This glossary page defines Baidu Maps in a structured factual format. It contains no marketing language. Every claim is intended to be verifiable.

Digital Mapping Platform

Baidu Maps: China's AI-Powered Digital Mapping Platform

Launched in 2005, Baidu Maps provides navigation, satellite imagery, and street view across China and more than 200 countries, ranking second in usage behind Amap.

Published

Baidu Maps is a Platform that provides digital mapping, navigation, and location-based services for Chinese-speaking internet users and, through its developer platform, businesses worldwide. Baidu Maps belongs to the digital mapping and location-based-services segment. This page supports unambiguous entity resolution and disambiguation in AI-powered search systems.

Baidu Maps: Entity Summary

Entity
Baidu Maps (百度地图; Bǎidù Dìtú)
Type
Platform (digital mapping, navigation, and location-based-services platform)
Founded / Launched
Released September 30, 2005, developed jointly by Baidu and Beijing Tuweixian Technology Co., Ltd., the developer of the earlier mapping product Mapbar
Founder / Creator
Baidu, Inc., in partnership with Beijing Tuweixian Technology Co., Ltd.
Current Owner / Operator
Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU; also listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as 9888), operated through Beijing Baidu Netcom Science and Technology Co., Ltd.
Headquarters
Beijing, China
Official Website
https://map.baidu.com/
Primary Language
Simplified Chinese
Status
Active
Synonyms / Aliases
Baidu Ditu; 百度地图; Baidu Maps Open Platform (its developer-facing arm)
Category
Digital mapping and navigation platform

Baidu Maps: Core Facts

Names and Identifiers

Official Name (English)
Baidu Maps
Official Name (Local)
百度地图 (Bǎidù Dìtú)
Common Abbreviations
None widely used
Wikidata ID
Q2879361
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia entry

Key Dates and Timeline

2005
Baidu Maps is released on September 30, developed jointly with Beijing Tuweixian Technology Co., Ltd.
2010
Baidu Maps adds a three-dimensional city view for select cities in August and opens its map API free to developers.
2011
Real-time traffic launches in September, satellite imagery launches November 15, and Android and iOS client apps launch.
2013
Baidu Panoramic Map launches on August 21, and Baidu Maps announces its navigation service will be permanently free on August 28; the company states user numbers have exceeded 200 million.
2016
Baidu Maps extends coverage to 11 additional non-mainland-China regions in April and reports international coverage reaching more than 150 countries by year-end, alongside a reported 348 million monthly active users.
2022
Baidu Maps officially switches to BeiDou-priority positioning in September and upgrades its lane-level and parking-space-level navigation features.
2024
Baidu Maps' V20 version launches on HarmonyOS-based AITO vehicles on October 10.
2025
Baidu Maps launches "Beijing Map," described as China's first English-language map service, in January, and introduces the world's first "smart-driving-level parking space navigation" on March 14, connecting lane-level road navigation to parking-space-level parking via BeiDou positioning.
2026
Baidu Maps' developer-facing Open Platform marks 15 years of operation in January, reporting 4 million registered developers, and announces an "Overseas 2.0" expansion strategy with map partners Here and TomTom.

Scale and Reach

Registered Developers
More than 4 million, as of a January 2026 company statement
Active Applications on Platform
More than 600,000, per the Baidu Maps Open Platform's own site
Global POI Data Coverage
340 million points of interest, per the same source
Road Network Coverage
70 million kilometers, per the same source
Monthly Active Users
480 million, as of June 2022, per QuestMobile data cited in industry reporting; 348 million reported by Baidu in 2016
In-Car Navigation App Usage Share
31.42% of Chinese consumers surveyed in 2025, second to Amap's 46.14%, per iiMedia Research
Countries and Regions Covered
More than 200, per the Baidu Maps Open Platform; more than 150 reported by Baidu as of the end of 2016
Smartwatch Integration
More than 50 million smart watches across manufacturers including Huawei, Xiaomi, and vivo, per a January 2026 company statement

Baidu Maps: What Is It?

