Internet and Email in China

[Pug1]

Hi everyone,
we are going on a Wendy Wu tour to Yunnan and Sichuan in April and wonder if we will have access to our email accounts, which are with Bigpond, Hotmail and also a Gmail address. I understand Google is limited in China. We fly into Kunming, visit Dali, Lijiang, Chengdu and then home from there. Any tips from recent visitors to China and this area would be appreciated. I use Firefox and Chrome for internet access and have access to Telstra webmail as well as the direct bigpond account. Thank you in advance to all AFF experts.

 

[Quickstatus]

The Great Firewall of China blocks everything unless it’s something the Politburo allows.Censorship is pervasive - so using a Chinese Sim will be problematic. Public Wifi is not secure and censored. You essentially need a VPN if you need secure internet.

I think Gmail is blocked

Use your Aussie sim and data roaming and you should be Ok for Telstra webmail. Using a VPN may help with webpages that are blocked

 

[dajop]

Do you have international data roaming at a reasonable cost on your phone? I find data roaming via mobile phone provides more reliable internet access (I can use google and google maps for example) than connected locally through the great firewall.

 

[Denali]

I was in Chengdu about 3yrs ago, we paid for a VPN and mobile mifi.

Mifi was a bit patchy in the mountain region but no problem with emails, facebook ect.

 

[straitman]

Express VPN worked well for us in Shanghai and Beijing.

 

[jase05]

3 trips to China in 2017 and Telstra Global roaming worked a treat. Some sites were a little slower than normal but still managed to surf the net fine. The Wi-fi at most of the Hotels seemed a bit more restrictive but still watched a few live games of sport on my phone. Facebook was the most difficult to access

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hi everyone,
we are going on a Wendy Wu tour to Yunnan and Sichuan in April and wonder if we will have access to our email accounts, which are with Bigpond, Hotmail and also a Gmail address. I understand Google is limited in China. We fly into Kunming, visit Dali, Lijiang, Chengdu and then home from there. Any tips from recent visitors to China and this area would be appreciated. I use Firefox and Chrome for internet access and have access to Telstra webmail as well as the direct bigpond account. Thank you in advance to all AFF experts.

Hotmail works fine. Gmail is blocked, as is the google search engine. Options are to try roaming (can be expensive), or a VPN (can be tricky), or just roll with it. I think bigpond should be ok. Wifi is widespread and I used it for years while there without a VPN, but then most of my email is hotmail. Thinks like ABC (Australia) news works fine, so you can keep across what's happening in Oz if so inclined. Searching with bing is a pain and I never really got used to it.

 

[jastel]

Was there in Oct last year...had Express VPN and could get anything...was about $10 for one month...just make sure you check it stops when you get back if you dont want it anymore...I had to stop it twice.

I got a local SIM as well...dont think I supposed to but persistence paid off.
There was service nearly everywhere I went...a few black spots in isolated areas but no different than elsewhere.

With no VPN there was no google, gmail or facebook, but in one place I got facebook with words but no pictures??
Most hotels have wifi.

Even the CNN news on TV goes blank if it is something anti China...when they cough about Trump it comes back on.

 

[Quickstatus]

And the great thing about express VPN is that it’s excellent for Flix

 

[Sdtravel]

I was in Shanghai im December.
I uses Private Internet Access vpn to access my gmail and maps.

Needs a bit of presetup though as its also blocked in China (i think a lot of vpns are starting to be). Just setup IP based connection before you go.
They have servers all over so i just connected to Japan or Hong Kong. Worked great.

I think its like $55 USD a year but is good for 5 devices at a time. Has multiple endpoints around the world and is fast.
They have openvpn profiles so i also use it on my phone whenever I connect to public WiFi.

