Guide
China Developer Stack Guide by Category
. Regenerated with each Chinaready Landscape publish.
China developer stack guide by category — what typically belongs in payments, identity, messaging, cloud, growth, and more. When you already know a global product keyword, open the Global alternatives index for China-ready candidates and availability notes.
Overview
Chinaready Landscape is an open-source map of China-ready developer services for global software teams. It organizes mainland China technology options from Level 1 categories down to Level 2 subcategories, with notes on which familiar global services usually sit in each area.
The primary audience is foreign developer and product teams evaluating how to adapt a global software stack for mainland China.
Use this Guide to understand the China-side taxonomy and what typically belongs in each category. When you already know a global product keyword (Firebase, AWS, Stripe, Google Maps, and similar), open Global for the table index that maps international services to China-ready candidates. For the broader launch operating model beyond vendor selection, continue on chinaready.co.
Common global stack translations
These are high-intent starting points for reading the taxonomy below, not exhaustive endorsements:
- Firebase / FCM style mobile backends and push often need China SaaS or China cloud modules instead of a global Firebase default.
- AWS, Azure, and similar clouds may require China-region accounts or a domestic cloud platform.
- Apple Pay is available in mainland China, but Chinese internet users more commonly pay with Alipay and WeChat Pay — keep Apple Pay for iPhone wallet checkout and still add those local rails for conversion. Stripe and PayPal style checkout for mainland deployments usually map to WeChat Pay, Alipay, or a local commerce integration path. Decide by deployment location first: products that stay outside China can often keep Stripe as a global platform (including Alipay and WeChat Pay for Chinese users); products that must run inside mainland China usually should not use Stripe for compliance reasons and should integrate native rails instead.
- Google Maps, Google Fonts, and some global CDNs may be unavailable, slow, or operationally constrained in mainland China.
- OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, and Pinecone-style AI stacks often need China-reachable model APIs, embeddings, vector databases, and agent/RAG platforms instead of a global default.
FAQ
Does Firebase, AWS, or Stripe work in China? Often with limits or not as a drop-in default. For Stripe specifically, answer the deployment question first: if the product must run in mainland China, Chinaready recommends native payment rails (WeChat Pay, Alipay, Youzan Cloud) rather than Stripe; if the product stays outside China, Stripe can still work globally. Apple Pay is Available in mainland China, but Alipay and WeChat Pay remain the habitual checkout methods for most Chinese internet users. Open Global to check Availability in China and compare mapped China-ready candidates before you change architecture.
What is Chinaready Landscape? It is an open-source, continuously updated catalog of China-market developer services and China-region routes, organized so global teams can compare familiar tools with practical mainland China options.
Is a China alternative always a one-to-one product swap? No. Some entries are direct alternatives, some are China-region deployments of global providers, and others are partial or ecosystem-specific routes. Read the replacement fit and China context before changing architecture.
Where do I look up a specific global service? Open Global in the navigation for the crawlable international → China alternatives index. This Guide stays focused on the China taxonomy from Level 1 categories to Level 2 subcategories.
Who maintains this resource? Chinaready maintains the landscape as a public research resource. Product inclusion is source-backed and incomplete by design; empty subcategories remain visible so contributors can fill gaps.
Where should teams go after shortlisting vendors? Use this site to understand the service map, then use chinaready.co for launch process, compliance, distribution, and go-to-market guidance.
The project deliberately reuses CNCF landscape2 conventions: contributors edit YAML data, add SVG logos, run validation, and review changes through pull requests. This keeps the workflow familiar for landscape2 contributors while making the taxonomy and profiles specific to China's internet technology ecosystem.
| Level 1 Category | Level 2 Subcategories |
|---|---|
| Infrastructure & Edge | Cloud Platform & Hosting; Network & Edge Security; Content Delivery Network (CDN); Service Mesh & Gateway |
| Application Platform | Cross-Platform UI & Frameworks; Mobile Backend-as-a-Service (MBaaS); Feature Flags & Remote Config |
| Release, Quality & Operations | CI/CD & App Distribution; Automated Testing & Device Farms; Crash Reporting & Performance Monitoring; Monitoring & Observability (APM / RUM) |
| Users, Trust & Monetization | Authentication & Identity; Payments & In-App Purchases; Ad Monetization & Mediation; Bot Protection & CAPTCHA |
| Engagement & Communication | Push Notifications & Multichannel Messaging; Real-Time Communication (Voice / Video / Chat); Customer Support & In-App Messaging |
| Growth, Content & Experience | Product Analytics & User Insights; Location & Map Services; App Attribution & ASO; Mobile User Acquisition & Advertising; Web Fonts & Iconography |
| AI Models & Platforms | Foundation Models & LLM APIs; Embeddings & Reranking; Vector Databases & Retrieval; Agent / RAG Frameworks |
Companies can participate by opening a pull request that adds or improves company profiles in landscape.yml, supplies SVG logos in hosted_logos/, and includes concise source-backed notes for China-market relevance. A complete contribution should identify the product category, official website, developer documentation, global alternatives, organization overview, and any GitHub or social links that help foreign developers evaluate the service.
