China mainland travel eSIM

China mainland eSIM

From £1.05 · prepaid travel data

Mobile data in China mainland

China's networks are vast and fast: China Mobile and China Unicom run 5G across Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and the high-speed rail lines, with China Telecom on 4G. Coverage reaches almost everywhere visitors go, including the metro and most of the Great Wall sites.

  • Most of our China plans route data through Hong Kong, so Google Maps, Gmail, WhatsApp and Instagram work without a VPN. Plans labelled "local IP" use a mainland address and follow local restrictions.
  • Google Maps' China data is limited; Apple Maps works well here, and Baidu Maps or Amap are what locals use.
  • Alipay and WeChat Pay accept foreign cards for visitors — set them up before you land, on data, because cash is rarely used.
  • Didi is the ride-hailing app; high-speed trains have coverage most of the way, with brief drops in tunnels.

Set up Alipay, Didi and your translation app before you fly; they are much easier to install on a fast connection at home.

Data plans

Instant delivery by email. Activates on first connection at your destination. Keep your own number. Hotspot allowed.

China mainland data plans
DataValidityPrice (GBP)
1 GB7 days£1.05
3 GB15 days£2.48
3 GB30 days£2.54
5 GB30 days£3.76
10 GB30 days£7.22
20 GB30 days£12.50
50 GB30 days£30.20
50 GB180 days£38.60

Daily plans

A set amount of full-speed data every day, then unlimited data at the speed shown until the day ends. Unused full-speed data doesn't carry over. Pay per day: choose the number of days on this page. Longer trips cost less per day: 4% less from 5 days, 7% less from 10 days, 11% less from 20 days, 15% less from 30 days.

Full-speed data per dayAfter allowancePer day
1 GB/day1 Mbps£0.96
2 GB/day1 Mbps£1.92
5 GB/day384 Kbps£2.88
10 GB/day (local IP)384 Kbps£5.81

Networks in China mainland

Carriers your eSIM connects to, with the best network generation each offers.

  • China Mobile (5G), China Unicom (5G), China Telecom (5G)

Exit IP: Hong Kong.