The short answer
Buy a travel eSIM before you fly, install every app you might need on hotel Wi-Fi, and accept that you will run two digital lives for the length of your trip. Coverage in China is excellent — the friction is which apps work, not whether the signal reaches you.
- Short trip: travel eSIM with international routing.
- Long stay: local SIM from an official carrier store, passport required.
- Either way: offline maps and a backup before you land.
Install everything before you fly
Once you are inside China, app stores and many provider websites may be unreachable. Anything you have not downloaded — wallets, maps, translation, your eSIM app itself — becomes very hard to get. Do this on your home Wi-Fi, not at the airport gate.
Four ways to get online, compared
The rows below are not brands, they are the four products that actually exist. Two eSIMs at the same price can sit in different rows, which is why price alone tells you nothing.
| Option | Cost | Setup | Your usual apps | Local apps | Local number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel eSIM, international routing data exits via Hong Kong or your home country |
Mid | Buy and install before departure; QR or app activation | Usually work | Work, with more latency | None |
| Travel eSIM, mainland routing cheapest eSIMs are often this |
Low | Same as above | Behave as on Chinese Wi-Fi | Fastest | None |
| Local SIM China Mobile, Unicom, Telecom |
Lowest per GB | In person at a carrier store; passport, sometimes a face scan, local address | Behave as on Chinese Wi-Fi | Fastest | Yes — needed for some bookings |
| Home-carrier roaming | Highest | Nothing — it works when you land | Usually work | Work, with more latency | Your own number |
Most first-time visitors land on the top row: an eSIM with international routing costs more per gigabyte than a local SIM and buys you the thing that actually ruins trips — your maps, messages and accounts still working on day one.
Routing is the detail that decides everything
Two eSIMs at the same price can behave completely differently, because of where their data is routed.
- International routing (traffic exits through Hong Kong or your home country): your usual apps often keep working, but latency is higher and some local services load slowly.
- Local routing (traffic exits inside mainland China): fastest for local apps, but your usual apps behave exactly as they do on Chinese Wi-Fi — which usually means not at all.
Providers rarely label this clearly. Before you buy, search the provider's help pages for the word "routing", or check recent traveller reports for the specific product, not just the brand. If a review says "it worked but Google didn't", that is local routing.
Before you buy: the three-line email that settles it
Support teams answer product questions, and a written answer is something you can hold them to. Copy this, send it to the provider, and read the reply literally:
Ask this before paying
"For your China data plan: (1) does traffic exit in mainland China or outside it, and does that mean Google, WhatsApp and Gmail work without a VPN; (2) can the plan receive SMS to a local number; (3) does it allow hotspot / tethering, and is 'unlimited' subject to a fair-use cap?"
If they cannot answer (1) clearly, assume mainland routing. If the answer to (3) is "fair use applies", find the number — it is usually a daily high-speed cap, after which you are throttled rather than cut off.
| What the reply says | What it means for your trip |
|---|---|
| "Traffic exits outside mainland China" | Your usual apps should work without extra software. Expect local apps and maps to feel slightly slow, and your battery to work harder. |
| "Local network / mainland routing" or no answer | Cheaper, faster for Amap and Alipay, and your usual apps will not load. Only choose this if you have already decided to run a Chinese app stack. |
| "Data only, no number" | Fine if Alipay and WeChat are already verified on your home number before you fly. Do that verification at home — it is much harder here. |
| "Unlimited, fair use applies" | Ask for the daily high-speed allowance. Unlimited plans are the ones most likely to be throttled to unusable speeds on day three. |
We do not rank eSIM brands on routing claims
Brand-level routing changes without notice: the same product name has switched networks between batches, and a plan that kept Google working last spring may not this autumn. Any table that ranks brands by "works in China" is out of date within weeks. So we describe the product types, give you the questions above, and let the provider's written answer be the thing you rely on.
Airport Wi-Fi: expect it to fail once
Airport Wi-Fi in China usually requires verification through a captive portal — a Chinese mobile number, a code sent by SMS, or a passport-scanning kiosk. Foreign numbers frequently do not receive the code, and codes often expire before an international SMS arrives.
- Try SMS verification once. If nothing arrives in two minutes, move on.
- Look for a self-service kiosk near the gate area that scans your passport.
- Fall back to roaming data for the first hour — that is exactly why you keep a small roaming allowance active.
- Once connected, use the Wi-Fi to finish installing anything you still need.
