Staying connected: eSIM, roaming, and what works behind the firewall

The one mechanism to understand

Mainland Chinese networks block many Western services — Google and Gmail, WhatsApp, Instagram, most of the usual toolkit. Local SIMs and hotel Wi-Fi sit behind that filter.

Data that roams on your home SIM, or on a travel eSIM that routes through an overseas gateway, is treated as international traffic — blocked apps generally keep working on it. This is why two phones side by side in the same café can have completely different internets.

Practical setup

Before you land: install a travel eSIM (or confirm your carrier roams in China and what it costs per day), and download offline maps and a translation app.

For a stay of weeks rather than days, many people run both: a travel eSIM for the apps they cannot lose, and a local SIM for cheap bulk data, deliveries and phone verification. A local SIM requires your passport at purchase.

Hotel and apartment Wi-Fi is on the mainland side of the filter. If your work depends on blocked tools, plan around mobile data, not Wi-Fi.