Alibaba Group’s mapping app Amap reached an all-time record of over 360 million daily active users on the first day of China’s eight-day National Day holiday, the company announced on Wednesday.
The surge highlights Amap’s growing dominance in the travel and lifestyle app ecosystem and marks a significant milestone in its ongoing rivalry with Meituan, another major player in China’s digital services market.
AMAP’S STRATEGIC SHIFT AND AI FEATURES
Traditionally known for navigation, Amap has been expanding into lifestyle and local services, directly challenging Meituan’s Dazhong Dianping platform. It now offers AI-powered rankings of restaurants, hotels and tourist destinations through its new feature called “Street Stars”, which leverages artificial intelligence algorithms to generate destination lists for users.
As part of the launch campaign, Amap rolled out 1 billion yuan ($140.43 million) worth of subsidies, including ride-hailing discounts and in-store coupons, to boost engagement during the peak holiday period.
MARKET REACTION AND HOLIDAY BOOST
The announcement sent Alibaba’s shares up 4% in Hong Kong trading on Thursday after JPMorgan raised its price target on the stock to HK$240 ($30.85) from HK$165, citing stronger-than-expected user activity and positive outlooks in the company’s digital services ecosystem.
The record usage coincided with China’s National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival, which this year were combined into an eight-day “super holiday”, one of the country’s busiest travel periods.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, China’s national railway handled 23.13 million passenger trips on the first day alone — an 8% increase year-on-year and a new single-day record, underscoring the nationwide travel boom.
ALIBABA VS. MEITUAN: A DIGITAL LIFESTYLE BATTLE
Amap’s evolution reflects Alibaba’s broader effort to capture local-lifestyle market share from Meituan by transforming a simple mapping tool into a comprehensive travel and experience platform.
Chinese consumers, who traditionally turned to Meituan’s Dazhong Dianping for restaurant reviews and bookings, are increasingly finding similar services integrated directly within Amap’s app — backed by AI personalization and user subsidies.
As China’s consumer and tourism sectors rebound post-pandemic, the battle for digital lifestyle dominance between Alibaba and Meituan is set to intensify — with Amap’s record user engagement during the National Day holiday offering Alibaba a strong start.