What is blocked#
Mainland China filters a large part of the foreign internet. As of 2026 the practical list of things that will not load on an ordinary Chinese connection:
Blocked: Google in all forms (Search, Gmail, Maps, Drive, Photos, Play Store), YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, X/Twitter, Signal, Telegram, Reddit, Twitch, Slack, Dropbox, Wikipedia in every language, the New York Times, BBC, Reuters, Bloomberg, most Western news, Netflix (also geo-blocked), Spotify, Pinterest, Medium, Discord.
Wikipedia is worth spelling out because older guidance still describes it as a partial block. Between 2015 and 2019 only the Chinese-language edition was blocked and the others mostly worked; since April 2019 every language edition has been blocked outright. Do not plan on reaching it without a VPN.
Works normally: Apple services (iMessage, iCloud, Apple Maps, App Store, FaceTime), Microsoft (Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, and Bing — which reaches you but returns censored results inside China), Zoom, Amazon, most airline and hotel sites, Booking.com, Trip.com, Wise, most banking apps, and — importantly — your bank's app, which almost always works.
LinkedIn no longer has a China operation to rely on: the localised social network closed in 2021 and its replacement job app, InCareer, shut down in August 2023. Treat access as something to test on your own connection rather than assume.
Hong Kong and Macau are not filtered. Everything works normally there.
Choosing how to connect#
| Option | Typical cost | Reaches open internet | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home SIM roaming | Carrier daily rate, often €5–12/day | Usually yes | Short trips, zero setup |
| Foreign travel eSIM (Airalo, Holafly, Nomad, Ubigi) | US$5–35 for 5–20 GB | Usually yes — check the routing | Most travellers |
| Chinese SIM (China Unicom, China Mobile) | ¥100–200 for a month with big data | No | Long stays, calls to Chinese numbers |
| Hong Kong SIM roaming into China | Moderate | Yes | Travellers entering via HK |
| Hotel Wi-Fi | Free | No | Backup only |
The recommendation for most visitors: a foreign travel eSIM bought before departure. It is cheaper than roaming, needs no shop visit, activates on landing, and — because the traffic exits through a foreign gateway — usually gives you the unfiltered internet. Verify with the provider that their China plan routes internationally rather than through a local partner; the good ones state this explicitly.
If you buy a Chinese SIM — worth it for stays over a month, or if you need a Chinese number for app verification — go to a China Unicom or China Mobile shop with your passport. Real-name registration is mandatory and takes 15 minutes. You then need a working VPN for anything Western.
VPNs: what you need to know#
A VPN routes your traffic through a server outside China, which restores access to blocked services.
Install and test it before you arrive. This is the single most important sentence on this page. VPN provider websites are themselves blocked in China, and their apps are removed from the Chinese iOS App Store, so you cannot download or purchase one after landing. Set up an account, install the app, and confirm it connects while you are still at home.
Practical notes:
- Reliability fluctuates. Connections are throttled or dropped during politically sensitive periods — the annual "Two Sessions" in March, major anniversaries, and party congresses.
- Have two providers installed. When one struggles, the other often works.
- The same store-region rule catches other categories without warning. Dating apps are the clearest recent case: Grindr left the Chinese store in 2022 and the two largest domestic gay apps were ordered off it in November 2025, which is the practical half of what an LGBT visitor needs to arrange in advance.
- Prefer protocols marketed as obfuscated, stealth or camouflage modes, which are designed to look like ordinary encrypted traffic.
- Connect over mobile data as well as Wi-Fi; some hotel networks interfere with VPN traffic specifically.
- Battery drain is significant. Carry a power bank.
On legality: operating an unlicensed VPN service in China is illegal, and commercial use requires a licensed connection. Personal use by foreign visitors to reach their own email and social media occupies a long-standing grey area: it is technically unauthorised, universally practised, and not something tourists are prosecuted for. Many international hotels provide VPN access as a matter of course. Use good judgement, do not publicise it, and do not use it for anything you would not do openly.
