Non-Chinese Android in China: getting apps

[onebir]

I just got an Android 4.2.1 phone fixed. It's from outside China, so set up to use Google Play, links to the old user (and donor, my dad)'s Google account, and has some of his data on it.

 

I guess the latter problems can be resolved with a factory reset. But what's the easiest way to

a) get some decent apps (esp for Chinese) onto this thing &

b) get a decent app store working on it?

[onebir]

1) Factory reset: https://www.androidpit.com/how-to-factory-reset-android

2) Install Fdroid via USB: https://f-droid.org/

3) Install Baidu App Store via USB: http://shouji.baidu.com/appsearch?f=shouji_header

4) Let Baidu install 16 common Chinese apps for you (inc Weixin, QQ, QQ Spaces, Zhifubao, Shouji Baidu...)

 

Should be good to go? (Albeit incredibly insecure, thanks to Baidu App Stores arm-long list of permissions...)

 

Any other app stores or apps of note? 

[abcdefg]

F-Droid is the app store that I use the most, now that my phone is a Mainland edition Xiaomi 5 without access to Google.

 

豌豆荚 and 360手机 are two others that I use. Have managed to download Anki, Pleco and Skritter. Are you planning to install a VPN?

[onebir]

Ok - I'll check those out, thanks. A Chinese tablet I got outside China came with "Anzhi" but this seems even more of a PIA than Baidu...

 

No urgent plans to install a VPN, but a friend seems to be having some good luck with a free one that has an Android version...

[onebir]

One problem I had - no Chinese/Pinyin input options in the built-in Android AOSP keyboard, even if I switched the system language to Chinese - I guess the files are too big to be provided as standard. Installing (& activating) Google Pinyin Input (via the Baidu market) fixed that.