Best VPN for China in January 2022
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Did you get a flight booked to go to China, or do you currently live there? You will most likely find yourself in need of a VPN to bypass the Great Firewall of China.
The country is among the most restrictive in terms of internet censorship. This means that you will not be able to access your favorite websites, services or apps while you are there. This even includes buying Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. That’s why you’ll need a valid VPN for China to browse and use the internet as you normally would.
Visitors and residents alike are using a Chinese VPN as it has become an increasingly invaluable tool, allowing them to keep restricted content online. And we don’t just mean obscure sites that the average user might not have even heard of – the country has blocked several major social networks, including Facebook and Twitter, as well as Google and YouTube.
In order to visit and use any of these online resources, you will need a China VPN. The added bonus is that these services also encrypt all your internet traffic without logging your information, keeping it out of the hands of the Chinese government. Keep reading to find our top recommendations for the best VPN for China.
How to choose the best VPN for China
Dealing with this level of network censorship isn’t easy, but some VPNs are willing to tackle the problem, and they have proven methods for maintaining uptime in a tough online climate. Obviously, you need to look for a capable provider in this regard and choose among our recommended options for the best VPN for China.
She really needs to check all the right boxes. For starters, quality customer support is essential with Chinese VPNs – it’s not uncommon that you’ll need some help on hand to point you to the best servers to use. So make sure your choice has 24/7 live chat service. Also look for a wide range of available servers (especially those in Asia), reliable high connection speeds, and tight security and privacy.
The 3 best VPNs for China today:
Top 5 VPNs for China 2022:
(Image credit: ExpressVPN)
1. ExpressVPN
Best all-round VPN for China
Works in China: yes | Number of servers: 3000+ | Server locations: 160 | Maximum supported devices: 5 | 24/7 live chat support: Yes
Works in China from any device
A wide range of optimized servers in China
Great service in general
Great live chat support
A little more expensive than competitors
Best Chinese VPN 2022 – Get 3 months free with an annual plan
ExpressVPN is one of the most popular VPNs to use in China, and a save for many as it navigates brilliantly around the Great Firewall. Express’s wide range of server locations is a big plus, with servers located in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan being particularly relevant in this case.
ExpressVPN offers consistent and reliable performance, with dedicated smart apps for most devices including routers. For any issue that may occur, there is a 24/7 live chat and email support available from China (the site is not blocked).
This provider actively monitors its network for accessibility in China and ensures that its software remains at the forefront of censorship efforts to block connections. Under the hood, ExpressVPN uses obfuscation protocols and advanced technology to deliver the best possible experience to users in China.
ExpressVPN’s ability to get around blocked websites is pretty much unrivaled, and it can also sidestep geo-restrictions that normally prevent you from watching your favorite Netflix and live sports coverage from home when you’re in China.
At least a 30-day money-back guarantee gives you some out of the way if you decide Express isn’t for you, and the 1-year plan offers the best value for money.
(Image credit: Future)
2. NordVPN
Dedicated to bypassing the Great Firewall and keeping you safe
Works in China: yes | Number of servers: 5200+ | Server locations: 55+ | Maximum supported devices: 6 | 24/7 live chat support: Yes
Large selection of server locations
good performance
Opens a lot of streaming sites
Not the best mobile user experience
NordVPN has dedicated an entire team to striving to get around website blocking in countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and yes, China. It actively monitors the connection and then performs any necessary actions to bypass any new blocks.
This kind of commitment to bypassing the Great Firewall is what makes Nord an attractive option. It has obscure servers in neighboring regions like Japan and Hong Kong, with the dual VPN feature for more anonymity still available in Taiwan. These local servers should mean more stability and speed when logging in from China.
The live chat support is excellent – easy to use if you run into any issues. And if you’re still a bit unsure if NordVPN is right for you, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Today’s NordVPN Best Deals
(Image credit: Future)
3. Surfshark
China VPN is simple, affordable and effective
Works in China: yes | Number of servers: 3200+ | Server locations: 65+ | Maximum supported devices: unlimited | 24/7 live chat support: Yes
Working hard to open websites in China
Attractive Prices
Very easy to use
It will be too basic for some
With great value price points and a fairly easy-to-use interface, Surfshark features highly in many of our VPN buying guides. And China’s firewall has certainly improved its combat credentials.
Like any good VPN these days, Surfshark has plenty of servers – over 3,000 in fact – which makes it a great choice for changing the location to an IP address elsewhere in the world. And if that sounds like a difficult thing to do, fear not… Surfshark is among the best for keeping things simple and straightforward, with easy-to-follow buttons and instructions like a Speed Dial functionality.
If privacy and security while in China are your main concerns, Surfshark fulfills that requirement as well. It includes AES-256 encryption and a kill switch in place if the connection fails, as well as a private DNS and double-step VPN for added security.