Before opening a pull request, run npm run validate, npm run build, and npm run verify.
Infrastructure & Edge
Chinaready tracks infrastructure and edge services that global software teams need when preparing a China launch. This category covers cloud platforms, network and edge security, CDN, and service mesh / API gateway products used to host and protect applications for mainland China users. China deployments often require region-specific cloud accounts, ICP filing, CDN choices, and in-country traffic-management stacks that differ from a global default. Managed DNS is treated as part of the chosen China cloud platform rather than a separate subcategory.
Cloud Platform & Hosting
Use this category for cloud platforms or China-region cloud offerings that can host application workloads. Mainland DNS and domain resolution are usually selected with the cloud platform (for example Alibaba Cloud DNS or Tencent Cloud DNS) rather than as a standalone landscape subcategory.
Typical global services: AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud. China-ready options often evaluated: AWS China Regions, Azure China, Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud. Google Cloud has no mainland China region.
Network & Edge Security
Use this category for WAF, DDoS protection, email security gateways, and related network/web security controls. Keep this separate from CDN acceleration and from application-layer CAPTCHA products under Bot Protection & CAPTCHA.
Barracuda can still be used in China with caveats, but new projects in government, finance, and critical infrastructure should carefully evaluate domestic options. Prefer Coremail (CACTER邮件安全网关) for email security / email gateway replacement and Topsec (天融信) for network, WAF, and adjacent edge-security controls. See the Barracuda alternatives map.
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
Use this category for CDN and edge acceleration products. Profile notes should distinguish product availability from ICP filing requirements.
Typical global services: Amazon CloudFront, Cloudflare CDN, Akamai. China-ready options often evaluated: Alibaba Cloud CDN, Tencent Cloud CDN, Cloudflare China Network.
Service Mesh & Gateway
Use this category for API gateways, service mesh dataplanes, and cloud-native traffic-management products.
For Kong Gateway, treat mainland self-hosted Kong OSS/Enterprise as generally workable, and treat Kong Konnect / cross-border control-plane sync as the Limited path. Prefer in-country self-hosting when staying on Kong; otherwise evaluate Apache APISIX, Flomesh, or Higress. See the Kong Gateway alternatives map.
Typical global services: Kong Gateway.
Application Platform
Application platform services support app frameworks, backend services, and remote configuration. Chinaready keeps this category conservative: Firebase-style suites, app hosting platforms, and remote configuration products are only mapped when the China-market service covers a comparable workflow.
Cross-Platform UI & Frameworks
Use this category for developer frameworks and UI runtimes. China options often prioritize mini-program and multi-end distribution alongside native containers.
Mobile Backend-as-a-Service (MBaaS)
Use this category for managed backend services for mobile and web apps. Some mapped options are partial deployment routes rather than full MBaaS replacements.
Typical global services: Firebase, AWS Amplify, Supabase, Heroku.
Feature Flags & Remote Config
Use this category for remote configuration and feature flag services. Cross-listed mobile suites should clarify which module provides this capability.
Typical global services: LaunchDarkly, Firebase Remote Config, ConfigCat.
Release, Quality & Operations
Release, quality, and operations services help teams test, distribute, monitor, and stabilize applications after launch. Chinaready profile notes should call out mobile device fragmentation, app-store distribution, local telemetry compliance, and whether a global tool remains viable through self-hosting or China-region deployment.
CI/CD & App Distribution
Use this category for China-market DevOps platforms covering code hosting, CI/CD pipelines, artifact repositories, and application delivery. Prefer Alibaba Cloud Yunxiao when the stack already runs on Alibaba Cloud, and Tencent Cloud DevOps (CODING) for Tencent-centric or large-scale finance/ecommerce delivery workflows.
Typical global services: GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Bitrise, Firebase App Distribution, Visual Studio App Center.
Automated Testing & Device Farms
Use this category for real-device testing, cloud phones, and automated QA platforms.
Typical global services: AWS Device Farm, Firebase Test Lab, BrowserStack App Automate.
Crash Reporting & Performance Monitoring
Use this category for crash, stability, and mobile performance tools. Self-hosted global tools can be referenced in notes but should not be treated as China products by default.
Typical global services: Sentry, Firebase Crashlytics, Bugsnag.
Monitoring & Observability (APM / RUM)
Use this category for infrastructure and application monitoring. Prefer China-cloud observability suites with clear mainland data residency notes.
Typical global services: Datadog, New Relic, Grafana Cloud.
Users, Trust & Monetization
Users, trust, and monetization services cover identity, payment, in-app purchase, ad monetization, CAPTCHA, and anti-bot workflows. For Chinaready, this is a core decision area because China-market implementations often depend on local payment rails, domestic ad networks, real-name expectations, and ecosystem-specific login.
Authentication & Identity
Use this category for identity providers, login systems, and authentication platforms.
Apple Login (Sign in with Apple) remains functionally usable in mainland China, but Chinaready labels it Limited because backend user data from Apple Login is subject to China personal-information rules (PIPL). Teams usually also add WeChat Login and phone-number OTP (for example via Alibaba Cloud SMS) for local habit fit. See the Apple Login alternatives map.
