Practical · Phone and internet
China eSIM: what to buy, how to install it and what it costs
Which eSIM to get for China, how to install it on an iPhone or Android phone, what it costs, and what Chinese law says about VPNs and roaming traffic.
thechinaatlas.com/en/china-esim
In this article
For most visitors the right choice is a data-only travel eSIM, installed at home before the flight. It needs no registration and no Chinese number, and it connects when you land. A Chinese SIM from China Mobile, China Unicom or China Telecom gives you a +86 number, but it is registered to your passport. A week of unlimited data cost $27 to $28 at the two providers checked on 7 October 2026.
Do you need a data eSIM or a Chinese number?
A data eSIM is enough for most trips. Maps, messaging, translation and payment apps all run over data, and the main payment apps no longer ask for a Chinese number: WeChat Pay accepts a foreign number as long as it can receive SMS codes, according to WeChat’s own help page, checked on 7 October 2026, and Alipay is reported to do the same. How the two apps work with a foreign card, and what they cost, is covered in paying in China with Alipay and WeChat Pay.
A travel eSIM carries no local number. Holafly’s China page stated on 18 September 2026 that its plan “does not include a local phone number for phone calls or text messages”.
A +86 number matters if your trip depends on a service built for residents, such as some delivery apps or local accounts that confirm by SMS. In that case a Chinese SIM is the tool, with the registration that comes with it.
Travel eSIM, Chinese SIM or roaming?
Three arrangements, which differ in what they ask of you more than in what they deliver.
| Travel eSIM | Chinese SIM | Roaming on your home plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration | none | passport, in person | none |
| Number | none | +86 | your own |
| Where traffic meets the internet | outside the mainland, if the provider says so | in China | at your home operator |
| Preparation | install before departure | visit an operator’s shop | none |
| Cost | from about $11 for 3 days | domestic prices | your carrier’s roaming rate |
Updated:
A travel eSIM from an international provider
A contract with a company outside China, roaming on a Chinese network. Airalo’s China plans run on China Unicom. Nothing is registered in China, and nothing local comes with it: no number, no Chinese SMS. Airalo states that its traffic passes through gateways outside the mainland, which is why the services blocked inside China stay reachable on its data.
A Chinese SIM from a local operator
China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom all sell to visitors, under Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Decree No. 25, in force since 1 September 2013. Article 7 lists a foreign passport among the accepted documents. Article 9 has the operator record the document’s category, the name, the number and the address, and article 11 keeps that record for two years after the line is cancelled. Article 12 forbids the operator to sell or pass it on.
| Article | What it says |
|---|---|
| 6 | The operator must require a valid identity document at connection |
| 7(4) | A foreign passport is an accepted document, named explicitly |
| 9 | The operator records the document’s category, the name, the number and the address |
| 10 | No valid document, no connection |
| 11 | The information is kept for two years after the contract ends |
| 13 | An operator in breach is fined 10,000 to 30,000 yuan |
Updated:
In a shop, the operator also checks your face against the document: the ministry has required it at points of sale since 1 December 2019. A local line routes like a local line, so blocked services stay blocked on its data.
Chinese operators have sold eSIMs too since October 2025, when the ministry approved commercial trials on 13 October and the iPhone Air went on sale in China on 22 October. They are activated in the operator’s shop with an identity document. A visitor’s phone is unlikely to take one: Apple’s support page on Chinese carriers says only eSIM iPhones bought in mainland China can install a mainland operator’s eSIM.
Roaming on your home plan
Your own carrier bills you for using a Chinese network. There is nothing to install or register, and traffic routes back through your home operator. It is the simplest option and usually the most expensive; your carrier’s price list says by how much.
Pocket Wi-Fi
A rented hotspot box is the other way to share data between several devices. Capital Airport in Beijing lists Wi-Fi rental counters in Terminals 2 and 3, though they mostly rent devices for travel abroad, and Shanghai Pudong opened a service centre for foreign visitors in Terminal 2 in June 2024 that rents Wi-Fi devices and sells China Telecom cards against a passport. You carry and charge one more device, and it must be returned.
Choosing between providers
Once a travel eSIM is the answer, five points separate one plan from another:
- Where traffic meets the internet. A provider that states its gateways are outside the mainland is telling you that blocked services should work on its data.
- Plan length against your dates, counted from first connection rather than purchase.
- Unlimited data or a fixed amount, and what happens to speed once a daily allowance is used.
- Hotspot allowance, if a laptop or a second phone will share the connection.
- Whether Hong Kong or Macau are included, if your route passes through either.
How to install a travel eSIM
The provider sends a QR code, or a set of details to type in, and the phone downloads the profile over the internet.