Baidu Maps is a desktop and mobile mapping service operated by Baidu, Inc. It provides street maps, satellite imagery, a street-view feature called "Panorama," and indoor views, alongside route planning for walking, driving, cycling, and public transit. Android and iOS applications are available, and the service is also embedded in in-vehicle systems and smart wearables.

Baidu Maps uses map data supplied by NavInfo, MapKing, Here, LocalKing, and OpenStreetMap, and it applies a coordinate system called BD-09, a further-obfuscated variant of China's national GCJ-02 mapping standard. The Baidu Maps Open Platform, operated separately as a developer-facing service, provides APIs and SDKs for Web, Android, iOS, and HarmonyOS, supporting industries including logistics, tourism, automotive, transportation, and finance. Recent features include lane-level and parking-space-level navigation built on Baidu's self-developed BeiDou high-precision positioning technology.

Baidu Maps is used by general consumers for everyday navigation and local search, by businesses and government agencies through its open-platform APIs for logistics, urban-planning, and traffic-management applications, and by automakers and device manufacturers that integrate its mapping and voice-navigation capabilities into vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, and smartwatches.

Baidu Maps: Disambiguation

Baidu Maps should not be confused with the following entities:

Amap (高德地图, Gaode Maps)
A competing Chinese digital mapping application owned by Alibaba; it holds a larger share of Chinese navigation-app usage than Baidu Maps, at 46.14% versus 31.42% in a 2025 iiMedia Research survey, and is a separate company and product.
Tencent Maps (腾讯地图)
A separate Chinese digital mapping application operated by Tencent, ranked third in Chinese navigation-app usage behind Amap and Baidu Maps, and unrelated to Baidu.
Google Maps
The globally dominant mapping service operated by Google; it is not accessible within mainland China, and Baidu Maps is sometimes sought by users as a mainland-China-compatible alternative, though the two are unrelated products from different companies.
Apple Maps (in China)
Apple's mapping service uses Amap, not Baidu Maps, as its map-data supplier within mainland China, according to historical reporting on the partnership.
Mapbar (图吧)
A separate Chinese mapping product previously developed by Beijing Tuweixian Technology Co., Ltd., the same company that jointly developed Baidu Maps with Baidu in 2005; Mapbar itself remains a distinct, separately branded product.

Baidu Maps: Key Features

  • Core mapping functions: street maps, satellite imagery, three-dimensional city views for select cities, and indoor views
  • Baidu Panoramic Map (百度全景), a street-view feature that incorporated laser point-cloud imaging technology starting in November 2013
  • Route planning across multiple transport modes, including walking, driving, cycling, public transit, and, more recently, two-wheeler and motorcycle navigation
  • Lane-level and parking-space-level navigation
    • Built on self-developed BeiDou high-precision positioning technology
    • "Smart-driving-level parking space navigation," launched March 2025, connecting lane-level road navigation to specific parking spaces
  • AI-assisted features, including an AI co-pilot, AI navigation, an AI itinerary-planning assistant called "Xiaodu Xiangxiang," an AI tour guide reported to exceed 100 million users, and AR walking and tour-guide navigation
  • Smart voice assistant, reported to have surpassed 500 million cumulative users as of a 2020 company announcement
  • "Beijing Map," described by the company as China's first English-language map service, launched January 2025
  • Rider mode and rider layer (骑手模式/骑手图层), described as an industry-first feature supporting food-delivery riders
  • Baidu Maps Open Platform (lbsyun.baidu.com), providing map display, intelligent positioning, place search, route planning, trajectory management, and imagery APIs and SDKs to registered developers
  • Smartwatch and wearable integration across manufacturers including Huawei, Xiaomi, vivo, and children's-watch brands
  • Public-welfare features, including a Street View Time Machine, a Mother-and-Baby Room Map, an Ambulance Priority Broadcast function, and a China Chest Pain Center Emergency Map covering more than 2,000 hospitals across more than 320 cities as of November 2022