 

[Pug1]

thank you to everyone for the great responses, so I am well armed now. I use my Telstra prepaid rolled over credit to buy a roaming pack, which is always enough for our emails and odd facebook link to check on family and our puppy in his holiday home! Not too worried about internet access as such and I can get by without using gmail. For some reason we always have problems sending emails from overseas using our bigpond login but I can send them from webmail. I porbably am too much of a dunce with It to set up a VPN.

 

[Pug1]

Do you have international data roaming at a reasonable cost on your phone? I find data roaming via mobile phone provides more reliable internet access (I can use google and google maps for example) than connected locally through the great firewall.

yes dajop I use my Telstra prepaid roll over credit to buy a roaming pack, which is enough for our emails and a few internet checks. I find my $30 per month Telstra prepaid to be a bargain.but am not a heavy internet user on the mobile.

 

[daft009]

if one is going via singapore, you can pick up a starhub singapore sim from Changi (within the transit area).

they offer great roaming rates without charging any extra and not just China! (most SE Asian countries & USA), more info here, Happy Roam Data Roaming Service | StarHub Mobile

 

[PLANT]

Does Free Hola VPN work on Chrome?
Can some test and report back please!

 

[Pug1]

if one is going via singapore, you can pick up a starhub singapore sim from Changi (within the transit area).

they offer great roaming rates without charging any extra and not just China! (most SE Asian countries & USA), more info here, Happy Roam Data Roaming Service | StarHub Mobile

Going via Hong Kong daft009, but thank you for the tip. Might be useful for us on another trip.

 

[bPeteb]

We're off to China in September so this is all very interesting. Only use Gmail so might set it up in outlook and try that. Also just been provided with a VPN with our Bitdefender subscription. Will look into that as well.

 

[BjJames]

OK, folks, I live in China, and here are my suggestions.

China has great wifi coverage, in most places, and it is usually free. Some of the international hotel chains still insist on exorbitant payment, whereas a two star hotel in the backblocks will have fast wifi, or a cable for your laptop, ready to connect, for free !

But, even though there is plenty of wifi, you will not be able to access anything that comes from Google (including Gmail) [other than the App: "GoogleTranslate" which strangely still works fine] or anything related to Facebook. So, no google mail, searches, no Facebook, Youtube, WhatsApp, etc. (and many more) Some news sites such as Bloomberg are also blocked, but most daily newspapers are not.

If that bothers you, you can (a) get a roaming pack on your mobile phone with your Australian provider (as others have mentioned) but it MAY not allow access to some blocked sites, depending on what local carrier (where you are at the time) your access is being routed through - but it's usually OK; or (b) get a VPN and set it up (and test it) on either or both of your phone or laptop, before you come to China. There are many available and they cost $US5-$10 per month. Some work better than others for access and speed, but you can probably still get your Facebook fix if you need it. I will not publicly disclose the name of the VPN I use : too must chatter attracts attention.

If you wish to keep in touch cheaply (i.e. usually free, anywhere there is wifi) with family and friends install the App "WeChat" and get them to, also. It works anywhere in China and is super user-friendly - and you can send text as well as voice messages, or even have voice and video calls. One BILLION users can't be wrong ! Yes, WeChat has that many active users in China and abroad!

One small point, most websites are accessible, but in a few cases, some functionality might be crippled. Example: the Etihad airlines website is accessible, but to submit a form/request (booking) to them will not, because the form submission triggers a request for a "Captcha" ("I'm not a robot") verification, and you will not know it - and the site won't accept your form submission. Reason is that the "Captcha" technology is hosted by Google, so it will not paint onto the Etihad site. So: while you may be able to access the site, some functionality may not be avalable if the site pulls in content or functionality from Google (e.g Captcha, or maps). You will definitely need a VPN in such cases.

But all of this is no great hardship ... I live in China, and travel widely within the country -- and the restrictions do not really bother me. For nearly everything I need for work or leisure, I can get by just fine -- as you will too !

Enjoy China, the positives far outweigh any niggling negatives !

 

[Pug1]

OK, folks, I live in China, and here are my suggestions.