On an iPhone
eSIM works on the iPhone XS and later models, according to Apple’s set-up guide, published on 17 September 2026. In Settings, open the mobile or cellular section, choose to add a plan, and scan the QR code or enter the details by hand. Apple asks for a Wi-Fi connection during set-up. To use a second company’s eSIM, the iPhone must be unlocked, as Apple’s dual SIM page states: a phone locked to your home carrier will not take it.
Some iPhones take only eSIM, which settles the question for them. The iPhone Air is eSIM-only everywhere, the iPhone 17 and 18 Pro models are eSIM-only when bought in the United States, Canada or Japan, and iPhone 14 to 16 models bought in the United States are eSIM-only, according to Apple. The reverse case is an iPhone bought in mainland China: there, only the 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max, 17e and Air take an eSIM, and other models use two physical SIMs.
On Android
On a Google Pixel, the path is Settings, Network and internet, SIMs, then Add SIM and Set up an eSIM, according to Google’s help page. Samsung Galaxy phones put it under Settings, Connections and SIM manager. On both, you then choose which line carries mobile data: only one can be the default.
When to install it, and when it starts counting
Install at home, over Wi-Fi. Airalo’s instructions say that most of its plans start counting when the eSIM first connects to a network at your destination, not when you scan the code, and that the package details say when a plan is an exception. Holafly’s China page says the same of its plans. These are the providers’ statements: read the conditions of the plan you buy. On arrival, switch mobile data to the eSIM line and turn data roaming on for it, since it roams on a Chinese network.
What does a China eSIM cost?
Prices change, and the same page shows different figures in different currencies. These are the providers’ own prices, in US dollars.
Unlimited plans
Shown on 7 October 2026. Airalo’s unlimited plans run at full speed for 3 GB a day, then at 1 Mbps.
| Provider | 3 days | 7 days | 15 days | 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airalo, unlimited data | $11.50 | $27.00 | $49.00 | $69.00 |
| Holafly, unlimited data | $11.90 | $27.50 | $51.50 | $76.50 |
Updated:
Requested from Europe on the same day, Airalo showed 25.00 € for seven days and 63.00 € for thirty. Its seven-day price had been 24.00 € on 18 September: comparing plans only works with the date and currency attached.
10 GB for 30 days
A fixed amount is cheaper if you mostly use maps, messages and payments. On 8 October 2026, 10 GB valid for 30 days cost $26.50 at Airalo, $17 at Nomad, $26.99 at Saily, $17 at Ubigi and $16 at Jetpac, the last one a promotional price. Trip.com and Klook* sell plans from outside sellers, so their prices vary by listing.
What each provider says about blocked apps
The providers do not all promise the same thing, and the difference matters more than the price.
| Provider | Network named | Blocked apps, in the provider’s words |
|---|---|---|
| Airalo* | China Unicom | Google and WhatsApp work without a VPN; traffic leaves outside the mainland |
| Holafly | China Mobile | WhatsApp, Google and Instagram work without a VPN |
| Nomad | China Unicom, China Telecom | Google, WhatsApp and Facebook work without a VPN |
| Saily* | China Telecom, China Unicom | a VPN is still needed for WhatsApp and Google sign-in |
| Ubigi | China Telecom | says both that data leaves the mainland and that blocked services need a VPN |
| Jetpac | not named | no claim |
Updated:
A provider’s page tells you what it sells and what it promises. Statements about routing, or about which services will load, are commercial claims: no operator publishes its interconnection arrangements, so they cannot be checked independently. Read them as intentions, and keep a fallback.
How much data do you need?
Less than most plans offer, unless you make video calls or stream. Mobile operators publish the figures:
| Activity | Data used |
|---|---|
| Maps, standard navigation | about 5 MB an hour |
| Maps with satellite view | about 30 MB an hour |
| Text messages | almost nothing: 1 GB covers over a million WhatsApp texts |
| Video call | about 500 MB an hour in standard definition, 1.5 GB in HD |
| Video streaming | 0.7 to 1 GB an hour in standard definition, up to 3 GB in HD |
Updated:
Sources: Orange Travel (March 2025), Three UK (July 2024) and Vodafone UK.
Two hours of navigation a day and constant messaging stay well under 100 MB a day, so a week of that fits in 1 GB. An hour of video call a day adds about 3.5 GB a week. A 10 GB plan covers a fortnight of normal use with room for calls; unlimited plans make sense for streaming or for sharing the connection with a laptop.
What a travel eSIM will not do
- Give you a Chinese number or receive SMS sent to one.
- Share its connection without limits: Holafly allows 1 GB a day of hotspot use, for example, so a seven-day plan includes 7 GB to share. Check the plan before relying on a laptop.
