Tag: Baidu Maps

China, Chaoyang District: Virtual Tourist

I‘m on yet another virtual tour, this time in China’s capital city Beijing, Chaoyang district. I would not say that it is a nice part of town, just typical of Beijing. The Chaoyang District is in the South-East corner of the city.

China, Beijing City, Chaoyang District, Jinchan South Lane #9
中国,北京市 ,朝阳区,金蝉南里-9号楼

GPS: 39.861362, 116.502227 (not useful in China)
Plus Code: 8PFRVG62+GV (even more useless in China)
As is typical with a Chinese map, there is no coordinate system points (national security)

China, Beijing City, Chaoyang District, Jinchan South Lane #9 中国,北京市 ,朝阳区,金蝉南里-9号楼, Baidu Street View

China, Beijing City, Chaoyang District, Jinchan South Lane #9 中国,北京市 ,朝阳区,金蝉南里-9号楼, Baidu Street View

China Shandong Province, Yantai City, Qingnian Jiayuan; Virtual Tour

It is not as nice as actually being there, but when you’re stuck in Toronto it continues to be interesting. It is a lot faster.

Today I’m going to Shandong Province, Yantai City. It’s a coastal town about the size of Toronto’s 4M people. In China that’s a 3d tier city, barely big enough to warrant note on China’s large single page map. The place I’m going to is somewhat near Ludong University, about 1.5km away.

Shandong Province, Yantai City, Ludong University, Qingnian Jiayuan 山东省,烟台市,鲁东大学,青年家园。

GPS: 37.533098, 121.366479
Plus Code: 8Q93G9M8+5J

Shandong Province, Yantai City, Ludong University, from Baidu Maps

Shandong Province, Yantai City, Ludong University, from Baidu Maps

Walking around Urumuqi, Xinjiang, China

China, Xinjiang, Urumuqi, Midongnan Lu, Bingtuandekun 新疆,乌鲁木齐, 米东南路, 兵团德坤, This is the front gate

China, Xinjiang, Urumuqi, Midongnan Lu, Bingtuandekun 新疆,乌鲁木齐, 米东南路, 兵团德坤, This is the front gate

I am in Toronto, but can use Baidu to virtually go to China. It is fun to be able to walk through China and take a look. Today I went to Urumuqi, captal city of Xinjiang, China. Urumuqi, Xinjiang is not only far, but probably off limits to foreigners. The map is old, pics taken in 2015. The place I wanted to go is not yet on the maps.

新疆,乌鲁木齐, 米东南路, 兵团德坤 Xinjiang, Urumuqi, Midongnan Lu, Bingtuandekun
GPS: 43.901088, 87.612782, Plus Code: 8MM9WJ27+C4 These locations are inaccurate due to Chinese national security laws

China, Sichuan Province, Mianyang, Jiangyou City: Mapping

This is a mapping exercise deep in the heart of Sichuan Province, China. 四川省,绵羊区,江油市

Mianyang City 绵阳市 31.467938,104.680812 8P36FM9J+58 is about 120km north of Chengdu 成都市, Sichuan Province 四川省. Just north of Mianyang City is the Mianyang area. Within the area, 25km north is Jiangyou City 江油市 31.777563,104.745938 8P36QPHW+29

Mianyang City is about 120km north of Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Google maps

Mianyang City is about 120km north of Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Google maps

Just north of Mianyang City is the Mianyang area. Within the area, 25km north is Jiangyou City. Google Maps

Just north of Mianyang City is the Mianyang area. Within the area, 25km north is Jiangyou City. Google Maps

Sichuan Province, north of Chengdu, north of Mianyang City, is Jiangyou City. The population is about 4M people, about the same as Toronto. Baidu maps.

Sichuan Province, north of Chengdu, north of Mianyang City, is Jiangyou City. The population is about 4M people, about the same as Toronto. Baidu maps.

Tracking by GPS in China: Google vs Baidu Maps

A friend at Tongji University, Shanghai. Using his GPS coordinates of 31.2820193,121.5083353 he is at the red pin., but this time over 500m west north west of his Google location Baidu Maps.

A friend at Tongji University, Shanghai. Using his GPS coordinates of 31.2820193,121.5083353 he is at the red pin., but this time over 500m west north west of his Google location Baidu Maps.

A friend is visiting China and has graciously allowed me, through Google, to follow him. I provide location advice as i can read Baidu’s Chinese maps. This time I was able to use his GPS coordinates and track him on Google and Baidu Maps. Now you would think that two mapping systems would give you near identical results, but no, they do not.

Mapping GPS Coordinates: Google vs Baidu

Baidu map, Beijing University, is accurate to the line map. The map has a lot more detail about local anemities than the Google Map

Baidu map, Beijing University, is accurate to the line map. The map has a lot more detail about local anemities than the Google Map

If you play around with GPS coordinates you will quickly need access to a map. The GPS coordinate numbers do not reveal a geographic location useful to a human. The two go-to internet resources are Google and Baidu. Both have maps for North America and China, but are not as good outside of their competitive areas. As I am in Toronto and have lived in China, I can verify their usefulness for these locations, but for other parts of the world you are on your own.