Internet in China

China filters internet traffic that travels through Chinese networks. What decides whether an app works is the route your data takes, more than the app, the phone or your hotel.

If your connection reaches the internet inside China, the filters apply. That covers every Chinese SIM card and nearly all Wi-Fi: hotels, cafés, airports and trains. If your connection carries data abroad first and reaches the internet there, they generally don’t. That’s how phone roaming usually works, and it’s why Google, WhatsApp and Instagram can work on one connection and stop on the next, on the same phone, in the same room.

So when an app stops working, the first thing to check is Wi-Fi. Phones prefer Wi-Fi as soon as they find a network they know, so walking into your hotel can quietly move you onto a filtered connection. Turn Wi-Fi off, and try again.

There are five ways for a visitor to get online. Most people use two: mobile data on the move and Wi-Fi at the hotel for anything Chinese.

• Roaming eSIM. A data plan you buy online and install before you fly. Often the cheapest way to keep your usual apps. Needs an unlocked phone that supports eSIM. Compare them here.
• Your home carrier’s roaming. The easiest option, since there’s nothing to install, and it generally carries your data home. The catch is price. Check your carrier’s rate for China before you land, because some plans include it and others charge heavily.
• A Chinese SIM card. Cheap data and a local number for delivery and ride apps, but blocked apps stay blocked, and you’ll need your passport at a shop. Our SIM guide explains the process.
• Pocket Wi-Fi. A small rented router for several devices, or a phone that won’t take an eSIM. Whether blocked apps work depends on the device you rent, so ask before you book. You’ll also have to carry and charge it.
• Hotel and public Wi-Fi. Free and everywhere, but filtered like a Chinese SIM. Public networks often want a Chinese number for the SMS login, so foreign visitors may not get past the login page.

For most visitors on a trip of a few weeks, a roaming eSIM is the one to start with. You keep your usual apps, and you can have it ready before you board. If your carrier includes China in your plan at a fair price, you may not need anything at all.

A Chinese SIM card starts to make sense for longer stays, when food delivery and ride apps matter more and you’ll be using Chinese apps anyway. Plenty of long-stay visitors use both, on a dual-SIM phone. A pocket Wi-Fi suits families and groups sharing one data plan, or anyone whose phone doesn’t support eSIM and who doesn’t want a local number.

If your whole trip is WeChat, Alipay and Apple Maps, you can get by on hotel Wi-Fi and a Chinese SIM with nothing else, and many business visitors do. Just tell people at home you’ll be on WeChat or iMessage, because they won’t reach you on WhatsApp.

Chinese cities have dense 4G and 5G coverage, and you should get a signal in most places you’re likely to visit, including metro stations. Rural stretches, mountains and long-distance trains are patchier.

A roaming connection adds a detour, because your data travels abroad and back. That usually matters little for messages and maps, but can make video calls or big downloads slower than on a local connection, and evening peaks tend to make it worse. It also varies by provider, so speed is one of the things we’re measuring rather than assuming. Every result on our eSIM page will be a median from real tests.

We haven’t got numbers to give you yet, and we won’t guess. Here’s how we’ll measure.

• Pick your connection and install it at home, while your usual apps still work.
• Download anything from Google Play or your app store: Amap, WeChat, Alipay, Trip.com and a translator.
• Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with your card. Payments can fail without data.
• Tell people how to reach you, and move anything you need out of Gmail into a file on your phone.
• Turn on sign-in codes that don’t need SMS, in case your home number can’t receive texts.

Hong Kong and Macau have separate networks and don’t apply the same filters, so the rules on this page don’t apply there. Plans sold for “China” don’t always cover them, and plans sold for Hong Kong don’t always cover the mainland. If your trip crosses that border, check your plan lists both. And set everything up before you cross.