To clarify, Wechat will be you life while you are in China. It is going to be your Whatsapp and Facebook all wrapped into one and is the only thing you're going to need when making friends and communicating online with Chinese people. You can also pay your friends money via Wechat and normally get paid if you're doing any tutoring/teaching around China.
However Alipay is where its all at on the money side of things. Once you have set up your bank account in China you can create an Alipay account linking your card to the app - this enables you to pay for things all around China.
But why don't I just pay with my debit card? Well. As much as China is developing it seems to be a little slow on the whole card payment thing. I can tell you for a fact that KFC do not accept card payments, only cash or Alipay, crazy right?
Alipay will also enable you to pay your bills, book cinema tickets, flights etc. It also allows access for you to buy things from Taobao - the holy grail of shopping. Think of Amazon products but at least 50% cheaper because it hasn't been exported, with delivery being under 50p and arriving on average within 3 days. I would highly recommend you check it out.
Lastly the Beijing Subway map - well I suppose the maps are also listed in the underground but this app is an offline map saved onto your phone and will route you to where you want to go, not too bad and I still use it today over one year later of being in China.
Handy Phrases to Learn
Alipay - zhī fù bǎo
Wechat - weī xìn
Pay by card - shuā kǎ
Any questions let me know,
Amie ~
