How internet works in China for visitors
Google, WhatsApp and Slack are blocked on a local SIM. A roaming eSIM that exits outside China doesn't need a VPN. Here's how the options differ, what they cost, and what to install before you fly.
Local SIM vs roaming eSIM
China blocks Google, Meta and most Western services. A China Mobile SIM is fast for WeChat and Alipay, and dead for Gmail unless you add a VPN. A roaming eSIM uses the same radio, with the traffic exiting outside the firewall.
Roaming eSIM
Google and Gmail open as normal. Exits in Hong Kong or Singapore; London on DRACIX. No VPN app.
Local SIM
Fast locally. Google, Gmail and Instagram are gone unless you run a VPN.
Three ways to get online
International roaming eSIM
Best for most trips
- Gets past the firewall with no VPN app
- Scan a QR code and it's on
- No +86 number, so some Chinese apps balk
Providers: Airalo, Nomad, Holafly
Local physical SIM
Best for long stays and business
- A +86 number, which some apps insist on
- The cheapest data per GB
- Passport registration, in a shop, in person
- Google and WhatsApp need a VPN on top
Providers: China Mobile, China Unicom
Roaming on your home carrier
Easiest, and the dearest
- Your own number keeps working
- Usually gets past the firewall
- Dear: often around £8 a day
Providers: EE, Vodafone, O2
What 10 GB costs
Data is cheap in China. What you pay for is not queuing in a shop with your passport. A local SIM is cheapest per GB and slowest to get; an eSIM costs a bit more and is running before you land. Roaming on your home carrier is the dearest by a distance, around £8 a day for a travel pass.
Worth knowing
Never roam on your home carrier without a travel pass. Out of bundle, China is billed per megabyte, and the bill turns up after you're home.
How much data you need
You pay, order food, book taxis and message in WeChat and Alipay. The payments themselves are nothing. The mini programs inside them, video, maps, shopping, are where the gigabytes go.
- WeChat video call
- ~300 MB an hour
- Maps (Apple or Baidu)
- ~50 MB an hour
- Alipay payments
- under 5 MB a day
- Douyin (TikTok)
- ~800 MB an hour
What to do before you fly
- 01
A week before
Get WeChat and Alipay
Link a Visa or Mastercard to Alipay and do the passport verification in the app.
- 02
Three days before
Buy the eSIM
Scan the QR code to install it, but leave the line off. Getting a local SIM instead? Make sure the phone is unlocked.
- 03
On arrival
Switch the line on
Switch the eSIM line on and turn Data Roaming on for it. It joins China Mobile or Unicom within a minute.
Prices are rounded from published provider prices and change often. Check the provider before you buy.