The app migration list
| What you use at home | What people use here | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Google Maps / Apple Maps | Amap (高德), Baidu Maps | Amap has more English than it used to; search works far better if you paste the Chinese name. |
| WhatsApp / Telegram / Signal | Everyone you meet will ask for WeChat. Set it up before arrival if you can. | |
| Uber / Bolt | DiDi | DiDi has an English interface and accepts foreign cards. |
| Credit cards / Apple Pay | Alipay, WeChat Pay | See the payment guide. |
| Google / Bing search | Bing (partial), Baidu | Assume search results will look different. |
| Gmail, Drive, Docs | Local alternatives + your own backups | Download any documents you need offline before flying. |
A word on VPNs
Many travellers use a VPN, and reliability varies by provider, region and week — the same service that works for one person fails for another. Two practical points: install and test it before you travel, and remember that an active VPN is a common cause of failed payments and failed app verifications. Switch it off when you use local services. Rules around network access differ by country and by network; check your own situation and use services lawfully.
Build an offline safety net
- Download offline maps for every city on your route, plus the area around your hotel.
- Screenshot your addresses in Chinese — hotel name, street, nearest metro station. This is the single most useful thing on your phone when you cannot get online.
- Save your booking confirmations as PDFs, not as emails you need data to open.
- Write down your embassy's address on paper. Batteries die.
Before you fly
- eSIM purchased, installed and tested (leave it switched off until landing)
- Alipay, WeChat, DiDi, a translation app, Amap — all installed
- Offline maps for each city downloaded
- Hotel address saved as a screenshot in Chinese
- Small roaming allowance active as a first-hour backup
- Documents saved offline as PDFs
Questions people actually ask
eSIM, VPN, airport Wi-Fi, whether you need a Chinese number, and the maps that actually work here.
Do I really need a VPN in China?
For day-to-day payments, maps, and food delivery — no. Alipay, WeChat, Baidu Maps, and Meituan all work without a VPN. You only need a VPN if you must use Google, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Gmail. Buy a travel eSIM before you arrive (Airalo, Nomad, or Trip.com eSIM). Some eSIMs include global data that works in China, but 'Great Firewall bypass' varies by provider — check the fine print.
Where it usually goes wrong: Trip.com's China eSIM used to bypass the firewall, but coverage changes. Don't rely on a single eSIM for both data and VPN access.
How do I connect to airport Wi-Fi without a Chinese phone number?
Most major airports (PEK, PVG, CAN) offer free Wi-Fi, but many require a Chinese phone number to receive an SMS code. Options: (1) ask a staff member or fellow traveler to help you connect; (2) look for the 'international' or 'passport' Wi-Fi option — some airports let you verify with your passport number; (3) use the Phrase Card on this site to ask staff for help.
Where it usually goes wrong: Free airport Wi-Fi often expires after 30–60 minutes. Have a backup plan (eSIM or prepaid SIM) ready before you land.
Where can I buy a SIM card as a tourist?
Go to any China Mobile, China Unicom, or China Telecom store. You'll need your passport for real-name registration. Ask for a tourist data plan (游客套餐) — 30-day plans with 20–50GB usually cost ¥100–200. Staff may not speak English, so use the SIM Phrase Cards on this site. eSIM is also available from China Unicom at some airports.
Where it usually goes wrong: Avoid SIM cards sold by random street vendors — they may be stolen or registered to someone else, and can be deactivated at any time.
eSIM, local SIM or roaming — which should I pick?
For a trip under two weeks, a travel eSIM is the least friction: activate before boarding, keep your home number for verification codes, and traffic often bypasses the firewall. A local SIM is cheaper for long stays but requires passport registration in a carrier shop. Roaming works but is expensive.
Where it usually goes wrong: Dual-SIM phones: set the eSIM as the data line but keep your home SIM active for SMS — banking apps need those codes.
Do I need a Chinese phone number, or is a data-only eSIM enough?
A data-only eSIM covers maps, Alipay, WeChat and Trip — that's most of what you do. A +86 number unlocks the rest: Meituan and Ele.me delivery, Didi, Taobao, 12306, venue apps like Shanghai Disney, and drivers or couriers calling you. If you'll order delivery or shop online most days, buy a mainland SIM at a carrier store with your passport. A Hong Kong number helps a little, but many Chinese apps only accept +86 for SMS verification.
Where it usually goes wrong: Getting the SIM on day two means redoing two-factor logins — set the number up first, then register the apps against it.
Why is Google Maps unreliable in China even with a VPN, and what should I use instead?
A VPN unblocks the app but does nothing for the data, which is thin and stale for mainland China — metro exits, bus routes and small-business entrances are often wrong or missing. Install AMap or Baidu Maps and use them for walking and live navigation; Apple Maps also works in China because it runs on the same local data. Paste the Chinese name and address from your booking rather than typing English.
Where it usually goes wrong: Running a VPN while navigating can distort GPS positioning — turn it off for maps, and screenshot the Chinese address to show a driver.
More answers, across every category, in the full FAQ.
Last reviewed 2026-11-06 — rules and prices in China change often. Confirm critical details in the app or on the official site before you rely on them.
Official sources used for this guide
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