First Stop China

eSIM & connectivity in China

How to get online in China without losing access to Google, WhatsApp and Instagram.

What everyone needs to know

A local Chinese SIM routes through the domestic internet, so Google, WhatsApp and Instagram will not work without a VPN.
An international travel eSIM routes through your home carrier, so those apps keep working — this is the single biggest practical difference.
A Chinese number (from a local SIM) is needed for some domestic registrations, but most visitors do not need one.
Hotel and cafe Wi-Fi is common but also sits behind the domestic internet.

The numbers

Item	Typical value
Tourist eSIM price	≈$5–20 for 5–20 GB
Local SIM	≈¥100–200 for 30 days, needs passport registration
Airport SIM counter	Opening hours limit late arrivals
Wi-Fi reliability	Fine in hotels, poor on trains

Do it in this order

Buy a travel eSIM before departure and install it — activation on arrival is unreliable if you have no data.
Keep your home SIM active for SMS (bank verification codes) but disable data roaming on it.
If you need a Chinese number, buy a local SIM at an official China Mobile/Unicom/Telecom counter with your passport.
Note that a VPN must usually be installed before you arrive — app stores and VPN sites are blocked on the domestic network.

Mistakes to avoid

Arriving with no data and no way to call a taxi or load a map.
Buying a local SIM and then discovering WhatsApp no longer works.
Assuming hotel Wi-Fi bypasses filtering — it does not.

Sources

eSIM & connectivity city by city

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