Staying online in China
Google, WhatsApp and Instagram are blocked in mainland China. Here is how most visitors stay connected.
- Google, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube are blocked on Chinese networks, including hotel Wi-Fi.
- Most visitors use a travel eSIM or roaming. The data goes through servers outside mainland China, so their usual apps keep working.
- Set everything up before you fly. It is much harder to buy or activate an eSIM once you are already in China.
- A Chinese SIM card gives you a +86 number for text codes, but your usual foreign apps will not work on it.
What works and what doesn’t
Google Search, Gmail and Google Maps, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. Also X, Telegram, Signal, Reddit, Wikipedia, ChatGPT and many foreign news sites.
Zoom works. Bing works but switches to its Chinese version. Travelers report that iMessage, FaceTime and Outlook email work, though attachments can be slow.
The site opens, but Airbnb removed all mainland listings in 2022. Book hotels instead.
Your options
Unlimited data costs about US$26–28 for 7 days, US$49–51 for 15 days and US$69–78 for 30 days (September 2026). Providers such as Airalo and Holafly say their China plans route data outside the mainland. Your phone must support eSIM and be unlocked: dial *#06# and look for an EID.
Works the same way as a travel eSIM and keeps your normal number, but is often much more expensive. Check your plan’s rate for China before you go.
Sold at China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom counters in airport arrival halls. Bring your passport with its entry stamp. You get a +86 number for text codes and public Wi-Fi, but Google, WhatsApp and similar apps will not work on it. With a dual-SIM phone you can keep an eSIM for data and use the Chinese SIM for texts.
Filtered like any Chinese connection, so blocked apps stay blocked. Wi-Fi in malls and stations often sends the login code to a +86 number only.
About VPNs
Unauthorized VPN services are illegal in China, and a new crackdown on VPN services began in April 2026. Enforcement has focused on people who sell or run VPNs rather than visitors, but many VPNs do not work reliably. Zouzou does not recommend any VPN.
Apps that ask for a Chinese number
Foreign passport holders can register with an email address instead of a Chinese number.
Both accept foreign phone numbers and foreign cards.
Their own apps need a Chinese number. Travelers often use Meituan and bike sharing through their mini-programs inside Alipay instead.
When something goes wrong
My eSIM is installed but I have no data
Turn on data roaming for the eSIM line, choose it as your mobile data line, and restart the phone. Some providers also ask you to set an APN; check their instructions.
Hotel Wi-Fi works, but WhatsApp does not
Hotel Wi-Fi is filtered. Turn Wi-Fi off and use your eSIM or roaming data for blocked apps.
I can’t get the login code for public Wi-Fi
Most public Wi-Fi sends codes only to +86 numbers. Use your eSIM data, or ask staff at a hotel or café for their password.
My phone has no eSIM option
Your phone may not support eSIM or may be locked to your carrier. Use roaming, buy a physical travel SIM before you go, or get a Chinese SIM at the airport.
Checked against official sources on September 27, 2026.
- Airalo: Stay connected in China (help centre) · 2026-09-27
- Airalo China eSIM · 2026-09-27
- Holafly China eSIM · 2026-09-27
- Beijing government: purchasing SIM cards · 2026-09-27
- Beijing FAO: 12306 registration for foreigners · 2024-01-15
- ABC News: VPN crackdown in China · 2026-06-04
- Skift: Airbnb stopped listing in China · 2025-03-20