Set up DiDi, find your pickup and reach the correct hotel

Set up DiDi with your own working phone number before travel, save the hotel’s Chinese street address separately, and request the car only when you can reach the named pickup area. At the car, match the plate, vehicle and driver to the order. If the phone or pickup process fails, use the airport/station’s staffed taxi rank or ask hotel reception to help arrange the ride.

Choose the China service and prepare payment

The official DiDi China app listing supports global mobile-number registration, international bank-card payment, English/Chinese translated messages and 24/7 in-app English customer service. These are supported features, not a guarantee that a particular number receives its SMS or a particular bank authorises a payment. Choose the China listing, whose service area says Chinese mainland/Hong Kong; an overseas DiDi Rider listing for other countries is not the same service.

Entry: DiDi China standalone app

What to do: Register with your own country code and number, receive the verification SMS, select English, and add a supported payment method. Keep that number able to receive messages throughout the trip.

Entry: WeChat

What to do: Me / 我 → Services / 服务 → Ride Hailing / 滴滴出行. In the DiDi service, the government guide shows Me / 我的 → Settings / 设置 → General / 通用 → Language / 语言 → English → Confirm.

Entry: Alipay

What to do: Search 滴滴出行 / DiDi and open the service. Read the displayed account and payment-authorisation prompts. Use the service only after your intended payment method is available.

Shanghai’s illustrated guide covers the app/WeChat entry, language, destination, car choice, translated messages and plate check. DiDi’s published rules also describe SMS login and optional Alipay/WeChat account login. Button wording may move between versions; look for the equivalent service name rather than repeating a failed tap sequence.

Before requesting a car, check the selected vehicle category, number of seats, luggage space, displayed fare or estimate, and cancellation/waiting terms. Some flows use authorised automatic payment; read that authorisation before accepting it. A foreign bank card accepted by Alipay or WeChat is not proof that every DiDi transaction will pass. If SMS or bank verification fails, stop before requesting a ride and use Customer Service / 客服; keep a staffed taxi and RMB cash as the arrival fallback.

First solo arrival at Guangzhou airport

For the UK traveller continuing through Guangzhou to Brisbane, first confirm that the itinerary and entry permission let you leave the airport for the hotel. Check the actual arrival terminal on the flight information; do not choose a pickup terminal solely from the airline name. After immigration, baggage and customs, connect to data/Wi-Fi and keep the hotel’s Chinese address visible.

Arrival terminal: T2

Named ride-hailing pickup: Follow 网约车 to P8 parking building, 2F or 3F. The airport’s published guide recommends 2F from domestic arrivals via the nearby escalator. From international arrivals, follow signs or have the information desk show the route to your selected P8 floor.

Arrival terminal: T3

Named ride-hailing pickup: Follow signs to the ground transportation centre / 综合交通中心, P12 parking, level 1M (mezzanine) or level 2. Select the exact floor and bay offered for your trip; do not use a T2 P8 pin.

The airport’s T2 guide explains a further step: at the designated pickup area, enter your assigned car’s plate on the call-up screen and notify the driver so the vehicle can enter. Match the selected floor/bay, screen and order; ask the attendant to help if the screen rejects the plate. The T3 location published by Guangzhou names P12, but does not establish that every T3 bay uses the same call-up workflow. Follow its on-site instructions.

1. Go to the signed pickup zone before requesting, or once you have confirmed exactly how to reach it within the shown waiting allowance. Screenshot the terminal, building, floor and bay. Do not put the pin at a generic airport label or a departures curb.
2. Enter the hotel’s full Chinese address, check the city and map result, then confirm one car. Send the driver your precise pickup location using the order’s message/call controls.
3. Match the licence plate and vehicle with the order before entering; confirm the driver shown and give the requested last four digits of the booking phone number only after that match. A driver arriving at the same bay is not enough.
4. If the driver cannot find you, return to the staffed pickup attendant. Before changing to another car, resolve/cancel the current order and check any fee. For a phone failure, take the signed official taxi queue and show the hotel address; do not follow an unsolicited driver away from it.

中文给机场工作人员：我要去订单上这家酒店。请带我到本航站楼正规的网约车上车区，并帮我核对停车楼、楼层和上车点。若滴滴不能用，请指引我去正规出租车排队处。

English: I need to reach the hotel on this booking. Please show me this terminal’s official ride-hailing pickup area and help me match the parking building, floor and bay. If DiDi is not working, please direct me to the official taxi queue.

No Chinese hotel results while still overseas

You can finish the useful preparation without making an advance ride order. AMap’s visitor guidance says hotels and planned destinations can be saved before arrival. Copy the hotel’s Chinese name, full street address and phone from the booking or hotel’s own details; find that address in AMap, check the city/district, and save the result plus a screenshot in your phone’s notes.

