How do I play geocaching in China?

[+Udomomo]

I'll spend a few days in Beijing this summer, but now I wonder how I can avoid China GPS offset.

I don't have GPS device and play usually with my iPhone, so maybe I should prepare an offline map, but I don't know how to do that.

If there's anyone who has recently visited China, I'd like to hear about your experience, and what you've prepared beforehand.

[+arisoft]

After you have solved this mystery

 

https://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC7JGZW&title=china-gps-offset

 

you should have no problems.

 

I am sorry, but it is not allowed to give any spoilers according to terms of use agreement.

[+Udomomo]

1 hour ago, arisoft said:

After you have solved this mystery

 

https://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC7JGZW&title=china-gps-offset

 

you should have no problems.

 

I am sorry, but it is not allowed to give any spoilers according to terms of use agreement.

 

One more cache has added to my travel preparation 

Edited July 1, 2018 by Udomomo
Improving grammer

[+NYPaddleCacher]

5 hours ago, Udomomo said:

I'll spend a few days in Beijing this summer, but now I wonder how I can avoid China GPS offset.

I don't have GPS device and play usually with my iPhone, so maybe I should prepare an offline map, but I don't know how to do that.

If there's anyone who has recently visited China, I'd like to hear about your experience, and what you've prepared beforehand.

 

I didn't have any issues finding a few caches in Beijing a few years ago.  There are quite a few in the Old and New Summer Palace and Olympic Forest Park was a wonderful place to find a few caches as well.   The only offset that I saw was the satellite images were offset from a basemap.  If you try geocaching using satellite photos and some maps you may have trouble but if you're just navigating to a marker that has lat/long coordinates with a GPS there is no offset.  Don't use maps.  

[+peter-tvm]

During the 3 times I have been caching in China Open Street Map have been OK to use.

Some streets/buildings may be missing since they are being built quicker than the map is updated. But 95% of the caches was found according to the map.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

14 hours ago, peter-tvm said:

During the 3 times I have been caching in China Open Street Map have been OK to use.

Some streets/buildings may be missing since they are being built quicker than the map is updated. But 95% of the caches was found according to the map.

 

I've been to China three times but only geocached during two of those visits.  I also used the open street maps for Garmin on my handheld GPS.  It was only after my first visit that I learned about the map offset.   It's very easy to see it by using Google maps and switching back and forth between the "Map view" and "Satellite view".