Which apps are blocked in China (and what to do about it)

China is the destination where “I’ll sort it out when I arrive” works worst. Not because of coverage, which is excellent, but because a large share of the apps you use daily are blocked inside the country, and because everyday life — paying, getting a taxi, entering a museum — runs on Chinese apps that are best installed and configured before you board. This guide covers exactly what happens, what part an eSIM plays, and what to have ready.

The firewall, explained plainly

China filters the internet traffic entering and leaving the country. On a local connection — hotel wifi, a Chinese SIM — there is a long list of services you simply cannot reach:

• All of Google: search, Maps, Gmail, Drive, Photos, Translate.
• Western messaging and social: WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, X, Snapchat, Telegram.
• Video and music: YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, Twitch.
• Much of the international press and some work tools (Slack, Notion and similar, intermittently).

What does work: WeChat, Alipay, Baidu, Amap (Gaode), Didi, Meituan, Trip.com and the whole Chinese ecosystem. Apple and its App Store work, though the catalogue varies by account.

Where a travel eSIM comes in

A travel eSIM does not connect you as a Chinese user but as a roaming visitor: traffic reaches the internet through the network of the carrier the plan has an agreement with, which in many cases is outside mainland China. In practice, it is common for Western apps to work with a travel eSIM inside the country with nothing else needed.

Now the honest part, which is the one that matters: we cannot guarantee it. It depends on how each specific plan routes, which network the phone latches onto, and the moment — this changes, and it changes without warning. Treat it as likely, not as a promise, and go with a plan B: a VPN installed and tested from home, and the Chinese apps already set up for the essentials. With that homework done, the trip works however you end up connecting.

Real coverage: who covers what, and where it thins

Three carriers: China Mobile, the largest with the best rural reach; China Unicom, often the one behind roaming plans; and China Telecom. Coverage in cities is outstanding, with 4G and 5G widely deployed, and the same on the metro and the high-speed rail network, tunnels included.

Where it weakens:

• The Tibetan plateau and Tibet’s roads: in the towns and on the main road there is signal; on the mountain passes and between villages, no.
• The deserts of Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia: coverage concentrated in settlements and along the road.
• The mountains of Yunnan and Sichuan: villages yes, trekking routes (Tiger Leaping Gorge, around Shangri-La) in patches.
• Rural Guizhou and Guangxi outside the tourist towns.

And the usual warning: an eSIM connects to a Chinese carrier’s network, it brings none of its own. Where there is no mast, no eSIM works, ours or anyone else’s.

How much data you need

China uses more than you would think because the translator runs constantly (signs and menus are in Chinese outside tourist circuits), the maps are always open, and everything is paid by phone, which means being online even to buy water.

Type of trip	Typical use	Plan that fits
Cities, maps, translation, messaging, payments	400-600 MB a day	5 GB for a week
The above plus social and photos daily	800 MB - 1.2 GB a day	10 GB for two weeks, or unlimited
Video, video calls, tethering a laptop	Over 1.5 GB a day	Unlimited by days

The breakdown app by app is in how much data do I need for a trip.

What to install and set up before you fly

This is the section that genuinely makes the difference in China, because inside the country you will not be able to download much of this comfortably:

1. Alipay or WeChat Pay, with your international card already linked and tested. It is the country’s real payment system, and since 2023 they accept foreign cards. Alipay also includes mini-programs for taxis, trains and translation, which makes it the single most useful app of the trip.
2. Amap (Gaode) or Baidu Maps for navigation. Google Maps does not work on a local connection, and Chinese maps are more accurate for public transport and timetables anyway.
3. Didi, the equivalent of Uber, or its mini-program inside Alipay.
4. Trip.com for trains, flights and hotels: high-speed trains are booked in advance and with your passport.
5. A translation app with Chinese downloaded. Pleco is the reference and works offline.
6. Your VPN, installed and signed in, as a plan B.
7. A copy of your downloaded maps for the route, in case neither route works.

Installing the eSIM and landing connected

1. Compatibility: dial *#06# and look for the EID; the phone must be carrier-unlocked. List by brand on compatibility.
2. Buy for the days of the trip: validity starts with the first connection in China.
3. Install at home on wifi. This matters especially here: installing an eSIM once you are inside China can get complicated if the provider’s server is filtered.
4. Lines: your home line for calls and texts with its data off; the eSIM as mobile data with roaming on.
5. On landing: turn off airplane mode and wait to see “CHN-UNICOM”, “CHINA MOBILE” or similar. Check straight away whether your usual apps load; that tells you within two minutes whether you need the plan B.

Every menu, step by step, in how to install an eSIM.

Connectivity tips for China

• Carry your passport: it is what identifies you to enter museums, board trains and sometimes check into hotels.
• Verification texts for some Chinese apps require a local number; your home line will receive bank codes fine, but expect certain Chinese services not to let you register.
• Public wifi usually asks for a verification text to a Chinese number, so it will rarely help you. Having your own data is not optional here.
• Hong Kong and Macau work as separate territories for network purposes and have no firewall; check whether your plan includes them.
• Calling home: over an app if you have access, or a short call from your own line.
• Battery: paying, translating and navigating by phone all day drains it. Always carry a power bank.

Rough price

The block at the top shows what a China eSIM costs in the MovaSim catalogue today, with the unlimited-by-days option and the cheapest by gigabytes; the China page has every plan and what each covers. What is worth repeating before buying, here or anywhere: getting around the firewall is common but not guaranteed, and that is why this guide insists so much on having the plan B ready before you leave.