Typical global services: Apple Login, Auth0, Okta, Firebase Authentication, Amazon Cognito.
Payments & In-App Purchases
Use this category for payment rails and app monetization services. Profile notes should distinguish payment gateways, super-app payment ecosystems, and managed integration services.
For Stripe-style checkout, decide by deployment location before picking a vendor. If the product stays outside mainland China, Stripe can still work as a global payment platform — including Alipay and WeChat Pay for Chinese users. If the product must run inside China, teams usually do not need Stripe; integrate directly with China-native providers such as WeChat Pay, Alipay, or Youzan Cloud so users can pay a China entity or a trusted partner like Chinaready. See the Stripe alternatives map.
Ad Monetization & Mediation
Use this category for mainland China ad networks and mediation platforms used for in-app advertising revenue. Keep this separate from Payments & In-App Purchases: payments collect money from users, while ad networks monetize attention through domestic inventory.
Google AdMob is strongly discouraged for mainland China users because of GFW latency, near-zero local fill, and PIPL cross-border data risks. Prefer pure domestic networks such as Pangle, Tencent Ads, Baidu Union, and Kuaishou Union. See the Google AdMob alternatives map.
Typical global services: Google AdMob, Unity LevelPlay, AppLovin MAX.
Bot Protection & CAPTCHA
Use this category for human verification, CAPTCHA, bot defense, device fingerprinting, and account-abuse prevention products.
Castle.io is unavailable for mainland China production stacks — Chinaready's nationwide mainland probes of api.castle.io across 148 city/carrier paths all returned HTTP and DNS high latency. Prefer NetEase Yidun, GeeTest, Alibaba Cloud Risk Identification, or Tencent Cloud Tianyu; none fully covers Castle's complete feature set. See the Castle.io alternatives map.
Typical global services: Castle.io, Google reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, Cloudflare Turnstile.
Engagement & Communication
Engagement and communication services cover push, SMS, email, real-time media, chat, and support messaging. Chinaready treats push and messaging as a China-specific operating concern because Google FCM is often unavailable or unreliable for mainland China Android devices.
Push Notifications & Multichannel Messaging
Use this category for push notification, SMS, email, and messaging-delivery products.
Typical global services: Firebase Cloud Messaging, OneSignal, Twilio SMS (Unavailable in China), Amazon SES, SendGrid.
Real-Time Communication (Voice / Video / Chat)
Use this category for RTC, voice, video, and chat infrastructure.
Typical global services: Twilio Video (Unavailable in China), Twilio Voice (Unavailable in China), Agora, Daily.
Customer Support & In-App Messaging
Growth, Content & Experience
Growth, content, and experience services support analytics, attribution, mobile user acquisition, maps, fonts, and user-facing product experience. The landscape separates China product alternatives from compatibility routes, because global maps, attribution, ad platforms, and font CDNs may be unavailable or slow in mainland China.
Product Analytics & User Insights
Use this category for analytics platforms and user behavior insight products.
Typical global services: Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, PostHog, Firebase Analytics.
For Google Analytics replacements, choose by surface: Baidu Tongji for website/H5 SEO and channel analytics, and Umeng+ for App retention and distribution-channel measurement. See the Google Analytics alternatives map.
Location & Map Services
Use this category for map, location, geocoding, routing, and navigation APIs.
Typical global services: Google Maps Platform, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Apple MapKit.
App Attribution & ASO
Mobile User Acquisition & Advertising
Use this category for mobile user acquisition platforms, performance advertising networks, app-install campaigns, retargeting, and mobile growth platforms.
Typical global services: Liftoff, AppLovin, Moloco, Meta Ads, Google Ads, Apple Search Ads, TikTok Ads.
Typical China alternatives: Tencent Advertising (腾讯广告), Ocean Engine (巨量引擎), Kuaishou Ads (快手广告), Baidu Marketing (百度营销), Huawei Ads (鲸鸿动能).
Web Fonts & Iconography
Use this category for font and icon delivery services. Self-hosting is an implementation route and belongs in guide notes unless represented by a concrete service.
Typical global services: Google Fonts.
AI Models & Platforms
AI Models & Platforms maps China-reachable generative AI developer services for global teams adapting LLM apps for mainland China. Use this category for foundation model APIs, embeddings/reranking, vector retrieval, and agent/RAG application platforms. Chinaready deliberately excludes AI chips, training clusters, and embodied robotics from this taxonomy—those are industry layers, not drop-in developer-service alternatives for app stacks.
Foundation Models & LLM APIs
Use this subcategory for mainland-reachable foundation model APIs and Model-as-a-Service consoles that can substitute chat/completions-style workloads.
Typical global services: OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Azure OpenAI.
Embeddings & Reranking
Vector Databases & Retrieval
Agent / RAG Frameworks
Use this subcategory for China-origin agent builders and RAG application platforms. Global orchestration libraries may appear as analogs in profiles but are not listed as landscape items here.
Typical global services: OpenAI, LangChain, LlamaIndex, Botpress.