Which data sim for China?

[sinophile888]

I am off to China (up the Yangtze) on Friday and want to take both my HTC Android phone and my iPad. Could anyone advise me what type of data sim I would need, in particular for the iPad? Where would I buy it? We will be in Shanghai from Saturday afternoon to Sunday late afternoon. I would like to be able to access Google maps just in case we get lost.

Or should I just try to get by with wi-fi?

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Hmmm.......................can you get by with Wi-Fi?

3 major carriers - China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom - only China Unicom supports standard 3G - you can't just buy SIM card like Phils, Indo, Sing etc - you will need to head to China Unicom office with your passport to buy SIM and upload funds.

Nothing in China is easy for first timers - everything is achievable but bear in mind China is the land of "complication and contradiction" - "always expect the unexpected" and you will do fine.

 

[sinophile888]

Thanks for your reply, Cruiser Elite.

We will give it a go in Shanghai. We have been to China numerous times; I like to go twice a year but we can’t always fit that many trips in each year. I do like to take great care with our travel arrangements. It helps that my husband speaks a little Mandarin.

I want to try to Skype our daughter and am not confident that the boat will have reliable internet access. And I am still a novice on the iPad.