The apps that replace the ones you use#
| Instead of | Use | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Google Maps | Amap (高德地图) or Apple Maps | Google Maps fails here even over a VPN. Amap is the most accurate; it has an English mode but Chinese search terms work better. Apple Maps is surprisingly good in China and fully English |
| Uber | DiDi (滴滴出行) | Has an English interface; pays through Alipay/WeChat |
| Everybody in China is on it, and WhatsApp has been blocked since 2017 | ||
| Google Translate | Google Translate (offline pack) + Baidu Translate or Youdao | Download the offline Chinese pack regardless; the Chinese apps do photo-menu translation well |
| Yelp / TripAdvisor | Dianping (大众点评) | The definitive restaurant database; Chinese-only but photo-driven and navigable |
| Deliveroo / UberEats | Meituan or Ele.me | Cheap and everywhere; needs a Chinese address |
| Booking.com | Trip.com (Ctrip) | Lists domestic chains that international OTAs miss |
| Google Flights | Trip.com or Umetrip | Umetrip is excellent for real-time domestic flight status |
| Google reviews / TripAdvisor | Dianping (大众点评) or Meituan | Where the actual reviewing happens — how to use it without Chinese |
| — | 12306 | Official rail booking, has English mode, accepts passports |
| — | Pleco | The best Chinese-English dictionary; works fully offline; camera OCR |
| — | Alipay | Payments plus a huge set of mini-programs: metro QR, bike share, museum tickets |
Wi-Fi in practice#
Free Wi-Fi is everywhere — hotels, cafés, malls, airports, most trains — but nearly all of it requires SMS verification to a Chinese mobile number. If you have no Chinese number, you cannot log in.
This is a real and frequent annoyance, and it is another argument for arriving with your own data. Where a hotel's network requires verification, the front desk can usually register you manually with your room number and passport.
High-speed trains have Wi-Fi on many services, of variable quality; mobile data along the main rail corridors is generally excellent, including in tunnels.
The internet café is not the fallback it once was, and it is worth knowing why before you go looking for one: it closes at midnight by law, checks and registers your identity, and keeps the record of your session for at least sixty days.
Practical connectivity habits#
- Screenshot everything important. Hotel addresses in Chinese, train ticket details, booking confirmations, the map of your area. Screenshots survive dead signal, dead VPN and low battery.
- Download offline maps for each city the night before.
- Carry a power bank — but check the CCC certification rules if you are flying domestically (see the packing list).
- Set up an email alternative. If your primary email is Gmail and your VPN fails, you are locked out of your own bookings. Forward key confirmations to an Outlook address, or save them as PDFs offline.
- Tell your bank you are travelling, and keep a second card in a separate bag.
Frequently asked questions#
Do I need a VPN in China?#
Only if you are using a Chinese SIM card or hotel Wi-Fi and want to reach Google, WhatsApp, Instagram or Western news sites. If you roam on your home SIM or a foreign travel eSIM, your traffic usually routes through your home carrier and reaches everything without a VPN. Install one anyway as a backup — before you arrive. Why a foreign SIM roaming in China often needs no VPN at all explains what still works without one.
Is Google blocked in China?#
Yes. Google Search, Gmail, Maps, Drive, Photos, YouTube and the Play Store are all inaccessible on an ordinary mainland Chinese connection. Apple services, Microsoft services and Bing work normally.
Does WhatsApp work in China?#
Not on a Chinese connection. WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Facebook Messenger and Instagram DMs are all blocked. They work on a foreign SIM roaming into China, or over a VPN. WeChat is the universal alternative and everyone in China uses it.
Can I buy a SIM card in China as a tourist?#
Yes. China Unicom and China Mobile shops sell prepaid SIMs to foreigners with a passport and real-name registration, typically ¥100–200 for a month with generous data. The catch is that a Chinese SIM sits behind the national filter, so you will need a VPN for Western services.
Is an eSIM better than a Chinese SIM for China?#
For most visitors, yes. A foreign travel eSIM costs little, activates instantly and — because it routes internationally — usually reaches the open internet without a VPN. A Chinese SIM is cheaper per gigabyte and gives you a local number, which matters for Wi-Fi logins and some app verifications. Whether an eSIM gets you past the firewall depends entirely on routing — see does an eSIM bypass the Great Firewall?
Does Google Maps work in China?#
Poorly. Even over a VPN, Google's mapping data for mainland China is offset and out of date, and business listings are largely absent. Use Amap or Apple Maps, both of which are accurate and available in English.