China has great wifi coverage, in most places, and it is usually free. Some of the international hotel chains still insist on exorbitant payment, whereas a two star hotel in the backblocks will have fast wifi, or a cable for your laptop, ready to connect, for free !

But, even though there is plenty of wifi, you will not be able to access anything that comes from Google (including Gmail) [other than the App: "GoogleTranslate" which strangely still works fine] or anything related to Facebook. So, no google mail, searches, no Facebook, Youtube, WhatsApp, etc. (and many more) Some news sites such as Bloomberg are also blocked, but most daily newspapers are not.

If that bothers you, you can (a) get a roaming pack on your mobile phone with your Australian provider (as others have mentioned) but it MAY not allow access to some blocked sites, depending on what local carrier (where you are at the time) your access is being routed through - but it's usually OK; or (b) get a VPN and set it up (and test it) on either or both of your phone or laptop, before you come to China. There are many available and they cost $US5-$10 per month. Some work better than others for access and speed, but you can probably still get your Facebook fix if you need it. I will not publicly disclose the name of the VPN I use : too must chatter attracts attention.

If you wish to keep in touch cheaply (i.e. usually free, anywhere there is wifi) with family and friends install the App "WeChat" and get them to, also. It works anywhere in China and is super user-friendly - and you can send text as well as voice messages, or even have voice and video calls. One BILLION users can't be wrong ! Yes, WeChat has that many active users in China and abroad!

One small point, most websites are accessible, but in a few cases, some functionality might be crippled. Example: the Etihad airlines website is accessible, but to submit a form/request (booking) to them will not, because the form submission triggers a request for a "Captcha" ("I'm not a robot") verification, and you will not know it - and the site won't accept your form submission. Reason is that the "Captcha" technology is hosted by Google, so it will not paint onto the Etihad site. So: while you may be able to access the site, some functionality may not be avalable if the site pulls in content or functionality from Google (e.g Captcha, or maps). You will definitely need a VPN in such cases.

But all of this is no great hardship ... I live in China, and travel widely within the country -- and the restrictions do not really bother me. For nearly everything I need for work or leisure, I can get by just fine -- as you will too !

Enjoy China, the positives far outweigh any niggling negatives !

BjJames, thank you very much for this comprehensive response. Based on yours and others advice will be fine as all we need is email to check in on home and a few phone calls for the same reason. So any free wi-fi plus our Telstra roaming pack. Not bothered about Facebook and the other banned sites. Our boarding kennell puts pics of our little doggie on Facebook but it looks like my Sister-in-Law will have to check on him to make sure he's OK, which I'm sure he will be a his "holiday" costs almost as much as our holiday! However I will check out "WeChat". We are really looking forward to our trip and are visiting only Yunnan and Sichuan, this time.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

BjJames, thank you very much for this comprehensive response. Based on yours and others advice will be fine as all we need is email to check in on home and a few phone calls for the same reason. So any free wi-fi plus our Telstra roaming pack. Not bothered about Facebook and the other banned sites. Our boarding kennell puts pics of our little doggie on Facebook but it looks like my Sister-in-Law will have to check on him to make sure he's OK, which I'm sure he will be a his "holiday" costs almost as much as our holiday! However I will check out "WeChat". We are really looking forward to our trip and are visiting only Yunnan and Sichuan, this time.

It depends on the cost of your roaming pack. Between wechat (free calls) and hotmail (free) you could save yourself a lot of hassle and enjoy the time in China

 

[Pug1]

It depends on the cost of your roaming pack. Between wechat (free calls) and hotmail (free) you could save yourself a lot of hassle and enjoy the time in China

Thank you MEL_traveller. I use my rolled over call credit to buy my roaming pack. I'm retired and use very little call credits on my Telstra prepaid so it rolls over as long as I recharge, and builds up each month - bargain I say.However I will check out wechat and am always happy to try something new. I also have some Skype credit.