Useful Chinese websites

[roddy]

Meaning specifically Chinese-language sites, not those designed for Chinese learners.

Here's a selection of the ones I find myself coming back to regularly.

1) Baidu's Q&A service, Zhidao.

I don't visit this one directly so often, but if I see it coming up on search engine results it'll usually get a click. There's a good chance someone has already answered the same question you're asking, and someone has written up (or copied and pasted) the answer. There's often some less than useful information - you might get the entire history of a city pasted in when all someone wants to know is how to get to the train station from the airport - but the best answer gets bumped to the top and highlighted. Yesterday I bought some small oranges in the supermarket, but found them impossible to peel. Quick check of the label and a search, and it turns out that 金桔 are meant to be eaten with the skin on (they're kumquats, not that I knew what a kumquat was either). If you're just in need of a quick answer and want a somewhat filtered version of the Internet, this is worth a look.

2) The utterly fantastic BJBus.com.

Fast and responsive interface, search by bus stop name, local landmarks, major buildings, shop or restaurant names and get a list of possible bus routes to get you there. Also serves as my favourite online map for Beijing. No longer do you need to scour a list of bus stop names written in 6-point type on a beat up old map of Beijing. May be of less value to those of you who don't happen to live in Beijing, I admit.

3) Restaurant God-site, Dianping.com

Lists pretty much every restaurant in Beijing - nay, China - that's big enough to have its own toilet, and some that aren't. Tons of user reviews to consult, maps to show you how to get there, a 'what else is nearby' feature so you can find a bar near the restaurant you're going to for pre and after-dinner drinks. Searchable by location, type of food and average cost per head. Register and you'll be able to send addresses and recommended dishes direct to your mobile phone - or anyone else's if your friends are lost on the way). Also has vouchers for many places which can be printed out or again, sent direct to your mobile phone - one very useful one is the 50Y off an 80Y spend at the Di'anmen 巴国布衣, which has apparently been available for months and is still there. The site also covers shopping and leisure, but it's the food side of things I use it for. Good mobile version at wap.dianping.com.

4) Social networking for couch potatoes, Douban.com.

Maintain lists of your want to enjoy, am enjoying and have enjoyed books, music, movies and TV shows, find people who have the same tastes and see what else they enjoy. One very useful feature is the 小组 or Groups section, which basically functions as a large forum, without the massive turnover and terrifying signatures and avatars of many Chinese BBS. You'll find a group for pretty much any interest or location, and if you can't you can start one. The smaller ones can be pretty quiet though. Also look for local events under 同城.

5) The shop that goes to you, Amazon.cn, formerly Joyo.

Already discussed here, but to reiterate, Amazon.cn stocks a huge range of consumer goods, at competitive prices. I've had DVD players, wireless routers, bluetooth keyboards, mobile phone batteries, lamps, a water dispenser, memory cards and oh yes, some books and DVDs, delivered. Consumer reviews are posted for many items, and while veracity is always an issue on sites like this I've seen enough negative ones to be sure they're not all completely fake. You can pay on delivery in many cities, and delivery itself is either free or cheap.

Any more?

[rob07]

Well, www.tudou.com and www.youku.com (Chinese youtube), or are they too obvious?

[roddy]

I was kind of thinking of sites I use for some kind of reference purpose, rather than entertainment, and I'm not a big online video user so tend not to visit those sites.

[imron]

Beijing Subway also has a decent website, provide times, route planners and more.

[msittig]

I'm with Roddy on all of those, especially Baidu Zhidao and Dianping, except for BJBus, which I haven't used. Here's a couple more:

1) DDMap.com

What I imagine BJBus must be, but for Shanghai. Up-to-date map of the city. Directions by car or by public transportation given with 3 alternate routes for each search. Searching by neighborhood, building name, business name, and has info like business telephone numbers and hours of operation. Ditu.Google.com is catching up (and passing) in features, but DDMap was first.

2) Taobao.com

Can't count on the fingers of my two hands how many times I've heard somebody say "is there /anything/ (auction/b2c site) Taobao doesn't have?". Order baby supplies, pet food, birthday gifts, imported foods, hobby materials, Christmas trees(!), hacked iTunes gift cards, souvenirs, second-hand electronics... Almost anything you could want, delivered right to your door.

[teaforme]

Another transport website: www.zuoche.com

Covers primarily the Pearl River Delta area. Cities listed: Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhuhai, and Zhongshan. I use it several times a week for my GZ transport needs. It has bus, metro, and taxi listings (fare guestimates only for taxis). I've only had it give me bad directions once...Keeping my fingers crossed it stays that way.

[gougou]

Qunar for flights - it's searching a large number of flights, so you should be able to find a good deal. It also plots how the price of domestic flights will fluctuate in the next few days.

Huochepiao to check train schedules. There should be a better site that does this, but so far it has done everything I needed it to.

[Shadowdh]

http://www.elong.com/ for all travel in and around China... hotels and planes. I have always found them to be fast, friendly and spot on with their service...

[msittig]

For train look-ups I like huoche.com.cn's minimalist interface: http://flash.chinaren.com/ip/hc/

[roddy]

With Qunar, do you actually buy the ticket from the site, or the agencies they refer you to? I had a quick look but it was giving me links to no-name travel agents with only very marginal savings over what Ctrip was showing me.

[gougou]

Qunar finances itself through ads; they are not involved in the ticket selling. My flight to Europe this time I found through them, costing RMB 3,600 return on Emirates rather than 6,000something on Air China.

I don't think I've had a single time I used it (granted, I don't use it all too frequently) where Ctrip was among the first results by price.

[muyongshi]

I think this fits here..one I saw advertised on facebook (crap I just gave too much away about myself didn't I?) laonei.com

[roddy]

Got to love Dianping - just got a phone from a friend walking towards 簋街 wanting to know where he can take his charming companion for hotpot. I have no idea as I'm not a big hotpot fan (or for that matter a huge 簋街 fan), but within five minutes I've had the address of the highest-rated hotpot place on the street AND a money-off voucher sent to his phone.