Can I just use my normal roaming plan?

For most short trips, yes — that is the lowest-friction option and it usually keeps your usual apps working, because roaming traffic routes through your home carrier. Check the daily price and the data cap before you go.

Will a travel eSIM really bypass the block?

A travel eSIM is a roaming product: your data leaves China through your home carrier's network rather than terminating locally, which is why blocked sites often stay reachable. It is not guaranteed — carriers and routes differ, so treat it as likely rather than certain.

Is using a VPN illegal in China?

Cybersecurity law requires VPN products and services to be licensed, and most consumer VPNs are not. Enforcement against individual visitors is rare, but the legal position is not on your side. We do not recommend specific tools.

Does WhatsApp work in China?

Not reliably on a local connection. On international roaming or a travel eSIM it usually works. If messaging is critical, ask your contacts to use a channel that works domestically, or keep both.

VPNs and blocked apps in China: what works, what is legal

Short answer

Mainland China blocks Google, Facebook, YouTube and X permanently, and restricts internet access further around political events. Chinese cybersecurity law states that VPN products and services must be licensed by the government, so most consumer VPN apps are not licensed — using one is a legal grey area that travellers take on themselves, and we do not recommend or sell specific tools. The option that avoids the question entirely for a short trip is international roaming or a travel eSIM: roaming traffic is routed through your home carrier's network, so your usual apps usually keep working. Plan for a week without Google Maps regardless: download the offline map, install Alipay and a translation app before you fly.

What is actually blocked

Permanently blocked: Google (Search, Gmail, Maps, Drive), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, and most Google-hosted services.
WhatsApp and Telegram generally do not work on a local connection; Signal and iMessage are unreliable.
Blocking can tighten around political events and anniversaries — news sites and messaging can become unreachable for days.
Domestic alternatives work perfectly: Baidu Maps, Amap (高德), WeChat, Alipay, Didi, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu.

The legal position, stated plainly

Chinese cybersecurity law requires online products and services — VPNs explicitly included — to be licensed by the Chinese government (UK FCDO, citing the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology).
Most consumer VPN services are therefore unlicensed. Enforcement against individual tourists is rare, but this is not a right and we do not present it as one.
We do not recommend, sell or link specific circumvention tools. Anyone who chooses to use one is making their own decision, and should assume that commercial VPN apps on app stores may be removed without notice.
Nothing on this page is legal advice.

The short-trip options, ranked by friction

1. International roaming from your home carrier. Your traffic is routed through your home network, so your usual apps normally work. Expensive per day, and some carriers throttle data.
2. A travel eSIM installed before you fly. Same routing logic, cheaper than roaming, keeps your home number active for SMS codes. This is what most short-stay visitors use — see our eSIM page.
3. Hotel and cafe wifi. Fast, free and on the domestic network: expect Google and friends to be unavailable, and treat public wifi as untrusted for banking.
4. A China SIM. Cheapest for long stays, but it puts you on the domestic network with Chinese data rules attached.
Whichever you pick: install everything you need before you land. App stores, maps and translation packs are much harder to fetch once you are behind the wall on a local connection.

What to install before you fly

Offline Google Maps area (or Amap/Baidu Maps once you arrive) for the cities you are visiting.
Alipay or WeChat Pay with your foreign card linked — payment is the thing that breaks first without data.
A translation app with the offline Chinese pack downloaded (about 44 MB).
Didi (ride-hailing) and 12306 (trains), both of which need a working login before you arrive.
ChinaPass keeps the booking channels, checklists and city steps offline on your phone — no Chinese number or internet needed at the moment you need them.

Related guides

Official sources

Policies and booking channels change — check the official channel before you rely on it.