Despite the low prices, Surfshark makes its service available to an unlimited number of simultaneously connected devices. Very great value.
Today’s Surfshark Best Deals
(Image credit: VyprVPN)
4. VyprVPN
A brilliant chamelion technology to beat the Great Firewall
Works in China: yes | Number of servers: 700+ | Server locations: 70 | Maximum supported devices: 30 | 24/7 live chat support: Yes
Focus on unblocking banned websites
Really helpful support
Lots of devices per subscription
Speeds are not as good as others
Not great for streaming anymore
One of the main advantages of VyprVPN is its proprietary Chameleon security protocol that can help bypass VPN bans, and get rid of OpenVPN packet metadata to ensure it is safe from the caveats of deep packet inspection.
In short, it means that the engineers really thought long and hard about how to get around the Great Chinese Firewall, and then worked on it.
VyprVPN owns all of its servers – this is really reassuring because it has complete control and doesn’t have to meet the requirements of a third party owner. There are enough of them to ensure decent, if not amazing, performance (it has 14 server locations in Asia – from Hong Kong to Hanoi), along with solid support for mobile operating systems and 24/7 live chat for troubleshooting.
At its standard price, VyprVPN is quite pricey, although it often offers excellent discounts for a limited time. And there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee to try it out, too.
Just note that, in our view, VyprVPN is starting to lag behind the competition in many respects. Even when using the faster WireGuard protocol, we found that its server speeds lag behind the competition. And where we’re used to being praised for being a streaming VPN, our latest tests show that it didn’t unblock the likes of US Netflix or Disney+.
Today’s Best VyprVPN Deals
(Image credit: Astrill VPN)
5. Astrill VPN
Dedicated technology to keep you connected in China
Works in China: yes | Number of servers: 300+ | Server locations: 55+ | Maximum supported devices: unlimited | 24/7 live chat support: Yes
China Tools
Configure to your taste
The price
Disappointing mobile apps
To be honest, we don’t tend to recommend Astrill VPN in many of our VPN guides – they are expensive, offer relatively basic mobile VPN apps and don’t have a track record when it comes to accessing streaming services abroad.
But if you are just looking for a China VPN that will allow you to access the sites you want and protect your online identity from the eyes of the government, then it may be worth using Astrill VPN.
The tool that makes it a good fit for this list in particular is the StealthVPN functionality. It claims to provide an extra layer of encryption on top of OpenVPN which seeks to make your connections more secure and more difficult to identify and block by firewalls. In theory, that should mean you’re more likely to make a fully fraught leap over China’s Great Firewall.
A team with a comprehensive privacy policy, multi-hop VPN technology and the ability to fully configure their Windows VPN client for your needs, have a service that should serve you really well in countries, like China, that suffer from the rigors of their web censorship.
VPN for China FAQ
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
What is the best VPN to work in China today
Premium ExpressVPN is our #1 choice for use in China. It is reliable, fast, secure and easy to set up and operate. Their no-logging policy has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, so you can be confident that your identity when browsing the web and streaming in China will be well protected. And no other Chinese VPN compares to it for its sheer ability to unlock and beat blocked websites and services.
Are VPNs legal in China?
This was not answered directly. The short answer is: No, VPNs are not illegal in China. This is because business VPNs are an integral part of doing business online these days and therefore VPN usage cannot be completely banned.
However, China is up to a big game in terms of banning VPNs for other uses – and you can bet that unblocking the sites listed above will be included. But there have never been any reports of travelers to China being arrested for using a VPN while in the country. So unless the government finds a reason to crack down on VPN use, its use appears to be relatively risk-free for now.
Could you get caught up in the problem of using VPN in China?
Of course the country is not satisfied with the use of VPN software to get around access restrictions to websites and services that it has deliberately sought to block.
Although China has introduced a ban on VPNs, it remains unclear how (or even if) users will be penalized for using “unauthorized” software. And many VPN providers continue to sell to people within China regardless.
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
What are the blocked websites in China?
The list of blocked sites and services in China is a real list among the biggest names on the Internet. We mentioned a few above, but here’s a more comprehensive (though not exhaustive) list:
- BBC
- CNN
- Facebook (and Messenger)
- gmail
- Google apps (eg Calendar, Docs, Hangouts, Maps, etc.)
- Hootsuite
- OneDrive
- The New York Times
- Reuters
- slack
- snap chat
- spotify
- Twitch
- The Wall Street Journal
- Wikipedia
- The WhatsApp
- Youtube
You can check out our dedicated guides on how to use WhatsApp in China and how to unblock YouTube for more information.
How to unblock Google, YouTube and more in China
Fortunately, it is really easy to use a VPN to unblock websites when you are in China.
If possible, we suggest you choose your VPN for China, download and install it before going there. This way you will not have any difficulties in accessing the websites of the service providers themselves. Then get the app or client for the platform…
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