Alibaba’s Amap has released what it calls China’s first multilingual map service, now supporting 14 additional languages on top of Chinese and English. The rollout aims to enhance accessibility for international travelers as inbound tourism continues to recover, according to the official announcement from Shanghai Municipal Government.

According to China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the country welcomed more than 7.3 million foreign visitors in Q1 2025, a 39.2% year-on-year increase. As part of ongoing efforts to improve travel infrastructure and digital services, Amap’s expanded language coverage is designed to meet the needs of non-Chinese and non-English speakers visiting China.

The newly added languages include Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Thai, Japanese, Korean, Turkish, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Malay, Indonesian, and Vietnamese. Users can now download the multilingual version of Amap directly from the App Store or Google Play.

Localization for real-world navigation

Beyond interface translation, Amap’s multilingual version includes localized place names and descriptions for key destinations such as hotels, restaurants, and cultural sites. It also integrates with the platform’s existing navigation tools, offering walking, driving, cycling, and public transportation guidance with language support matching the user’s settings.

Amap has also extended its English-language ride-hailing service, allowing foreign visitors to book cars via multiple Chinese platforms and view fare estimates, pick-up details, and driver information in real time.

Broader implications for language access

The update marks a step forward for language inclusion in digital mobility platforms in China, a country where most public digital tools have historically prioritized Chinese-language interfaces. With tourism recovery accelerating and visa processes easing, the need for multilingual navigation tools is becoming more urgent.

Amap, part of Alibaba Group, has stated that it plans to expand the service to additional languages and usage scenarios in the near future.