- Cover Hong Kong and Macau by default. Airalo and Holafly sell Hong Kong as a destination of its own, and Holafly does the same for Macau.
- Promise coverage outside the big cities. Providers list China as one destination, and none of those cited here publishes performance for Tibet, Xinjiang or rural Yunnan.
Your phone’s other line stays useful. Keep your home SIM in the phone for calls and bank codes, with its data roaming off unless you mean to pay for it.
If the eSIM does not connect on landing, check three settings before anything else: the eSIM line is switched on, mobile data is assigned to it, and data roaming is on for it. Restarting the phone makes it search for the network again. A profile that has to be reinstalled needs an internet connection, which is where airport Wi-Fi and the support contact you saved come in.
How the traffic is routed, and what Chinese law says
Where your data meets the internet
A phone on a Chinese network keeps two connections apart: the radio link to the mast, always Chinese, and the data link to the gateway that hands traffic to the internet. That gateway can sit in the visited network or in the home network of the contract, two set-ups the operators’ association describes as local breakout and home routing in its roaming guidelines, sections 7.2 and 7.3. China’s filtering applies where traffic enters the internet. When that point is outside the mainland, the filter is not on the path.
What Chinese law says about VPNs
Article 6 of State Council Decree No. 195 forbids any unit or individual to set up or use channels of its own for international connections, and article 14 allows a warning and a fine of up to 15,000 yuan. On 10 November 2025 the Ministry of State Security stated that using circumvention software is illegal in itself. What is blocked, what still works and every published fine are in the VPN guide.
The rule has been applied to an individual user at least once: in 2023, police in Chengde fined a programmer who worked for foreign clients 200 yuan and confiscated 1.058 million yuan of his earnings, a reading of the text that some Chinese lawyers contest. No case involving a foreign tourist using a VPN privately has been published.
Enforcement tightened in 2026. In April, network operators in parts of China were asked to block VPN services, and the provider LetsVPN suspended its mainland service before resuming it in May, ABC News reported on 4 June 2026. How this affects travel eSIM traffic has not been reported.
Some services refuse China whatever the route. OpenAI’s list of supported countries excludes mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau and warns that using ChatGPT from an unlisted place can get an account blocked, so an eSIM whose traffic appears in Hong Kong is no help for it.
Where a roaming eSIM stands
A travel eSIM’s traffic leaves through the Chinese operator’s own gateway under a roaming agreement, so on the wording of article 6 the traveller opens no channel of their own. That is a reading of the text.
Before you leave
- Check that your phone supports eSIM and is unlocked.
- Buy and install the eSIM at home, over Wi-Fi, and save the QR code and support contact.
- Keep your home SIM in the phone, with data roaming off on it.
- Check the visa-free entry rules if you have not done so yet.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best eSIM for China? One whose traffic leaves outside the mainland, if you want the services blocked in China to work on your data, and whose plan length matches your trip. Price and hotspot allowance come next.
How much data do I need for China? About 1 GB a week for maps and messages, plus about 500 MB for each hour of video call. A 10 GB plan covers two weeks of normal use.
Which apps work with a China eSIM? It depends on the provider: Airalo, Holafly and Nomad say Google and WhatsApp work without a VPN, while Saily says a VPN is still needed for them. Check the provider’s own statement.
How much does a China eSIM cost? On 7 October 2026, a week of unlimited data cost $27.00 at Airalo and $27.50 at Holafly, and a month $69.00 and $76.50.
Does a China eSIM work on an iPhone? On the iPhone XS and later, provided the phone is not locked to your home carrier. Apple asks for Wi-Fi during set-up.
Can you get a China eSIM with a phone number? Not from the travel providers cited here: their plans are data only. A +86 number comes with a Chinese SIM, registered to your passport.
Do you need a VPN with a China eSIM? Not to reach services blocked in China, if the provider’s traffic leaves outside the mainland. The official position on VPNs is set out above.
Can you use a China eSIM as a hotspot? It depends on the plan. Holafly allows 1 GB a day; check the conditions before you buy.
Does a China eSIM work in Hong Kong? Only if the plan covers it. Airalo and Holafly sell Hong Kong separately, and Holafly also sells Macau separately.
What do you do if the eSIM does not work in China? Check that mobile data is on the eSIM line and data roaming is on for it, then contact the provider’s support from your saved details.
How does a China eSIM work? It roams on a Chinese network, China Unicom in Airalo’s case, and hands your traffic to the internet at a gateway the provider chooses.
Do you need a Chinese SIM to use Alipay or WeChat? No. WeChat states that a foreign number works if it can receive SMS codes, and Alipay is reported to accept one too.
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