When you open WeChat the delightful and iconic start screen features a lone silhouette figure gazing at the Earth which is very fitting as the multipurpose lifestyle app is like having the whole world in your hand. This super app is a combination of WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Google and Apple Pay all rolled into one. With over 1 billion active users, whether you’re working, studying, living or travelling in China WeChat is absolutely essential for daily life. There’s literally no way to function without it. So today we’re going to let you know how to use it.  1.Download and Register: • Search for WeChat on your phone’s app store, click download and install.  • Registration: Open the WeChat app, select ‘sign up’, enter your ‘full name’, ‘region’, ‘phone number’ and ‘password’. Agree to the terms and conditions at the bottom then click next to verify your account by SMS code.  • If you’re lucky then you should have your WeChat account. If not, you will be prompted to undergo further verification, a process called ‘WeChat Friend’ verification whereby new users must be verified by an existing WeChat account *We can help our TEFL teachers do this if necessary  2. Profile  • There are two ways to access your profile settings and make adjustments; click ‘settings’ then ‘profile’; or click ‘me’ and tap your name/WeChat ID/Profile picture. Once there then you can upload or change your profile photo, change your name, phone number, your WeChat ID and can also access your personal WeChat ID QR code from which other WeChat users can scan to add you as a friend.  3. How to Add Friends on WeChat?  You’ve made some Chinese friends and they ask, ‘can I have your WeChat?’ What do you do? There are three ways to add someone on WeChat. • Display your WeChat ID QR code to be scanned: can access your WeChat ID QR code via the ‘Me’ tab then click the little QR code button on the top right • Scan your new friend’s WeChat ID QR code: Once you’ve accessed your WeChat ID QR code, click ‘scan’ and place your phone’s camera over your new friend’s WeChat QR code.  • You can provide your WeChat ID or ask for your new friend’s WeChat ID which can be searched then added. *Please note automatically generated WeChat IDs are not searchable on WeChat so best to customize one. 4. Chats User Interface  Each time you open the WeChat app, it’ll automatically send you to the Chats user interface. Here you’ll see a search bar at the top then below all your individual chats listed vertically in order of most recent at the top, tap to enter a specific chat with a certain contact. On the top right corner there is a plus sign, tap this and a drop-down menu appears with options to add new contacts and to create group chats.  5.Individual Chat User Interface  Once you open a specific chat the input box for text message appears at the bottom of the screen. If you’re a fan of leaving voice messages then that’s what the sound waves icon on the left is for. The emoji on the right will open a panel of emoticons where you can have lots of fun and make your chats more interesting. Furthest to the right is a plus (+) sign that leads to further functions which we’ll explore below.  • Video and Voice call: Going further than simple text messaging, you can initiate voice calls or video calls or switch between them by turning off your camera.  • Album: You can post images and videos from your phone’s album • Location: One of the most useful tools so that you never get lost providing there is still battery on your phone. Clicking this prompts two options: 1. Send Location and 2. Real-time Location. Both use Tencent Maps GPS. ‘Send Location’ allows you to send maps with specific locations pinpointed, it could be your current location or a location where you will be heading or meeting at. ‘Real-time Location’ allows you to send your current location to a friend and if they open it you can also see them pinpointed on the map as you try to find each other within a close radius (I know, awesome, right!) • Red Packet: One of the most fun aspects of WeChat is their unique modernization of a traditional Chinese custom. Via WeChat you can send the digital version of a ‘hongbao’ or lucky red envelope or red packet depending on what you prefer to call it, with digital lucky money in it (so cool!)  • Transfer: Or once your payment settings have been set up you can also just simply transfer money to other WeChat users.  • Contact Card: If you need to introduce one of your WeChat contacts to someone, you can do so by way of sending their contact card • Favorites: Any sendable message, whether text, images, videos, emojis or article links, can be added to your favorites via long press. And this in turn can also be sent to any chat.  An extra feature is that if you click the three dots in the top right of any specific chat and choose background you can customize individual chats by choosing a wallpaper or a photo from your album.  KEY TIP: *A very useful tool in China for foreign teachers is that if you receive any messages in Chinese, if you long press the Chinese text there is an English translation option. Also if you open ‘scan’ there is also a translate function whereby you can take a picture of any Chinese text e.g. menu and it’ll translate that into English for you.  6. Discover  Maybe the most fun part of WeChat is in the discovery tab. This is where you can find WeChat Moments and WeChat Channels, you’ll find many locals’ eyeballs glued to this on the metro, on buses, in shopping malls, basically everywhere.  • WeChat Moments: This is WeChat’s closed-circuit Instagram-like posting feature allowing users to post images, videos, texts and links. For images, WeChat is famous for it’s up to 9 grid image panel. Your WeChat moments can only be seen by your WeChat contacts depending on if you add any restrictions. Every user has WeChat Moments but not everyone posts. To see what people are posting from your WeChat circle of friends, click ‘moments’ in the discovery tab. Besides each post click the three dots to like or comment. To share moments and experiences of your time in China, click the camera icon in the top right. Alternatively to access you own moments click the ‘me’ tab then ‘moments’. Then start having lots of fun!  • WeChat Channels: Back in 2020 WeChat rolled out their Tik-Tok like short video platform very successfully. As it’s a relatively new feature some WeChat users from restricted regions cannot post but all WeChat users can access, watch and enjoy the content. If you’d like to start your own WeChat channel can do so using a WeChat account registered with a Chinese phone number, WeChat Channels can also be monetized like Tik Tok and YouTube.  7. Pay and Services  You will quickly find out once in China that it has become a predominantly cashless digital society, especially in urban areas, very few people carry a wallet or cash around. And WeChat Pay is one of the most popular and convenient payment methods in the land. Most if not all places accept WeChat pay from supermarkets, convenience stores, bars, malls, restaurants to taxis and street vendors. So how to set up WeChat Pay and use it?  • Bind a bank card: Go to ‘me’ – ‘pay and services’ – ‘wallet’ – ‘bank cards’ then you can add your bank card. All Chinese bank cards are accepted and you can also bind international bank cards such as Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Discover Global Network. Follow the prompts to enter your bank card information and verify your identity.  • Paying with WeChat: Once your bank card has been bound to your WeChat account you can start paying for things through the app. There are two ways to do this.  1.) You can present your WeChat Pay’s QR code for the merchant to scan. To access your WeChat Pay’s QR code either click ‘+’ on the top right of the chats interface and select ‘money’; or click ‘me’ – ‘pay and services’ – ‘money’.  2.) Or if you are presented with the merchant’s WeChat Pay QR code you can scan it by clicking ‘+’ on the chats interface and select ‘scan’. After scanning the merchant’s QR code you will be prompted to input the amount you need to pay and then enter your bank card password for the transaction to go ahead.  *The money can be deducted from your WeChat Wallet or directly from your bank account depending on your choice and if you have any money in your wallet.   *Don’t get mixed up between your WeChat ID QR code and your WeChat Pay QR code as I have done many times.  Now that your WeChat pay has been setup, there are many services featured in the ‘Pay and Services’ panel that you can use and pay for right at the tip of your fingers. Let’s open the panel and see what you can do. Please be aware that many of these functions open a new page, tab or mini program that is entirely in Chinese.  • Mobile Top-Up: To keep on using data, make phone calls and send text messages, you can simply top up your phone. After clicking ‘mobile top-up’ input your phone number, select the amount you wish to top up and enter your WeChat pay password.  • Utilities: Another great thing is that you can pay your water, gas and electricity fees via ‘Utilities’ but you’ll probably need a Chinese friend to help navigate this.  • Event Tickets: Clicking this takes you to Maoyan, one of the largest online movie ticketing platforms. So if you’re in the mood for a trip to the cinema, this is the place for that. Although everything is in Chinese it’s quite straight forward to use once you get hang of the process, it’s quick and simple. You can select by movie or by cinema. The great thing is that the cinemas are all listed based on distance to your current location, closest first. Once you select a movie then you can choose your seats and check out. Then you’ll receive a QR code and when you go the theatre you can use the QR code to retrieve your movie tickets at the ticket machine. Voila! • DiDi Ride-Hailing: This takes you to the Chinese version of Uber called DiDi and the best thing about this is that it’s in English, so it’s easy to navigate and you can always get a ride wherever you are, just select your departing and arriving location.  • Rail & Flights: This leads to you to HopeGoo, a service platform providing one-stop travel experience for inbound travellers in China where you can book trains, flights and hotels. Also in English.  • Shopping: Scroll down to the ‘Shopping and Entertainment’ section and you will find links to various Chinese online shopping sites. On each platform make sure to set up your account and input your address then you’re ready to shop!  8. Advanced Features • Official Accounts: Akin to a Facebook Business page, most Chinese organizations, institutions and companies will have a public WeChat official account in order to reach their subscribers. You can follow the official accounts you are interested in. Official accounts provide news, entertainment, food, travel and other information and services. You can find many different official accounts via the search bar atop the contacts user interface.  • As we go further into the amazing WeChat ecosystem we’ll find what we call WeChat ‘Mini Programs’, these are sub applications that give WeChat users immediate access to third-party platforms without needing to download and install them. For example, the ones, we encountered in the ‘Pay and Services’ section such as ‘Maoyan’, ‘DiDi’ and ‘HopeGoo’. You can also access Mini Programs via the discover tab where you will see your recently and commonly used ones and can also search for new ones. Another example is Walmart have a mini program and that is one that I commonly use for my weekly shopping. Other popular ones are bike sharing services such as ‘Hello Bike’, ‘Meituan Bike’ and ‘Qingju Bike’. Many third-party apps these days have a WeChat Mini program.  In short, WeChat is a feature-rich social app that will allow you to explore various functions according to your needs and preferences. For foreigners working in China it will not only be your number one communication tool but support your lifestyle and settling down. It is well worth familiarizing with how it works if you intend to live in China. If you are interested in teaching English in China, we’ll also support you in your endeavour too, feel free to get in touch at [email protected]