Taobao, the Mainland Chinese e-commerce giant, has launched an interface for English-speaking users of its app in Hong Kong. The move, which comes just before Chinese New Year, will allow customers to read product descriptions, find out about discounts, and get local currency conversions in English — features that were earlier only accessible to users proficient in Chinese. It now takes only a few taps to switch to the English interface.

How to get Taobao in English in Hong Kong

Until recently, the only way to shop on Taobao in English was by using tools like Google Translate on the platform’s website or app. Now, non-Chinese speakers who want to use Taobao in English first need to download the app, create an account, open the homepage, and follow these five steps:

  1. Select the ‘我的淘宝’ (My Taobao) icon on the bottom right of the screen
  2. Tap on the gearbox icon (‘设置’/Settings) on the top right of the ‘我的淘宝’ page
  3. Select ‘国家/地区、语言、货币’ (Country, language, currency), which is the fifth option from the top
  4. Tap on ‘语言’ (language), which is the second option from the top
  5. Select ‘English’ and confirm
taobao app chinese home screen
Tap on the ‘我的淘宝’ (My Taobao) icon on the bottom right of the screen (© Screenshot from Taobao)
taobao my account screen chinese
The settings page of the Taobao app in Chinse (© Screenshot from Taobao)
taobao chinese country language currency settings
The screen with the country, languages, and settings options (© Screenshot from Taobao)
taobao chinese language option
The screen with the option to change your language choice (© Screenshot from Taobao)
taobao english language selection
The screen on which users can select English (© Screenshot from Taobao)
taobao english language confirm
The final step before switching to the English-language interface on the Taobao Hong Kong app (© Screenshot from Taobao)

Once this is done, users should be able to scroll through products in a variety of categories in English, use the photo or screenshot search option, and view account settings in English. However, customers who previously used the Chinese-only version of the app may now find that some saved products may not be available in the English version.

taobao english language home screen
Taobao’s new English-language interface (© Screenshot from Taobao)

Other Taobao English versions

Last year, Taobao launched an English interface for Singapore users that has a vast selection of categories that are reported to be similar to the platform’s offerings in Mainland China. This came after they opened a physical store at the Lion City’s Funan Mall in 2019 along with an authorised local partner.

taobao to open furniture store in hong kong early 2025
Taobao is rumoured to open a furniture store in Hong Kong this year (© China Hong Kong CityVirmall)

Taobao launched their official Hong Kong website in 2013 and, nearly 10 years later, introduced a Hong Kong Furniture Channel to give SAR-based customers the option of personalising furniture and getting large-size purchases installed. Last year, they started free shipping to the city for orders over ¥99 and purchased a 40,000 square feet space in Tsim Sha Tsui to open the first Taobao store in Hong Kong.

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Image credit: Dean Robot via Canva

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From the Middle East to the Far East and a couple of places in between, Anjali has lived in no fewer than seven cities in Asia, and has travelled extensively in the region. She worked as a lifestyle journalist in India before coming to Hong Kong, where her favourite thing to do is island-hopping with her daughter. You can check out her musings on motherhood, courtesy her Instagram profile.