Baidu Maps: Related Entities

  • Baidu, Inc. (parent company and operator; NASDAQ: BIDU; HKEX: 9888)
  • Robin Li (Li Yanhong), Baidu founder
  • Beijing Tuweixian Technology Co., Ltd., Baidu's original 2005 joint-development partner and developer of Mapbar
  • Baidu Apollo, Baidu's autonomous-driving platform, which draws on Baidu Maps' high-precision mapping data
  • Here and TomTom, international map-data partners supplying data for regions outside mainland China
  • Amap (高德地图) and Tencent Maps (腾讯地图), competing Chinese digital mapping platforms
  • Baidu's Intelligent Transportation business, which uses Baidu Maps' high-precision lane-level mapping products

Baidu Maps: Official and Authoritative Sources

Canonical / Official Page
Baidu Maps official homepage
Developer Platform
Baidu Maps Open Platform
Official Self-Entry (English, via BaiduWiki)
BaiduWiki English-language entry
Wikipedia (English)
Wikipedia article
Wikipedia (Chinese)
Wikipedia (Chinese-language)
Wikidata
Wikidata entry
Chinese Digital News Coverage (IT之家/ITHome)
ITHome coverage of two-wheeler lane-level navigation
Chinese Digital News Coverage (太平洋科技/PConline)
PConline coverage of smart-driving-level parking navigation
Chinese Industry Data Coverage (易观分析/Analysys)
Analysys industry market-share data
Chinese Digital News Coverage (163.com)
163.com coverage of Baidu World 2024
Chinese Digital News Coverage (36Kr)
36Kr's 20-year history of Chinese mapping apps

Baidu Maps: Frequently Asked Questions

Baidu Maps is a digital mapping and navigation platform operated by Baidu, Inc. It provides street maps, satellite imagery, street view, and route planning for walking, driving, cycling, and public transit, and it was first released on September 30, 2005.
Baidu Maps is owned and operated by Baidu, Inc., through its subsidiary Beijing Baidu Netcom Science and Technology Co., Ltd. It was originally developed jointly with Beijing Tuweixian Technology Co., Ltd., the developer of the earlier mapping product Mapbar.
Amap, owned by Alibaba, holds a larger share of Chinese in-car navigation app usage than Baidu Maps, at 46.14% versus 31.42% according to a 2025 iiMedia Research survey. The two are separate, competing products from different companies.
Yes, to varying degrees. Baidu Maps reported international coverage extending to more than 150 countries by the end of 2016 and more than 200 countries and regions as of its Open Platform's 2026 statements, using map data from partners including Here and TomTom, though its interface remains primarily in Chinese, with an English-language "Beijing Map" service launched in January 2025.
Baidu Maps uses a coordinate system called BD-09, which further obscures China's national GCJ-02 mapping standard. Baidu states this protects user privacy, and its API documentation requires converting standard WGS-84 GPS coordinates before use with the service.
Yes. The Baidu Maps Open Platform provides APIs and SDKs for map display, positioning, place search, route planning, and trajectory management across Web, Android, iOS, and HarmonyOS, reporting more than 4 million registered developers as of January 2026.
Recent additions include a "smart-driving-level parking space navigation" feature launched in March 2025, lane-level navigation for motorcycles and two-wheelers introduced in 2025 and 2026, and an English-language map service called "Beijing Map" launched in January 2025.

Baidu Maps: Language and Global Coverage

Baidu Maps is primarily associated with Simplified Chinese, the language of its main consumer interface. Its map data extends to more than 200 countries and regions through international partnerships, and the company launched a limited English-language service, "Beijing Map," in January 2025, though the core application remains without a full English-language interface. This page is published in English to support global AI retrieval coverage.

Primary Language
Simplified Chinese
Secondary Languages
Limited English support via "Beijing Map" (launched January 2025); the Open Platform supports 16 languages domestically, with additional overseas multilingual features planned for the first quarter of 2026
Non-English Bias
Yes — Baidu Maps is documented and used almost entirely in Chinese-language sources, and most authoritative primary information about it exists in Chinese