + location pin.

Those three pieces of information matter far more than the English name.

Check the exact entrance #

Large Chinese wholesale markets and exhibition centres can occupy several buildings.

A map pin marked:

Canton Fair Complex

is not enough when your supplier is in a particular hall.

Likewise, a wholesale market may have:

• several gates
• different buildings
• separate floors
• loading entrances
• passenger entrances

Before travelling, ask:

“Which gate?”

or

“Which building and floor?”

Amap can take you to the market.

It cannot know which staircase your supplier wants you to use.

Use WeChat location sharing #

When you are meeting a supplier, ask them to send a location in WeChat.

This is particularly useful when:

• the factory is inside an industrial estate
• the English address is unclear
• the driver cannot find the entrance
• there are several buildings with similar names

Do not depend on the location pin alone.

Ask for the written Chinese address too.

If one fails, you have the other.

Keep an offline backup #

You do not need a complicated offline-navigation system.

The important backup is simpler:

screenshots.

Before leaving your hotel, screenshot:

• destination name
• Chinese address
• map pin
• nearest metro/train station
• supplier phone/WeChat
• hotel address for the return journey

If you like offline maps, download one before travelling.

But for supplier visits, a saved Chinese address and screenshot are usually more valuable than a giant offline map of Guangdong.

Save your hotel address in Chinese too #

On your first day, ask reception to send the hotel name and address to your WeChat.

Screenshot it.

If the hotel has a business card, take one.

Now wherever you end up, you can show a taxi driver:

this is where I need to go.

Do this before your first market visit.

Not at 11pm when you are tired and cannot remember how to spell the hotel's English name.

The setup before leaving Nigeria #

Do this once:

Install Amap.

Check that English is enabled.

Keep Apple Maps if you use an iPhone.

Set up WeChat.

Set up your travel eSIM.

Save your hotel in Chinese.

Save Canton Fair or your first market.

Then you are ready.

The short answer #

If you searched “maps in China” because you are travelling from Nigeria, use this rule:

Do not rely on Google Maps.

Use Amap as your main navigation app.

Use Apple Maps as an easy backup on iPhone.

For every supplier or factory, get:

Chinese name + Chinese address + location pin + nearest station.

And screenshot all four before leaving.

That is how you avoid spending an afternoon walking around a Guangdong industrial estate looking for a factory that is actually three kilometres away.

Next, read getting around Guangzhou.

If you are sourcing in the city, save our Guangzhou wholesale markets guide.

And before you travel, make sure WeChat is already working in Nigeria.

First published 20 Sep 2026. Last checked 22 Sep 2026 by The ChinaBridge desk. Something here out of date? Tell us in the comments and we will fix it.