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There are many fantastic things in China, but the attitude of his government towards internet censorship is not one of them. An oligarchic elite that seems increasingly clumsy presenting itself under the title of “Communist Party”, the Chinese government is doing its best to censor the content that it considers politically, culturally or morally undesirable.
To this end, China has developed the most extensive and sophisticated Internet censorship system in the world. It is officially the “Golden Shield” project, but it is better known to almost everyone by the name of Great Firewall of China (GFW).
The good news for anyone living or visiting mainland China, however, is that while great, the GFW is far from perfect and can usually be eluded by the simple act of using a VPN.
What is the best VPN for China?
The VPNs listed below all have solid work experience in China. They are regularly recommended to us by our contacts in the field who rely on VPNs to access the Internet without censorship in China.
Constantly fast servers around the world Of ExpressVPN is a popular choice for VPN users in China has a lot to do with not only their excellent client-centric approach, but also the reliability of their network and the servers they have deployed specifically to bypass the big firewall. ExpressVPN offers 24/7 customer support via live chat, email and ticketing system. They also provide a large troubleshooting section that covers virtually any problem you may encounter with the service. Their robust approach to customer service and technical troubleshooting is especially helpful if you experience problems while using the service in China. In addition, ExpressVPN has a healthy network of servers in 94 locations around the world, with numerous servers near China to provide world-class speeds and reliability. Technical features include DNS leak protection, firewall-based firewall, and military-grade VPNOnlineFree encryption. They also operate a network of “stealth” servers in Hong Kong for the express purpose of bypassing the large firewall. To top it off, ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it without risk! Of Excellent VPN that has been around for a long time Of PrivateInternetAccess has long been a favorite of members of Reddit's privacy forums. We don't consider the U.S. as a great place for a VPN provider, but it doesn't have mandatory data retention laws, allowing PIA to be a log-free VPN service. The encryption used by PrivateInternetAccess is first rate and we never detected an IP leak during the service test. P2P is allowed on all servers, and torrent enthusiasts will appreciate the fact that PIA supports port forwarding through its NAT firewall. A 30-day money-back guarantee provides peace of mind, while five authorized simultaneous connections should be enough for even demanding users. Oh, and it's also very handy for pockets. Easy to use service with all the security features you need Of CyberGhost is another VPN provider that places a strong emphasis on privacy and advocates for free, uncensored Internet. CyberGhost has a strict no-logging policy and offers excellent encryption via 256-bit AES technology – two essential features for VPN users in China. In addition, they offer more than 3,000 servers at more than 60 sites around the world, including a network of wholly-owned “No Spy” servers that provide enhanced security and faster speeds. Currently, CyberGhost offers 10 server locations in Asia, so you can easily access fast and reliable servers to remove Internet censorship from China. In addition to offering great security and excellent speeds, CyberGhost is an exceptional VPN for unblocking Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime and Hulu from China. CyberGhost also offers protection against DNS and IP leaks, 7 simultaneous connections and unlimited bandwidth; all with a generous 45 day money back guarantee to get started. Of VyprVPN is a popular choice among VPN users in China. VyprVPN is relatively unique in that it owns and manages its entire network of servers, ensuring higher speeds and reliability for its customers. One of the most beneficial features offered is their proprietary “Chameleon” technology, which works effectively to hide your data from deep packet inspection in order to bypass the large firewall. However, it's important to note that Chameleon is not available for iOS devices at the moment. VyprVPN has a network of more than 70 server locations worldwide, including 14 in Asia. Other features include SmartDNS, NAT firewall, 24/7 customer support via live chat and email ticketing, unlimited bandwidth and a smooth app that works on any device . VyprVPN offers a 30 day money back guarantee for customers who sign up through PayPal, otherwise they offer a 3 day free trial. One drawback to their service is that they do not allow torrenting, which is, of course, a breaking point for some. Otherwise, it's a great VPN to use in China.1. ExpressVPN
Pricing
$6.67 –
$12.95
Available on
Android
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the Windows
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2. Surfshark
Pricing
$1.99 –
$11.95
Available on
Android
iOS
the Windows
macOS
Linux
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3. Private Internet Access
Pricing
$3.33 –
$11.95
Available on
the Windows
macOS
Android
Linux
iOS
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4. CyberGhost VPN
Pricing
$2.75 –
$12.99
Available on
Android
iOS
the Windows
macOS
Linux
Walk with
5. VyprVPN
Pricing
$2.71 –
$12.95
Available on
the Windows
Android
Linux
iOS
macOS
Walk with
To learn more about a Chinese VPN service, please see our VPN reviews.
5 best VPN services in China: speed analysis
VPN technologies will impact your Internet speeds. This is because your data needs to be encrypted, decrypted and routed through a VPN server – which adds extra time to your data packets traveling from point A to point B. You can, however, minimize the impact of a VPN on the speeds you experience using quality service.
The tests in the graph below are performed in the laboratory using a dedicated gigabit line. You shouldn't expect similar speeds, but it does give a good indication of which VPNs are working well.
What makes a VPN good for China?
Obviously, the ability to bypass China's great firewall is the main requirement here. But other essential features should be offered (all of which our recommendations include):
Why do I need a VPN for China?
The Chinese government is preventing its citizens from accessing many areas of the global Internet using a range of technologies. These include simple IP blocks on website addresses, DNS filtering, URL filtering, and packet filtering.
In addition to blocking content it considers unwanted, the GFW also tries to block websites and technologies designed to bypass its filters. This includes VPNs. It does this by using IP filters and various deep packet inspection (DPI) techniques.
Internet censorship in China is more extensive and advanced than any other country in the world
Chinese VPN service will unblock websites like Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. It is important to note that you will need a fast VPN service if you want to unblock Youtube.
