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Spotted:  In order to increase Helsinki’s appeal, the city has launched a custom WeChat app called MyHelsinki to help Chinese travellers navigate their way around the sights. Helsinki has become increasingly popular among Chinese tourists in recent years while WeChat has become China’s most popular ecommerce and payment platform, with more than 1 billion active monthly users.

The My Helsinki WeChat app works as a mini-program inside the WeChat ecosystem. The app includes advice, in Chinese, for what to do in Helsinki, based on local recommendations. It also integrates the Finnish mobility-as-a-service app Whim, allowing Chinese visitors to purchase travel tickets within the mini-program. 

Those using the My Helsinki mini-program can also pay for most services using the WeChat Pay function, in the same way Chinese WeChat users pay for services at home. This makes Helsinki one of the first cashless destinations for Chinese travellers.