Baidu Maps is a desktop and mobile
web mapping
Web mapping or an online mapping is the process of using maps, usually created through geographic information systems (GIS), on the Internet, more specifically in the World Wide Web (WWW). A web map or an online map is both served and consumed, ...
service application and technology provided by
Baidu
Baidu, Inc. ( ; , meaning "hundred times") is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products and artificial intelligence (AI), headquartered in Beijing's Haidian District. It is one of th ...
, offering satellite imagery, street maps, street view ("Panorama" -
:zh:百度全景) and indoor view perspectives, as well as functions such as a
route planner for traveling by foot, car, or with
public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typic ...
. Android and iOS applications are available.
Baidu Maps is available only in the
Chinese language
Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the ...
and, before 2016, it offered only maps of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, with the rest of the world appearing unexplored. Currently Baidu Maps also offers maps of various other countries. It was reported that more than 150 countries would be supported by the end of 2016. Baidu uses map data supplied by
NavInfo,
MapKing,
Here,
LocalKing and
OpenStreetMap
OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a free, open geographic database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveys, trace from aerial imagery and also import from other freely licensed ...
.
In 2016, it was reported that Baidu Maps had over 348 million
monthly active users.
Countries and territories supported
Within Mainland China
*
Mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater Chin ...
Outside Mainland China
History
* September 2005 - Baidu Maps is released
* 2010 - Baidu adds a unique, highly detailed 3D view for select cities, very similar to the computer game
SimCity
''SimCity'' is an open-ended city-building video game series originally designed by Will Wright. The first game in the series, '' SimCity'', was published by Maxis in 1989 and were followed by several sequels and many other spin-off "''Si ...
. The images are licensed from digital mapping service Edushi.
Cities being currently covered include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
* November 2011 - Baidu launches satellite imagery for the Greater China region with much better resolution than Google Maps City-level only includes Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macao and other major cities.
* September 3, 2012 - at its annual Baidu World event, Baidu reveals 360-degree digital imagery for select buildings
Coordinate system
Baidu Maps uses a variant of web
Mercator projection
The Mercator projection () is a cylindrical map projection presented by Flemish geographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. It became the standard map projection for navigation because it is unique in representing north as up and so ...
for slicing map data into tiles, with distances expressed in degrees. It's associated with an underlying latitude-longitude reference. However, the reference uses the BD-09 coordinate system, which adds further obfuscation to the already obscure national standard in China,
GCJ-02
Under Chinese law, the use of geographic information in the People's Republic of China is restricted to entities that have special authorization from the administrative department for surveying and mapping under the State Council. Consequences of ...
(which in turn is defined in terms of the ''de facto'' standard around the world,
WGS 84
The World Geodetic System (WGS) is a standard used in cartography, geodesy, and satellite navigation including GPS. The current version, WGS 84, defines an Earth-centered, Earth-fixed coordinate system and a geodetic datum, and also descri ...
). Baidu alleges that adopting BD-09 "protects users' privacy".
The Baidu Maps API documentation specifies that "real" (WGS-84) GPS coordinates must be converted via a coordinate conversion interface.
An HTTP interface, JavaScript API, Android SDK, and iOS SDK are available.
The JavaScript coordinate conversion API is demonstrated online by Baidu, but without any reverse (to GCJ-02) conversion capabilities. Open source implementations in
R and various other languages
exist, implemented in a manner much like the
reverse GCJ-02 algorithm.
BD-09's lat-lon coordinates are derived by scrambling a polar version of GCJ-02 coordinates and adding a fixed offset:
from cmath import polar, rect
from math import sin, cos, pi
# Represent coordinates with complex numbers for simplicity
coords = complex
# baidu assumes x/real: lon; y/imag: lat here.
def gcj_bd(gcj: coords) -> coords:
r, θ = polar(gcj)
r += 2e-5 * sin(gcj.imag * pi * 3000 / 180)
θ += 3e-6 * cos(gcj.real * pi * 3000 / 180)
return rect(r, θ) + (0.0065 + 0.006j)
Street view service
The street view service of Baidu Maps was first launched on August 21, 2013. This is a list of cities supported as of March 11, 2015:
Blocking
India
In June 2020, the
Indian Government
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
blocked Baidu Maps, as well as 58 other Chinese apps, citing national security concerns. That came after
clashes between the
People's Liberation Army Ground Force
The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF; ) is the land-based service branch of the People's Liberation Army and the largest and oldest branch of the entire Chinese armed forces. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 1927 as the Chines ...
and the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four ...
in the
Galwan Valley
The Galwan River flows from the disputed Aksai Chin area administered by China to the Union Territory of Ladakh, India. It originates near the caravan campsite Samzungling on the eastern side of the Karakoram range and flows west to join the Sh ...
.
References
External links
Baidu MapsBaidu Map API exampleplotting markers with WGS-84, GCJ-02 and BD-09 coordinates
{{Baiduproducts
Baidu
Web mapping
Internet properties established in 2005
Street view services
Internet censorship in India