A VPN that works in China will not only help you bypass the GFW, but it will also help you hide your online activity from Chinese government surveillance and hackers, as they fully encrypt all of your online communications.
If you are new to the VPN world, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the guides below:
How to beat the big Chinese firewall
A VPN for China can defeat the GFW because the VPN server acts like Proxy sitting outside the firewall. Assuming the VPN server itself is not blocked, you can access censored Internet content through the VPN server.
As the Chinese government blacklists the IP addresses known to belong to VPN companies, all VPNs that operate in China offer a combination of “stealth servers” and obfuscation to bypass IP blocks.
Please look How to bypass VPN blocks for more details.
Are VPNs in China Illegal?
In January this year, a Chinese man from Guangdong Province was fined 1,000 yuan (about $ 145) for accessing foreign websites using the Lantern VPN app.
Although widely hailed as a further crackdown on the use of VPNs in China, it is the only known case where a person encounters problems simply with the use of a VPN in China. The Chongqing City Municipality also announced fines for VPN users, but as far as we know, no one has ever done so.
In 2018, between 20 – 30M people in China used a VPN
It's quite surprising when you consider that China has the largest number of VPN users in the world! Freedom House estimates that in 2018, between 20 and 30 million people in China used a VPN to escape the GFW out of a population of 1.5 billion (about half of whom use the Internet).
So we would say that the chances of not having problems using a Chinese VPN are pretty good.
The sentencing of a Guangdong man to nine months in prison has also been widely reported. But again, this is a unique case and the unhappy individual was selling rather than just using VPN services.
VPN ban in China
There is no doubt that China is trying to remove the use of VPNs designed to evade censorship.
What had a much bigger impact was China's request for Apple to remove VPN apps from the China App Store. Disappointingly, Apple agreed. Of course, Google has long been banned in China. And that includes access to VPN apps in the Google Play Store. This does not mean that it is impossible to access the Google PlayStore in China. Click on the link for more information on this.
Visitors to China can make their lives easier by downloading and installing VPN apps before setting foot on the mainland. After that find a VPN for iPhone users becomes more difficult.
On the other hand, Android users can get VPN apps with relative ease. If you read Chinese, you can get them from one of the many “unofficial” Android app stores in China. Alternatively, many VPN services are happy to email customers in China with direct links to their VPN applications. You just have to ask.
If you plan to use a VPN in China on your mobile, see our iPhone VPN and Android VPN guides for more information.
Online games in China
China is about to introduce new laws banning online gaming, aimed at preventing its citizens from interacting with foreigners located outside of the GFW.
The move follows news that activists in Hong Kong posted pro democracy messages in the popular online multiplayer game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The government has also banned the sale of this game in online stores.
While undoubtedly a blow to player freedoms in China, this ban can be easily overcome by using a VPN. Mobile players should consult our guides to configure VPN on Android and iPhone.
We also have guides for setting up a VPN on your Xbox (One or 360), PS4 or Nintendo Switch. If you have an older Nintendo console, you can still use a VPN with it. The bottom line is that any game console can share a VPN connection using one of the methods detailed in our guide to sharing your VPN connection.
Can I get a free VPN for China?
While there is little harm in trying any of the services listed in our guide to the best free VPNs, no free VPN service (as far as we know) offers the obfuscation technology needed to work in China.
Remember: By the time you get there, it may be too late to sign up for a premium VPN service. The best advice is to buy before you fly.
What can I unblock with a Chinese VPN?
Facebook, all Google services, Twitter, YouTube and WhatsApp are all blocked in China.
| Website | When was it blocked | Blocking status |
|---|---|---|
| Google services | 2014 | All services are blocked |
| DuckDuckGO | 2014 | Blocked |
| Youtube | 2009 | Only available in the cities Haikou and Sanya |
| 2009 | Only available in the cities Haikou and Sanya | |
| 2009 | Only available in the cities Haikou and Sanya | |
| 2014 | Blocked | |
| 2017 | Blocked | |
| Tumblr | 2016 | Blocked |
| Flickr | 2014 | Blocked |
| 2017 | Blocked | |
| Pornhub | 2012 | Blocked |
| Xvideos | 2011 | Blocked |
| Xhamster | 2011 | Blocked |
| BBC | 2014 | Blocked |
| HBO | 2020 | Blocked |
| Line | 2013 | Blocked |
| BestVPN | 2017 | Blocked |
If you want to unblock streaming services in China, take a look at the guides below:
Faq
Below, we have listed some frequently asked questions regarding VPN usage in China that we have organized using Reddit questions.
Does NordVPN work in China?
NordVPN assures us that it is currently operating in China.
Is SSL secure enough to be used in China?
SSL VPNs are intranets used by businesses to allow staff to securely access corporate resources. They are not used by the commercial VPN services discussed in this article (VPNOnlineFree uses an amalgam of technologies, including SSL, but is generally not classified as SSL VPN). SSL VPNs (now TLS VPNs) are quite secure but have vulnerabilities, well explained by Cisco, which could be operated in China.
Will IPSec protect me in China?
L2TP / IPsec is generally considered to be secure, but documents published by Edward Snowden strongly suggest that this standard has been compromised by the NSA. It is unclear whether the Chinese government has this capacity, but it is safer to assume that it can do everything the NSA can do. In addition to this, security specialist and founding member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation John Gilmore argued that it is likely that IPSec was deliberately weakened during its conception phase. IKEv2 is part of the IPsec protocol suite and is widely considered to be highly secure. But this has not been proven in the same way as for VPNOnlineFree.
Will Synology VPN Keep You Safe in China?
Is SoftEther secure enough to be used in China?
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