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Can Alibaba and Baidu convince Chinese travelers to ditch Google Maps?

Alibaba’s AMAP, aka AutoNavi, will start offering global map services this year aimed at tourists, rivaling Baidu Maps

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Can Alibaba and Baidu convince Chinese travelers to ditch Google Maps?
Karen Chiu
This article originally appeared on ABACUS
If you ever find yourself on the streets of China, you’d be hard-pressed to find locals looking for directions using Google Maps. Thanks to the Great Firewall, most Google apps are blocked in the country, allowing domestic alternatives like Baidu Maps and Alibaba’s AMAP (aka AutoNavi or Gaode Maps) to dominate instead.

The story of China’s Great Firewall, the world’s most sophisticated censorship system

(Abacus is a unit of the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba.) 

But when people living in China venture overseas, the tables are turned. While Baidu has been offering international map services since 2015, Chinese online forums are full of comments advising travelers to use Google Maps instead.

“Why use Baidu and AMAP when you’re already abroad?” one user asked in a post that’s one of many online posts offering similar suggestions. “There is still a huge gap between Google Maps and Baidu Maps or AMAP. They simply aren’t comparable!”
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“Google Maps is recommended when traveling abroad,” another user said. “Rich content. Very practical.”
A search for the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, US, appears to show more topographical information in Google Maps (left), such as the location of a river, while Baidu Maps (right) provides more information about surrounding restaurants and accommodations (left).
A search for the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, US, appears to show more topographical information in Google Maps (left), such as the location of a river, while Baidu Maps (right) provides more information about surrounding restaurants and accommodations (left).
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It’s notable advice, given that Google Maps isn’t easily accessible to all Chinese tourists. Those who roam on a China-issued SIM card remain inside the Great Firewall, meaning Google apps are still blocked even when they go abroad.

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