1. Keep two forms: selectable Chinese text to paste, and a screenshot for a driver or desk if the search field fails. Label each hotel by city and travel date so similarly named branches are distinguishable.
2. In DiDi, check the displayed city before searching. Try the full Chinese street address rather than only a translated hotel brand. If no matching result appears abroad, retain the independent AMap/address record and finish the live pickup after arrival.
3. When you reach the hotel, have reception identify the car entrance on the map and save that point for the return trip. A map favourite is useful preparation; it does not reserve a car or establish a fixed fare.

Driver movement does not update in the WeChat mini program

Keep the existing order and wait at one named pickup point. A frozen car icon does not establish whether the driver is moving, cancelled, or at another floor. Use the order’s plate, message/call control and the physical pickup sign to agree the meeting point.

1. Take a screenshot of the order and pickup label. Check whether the phone has a working data connection; reopen the same mini-program order. If your own location is wrong, check location permission or set the pickup manually.
2. Message the driver the building, floor and bay, then ask for the arrival time and the bay they are approaching. Send a photo of the pickup sign if the current message interface supports it. Stand where you said you would wait.
3. If you cannot reach or match the driver, use that order’s Customer Service / 客服. If you abandon the ride, cancel there and save the reason and any fee shown before requesting a replacement. If a broken phone prevents cancellation and you need to leave by taxi, stay with staff while arranging it and report the unresolved app order as soon as you regain access.

DiDi’s rules say pickup can be positioned manually when location permission is off. That does not prove permission caused this traveller’s frozen driver icon. Switching to the standalone app is not assumed to transfer the same live order; do not create another booking there while the mini-program ride remains active.

中文发给司机：小程序里的车辆位置没有更新。我在订单指定的上车点，旁边就是照片中的标志。我会留在这里。请告诉我您到哪一层、哪一个上车位，以及还有多久到。

English: The vehicle position in my mini program is not updating. I am at the pickup point in this order, beside the sign in the photo, and will stay here. Please confirm your floor, pickup bay and expected arrival time.

A Chuansha hotel name is missing in DiDi

For Rezen Select Hotel (Chuansha Branch, Shanghai International Tourism and Resort Zone), use this filled address instead of its translated name. Air China’s official transit-hotel list identifies this property and phone. Compare it with your booking before using it; a similarly named Rezen in another district is a different destination.

酒店中文名：丽呈睿轩酒店（上海国际旅游度假区川沙店）。

酒店地址：上海市浦东新区川沙新镇妙境路1136弄58号。

酒店电话：021-61189266（境外拨打 +86 21 61189266）。

English address: No. 58, Lane 1136, Miaojing Road, Chuansha New Town, Pudong New Area, Shanghai. Source: Air China hotel list.

Departure meeting point: the hotel reception desk. With the full address already filled in, ask reception to mark the correct car entrance in your DiDi order and walk you to that point. The official list does not identify a driveway, gate number or DiDi pin; do not place the pickup in the middle of the hotel building or assume cars can enter every lane.

中文给前台：我住在丽呈睿轩酒店（上海国际旅游度假区川沙店），妙境路1136弄58号。我现在在前台，要去外滩南京东路方向。请帮我在滴滴上选好本酒店车辆可以停靠的入口，带我到上车点，并帮我核对车牌。我还需要保存回酒店的正确下车点。

English for reception: I am at reception of Rezen Select, No. 58, Lane 1136, Miaojing Road. I want to visit the Bund near Nanjing East Road. Please mark this hotel’s permitted car entrance in DiDi, show me where to wait, help me check the plate, and save the correct return drop-off point.

中文去外滩：我要去外滩，南京东路方向。请按订单目的地行驶，在允许停车的下客点停车，并告诉我怎样步行到滨江步道。

English for the outward ride: Please take me to the Bund, on the Nanjing East Road side, following the destination in this order. Use a permitted drop-off point and show me the walking direction to the riverside promenade.

中文回酒店：请送我到丽呈睿轩酒店（上海国际旅游度假区川沙店），上海市浦东新区川沙新镇妙境路1136弄58号。不是其他分店。请在酒店允许停车的入口下客；找不到入口时请通过订单联系我，或联系酒店前台021-61189266。

English for the return: Rezen Select, No. 58, Lane 1136, Miaojing Road, Chuansha, Pudong—not another branch. Please use the hotel’s permitted entrance; if you cannot find it, contact me through the order or the hotel at 021-61189266.

If the hotel still does not appear, ask reception to arrange a taxi or use DiDi’s booking-for-another-person option with your consent and reachable phone number. Before leaving reception, agree who pays, how you receive the plate/driver details, and who holds the order for help or complaints. This is a request for staff assistance, not a claim that the hotel includes a free transfer.

Checked 13 September 2026. Registration delivery, bank approval, current car availability, exact bay and fare depend on your account and trip. You can complete the address and staffed pickup plan without an advance order or a foreign-phone field test.