Overview
This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.
VPNs are useful for anyone around the world, but these powerful cybersecurity services are even more important when you’re travelling to a country with tight restrictions on internet usage, like China. If you’re planning a trip to China or you’ve made the country your home, you could benefit from using a VPN.
Do you need a VPN in China?
You’ve probably heard and read quite a bit about China’s internet censorship, but what does it actually mean for the average internet user in the country? What is understood is that the Chinese government block access to foreign websites and slows down cross-border internet traffic. The government censors content for mainly political reasons, but also to maintain its control over the population.
This system of censorship is named the ‘Great Firewall’ and is the largest system of its type in the world. If you’re travelling to the vast country, then your internet privileges will be severly restricted. Fortunately it’s not an experience most people will be familar, but it has become the norm for Chinese citizens.
If you’re visiting the country, you can circumvent this system by using a virtual private network, or VPN. Take it from us: You don’t have to get blocked in China. While using a VPN in China is technically legal, providers play a game of cat-and-mouse with the authorities, which periodically crack down and try to block servers and throttle bandwidth, much to the annoyance of internet users.
Users in China may have to swap VPNs if theirs becomes blocked, but having one is a necessity for anyone wanting unfettered access to foreign websites, from news sites to social media and Google. If you’re on holiday in China you’ll need a VPN for posting snaps to Instagram and keeping in touch with friends using Whatsapp. This is because VPNs assign a virtual IP address to obscure your real location from others, enabling you to circumnavigate geo-blocking and censorship measures as if you are based somewhere without them. VPNs also encrypt data, leaving your computer or device to make it impossible for others to see what you’re downloading, which is useful in a country where surveillance is a top priority for the authorities.
What should you consider when using a VPN in China?
The first thing to consider when using a VPN in China is that while it’s perfectly legal, it will be frowned on by the authorities. It’s not something to be taken lightly and you should think carefully about your priorities before you take any decision. The second thing to know about VPNs in China is that it’s easier to install one before you arrive.
Server number and location (in China if possible), high speeds, and extra layers of security are all important things to look for in a VPN. Reliable customer service is also an important consideration, because if you experience technical difficulties while you’re there, the fastest service available isn’t much use to you if you can’t troubleshoot.
What is the best VPN for China?
To help you make your decision, we have lined up a selection of the best VPNs for China, including popular services like PureVPN and NordVPN. All you need to do is pick a favourite option from this list.
These are the best VPNs for China in 2024.
ExpressVPN is difficult to beat when it comes to unblocking streaming sites like Netflix and Disney+. If you want to keep up with your favourite shows when in China, you should probably invest in ExpressVPN.
It’s one of the best services for speed, security, and streaming, with a wide range of advanced features that should suit almost every user. Users get strong connection speeds, powerful encryption, and access to a diverse network of servers located all around the world.
It’s not cheap, but you pay for the reliability of streaming.
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PureVPN operates from Hong Kong and 12 of its servers are based in China itself, which is quite rare. This makes for some speedy connections while doing your part to battle the Chinese goverment. The VPN also offers its users unlimited bandwidth and five simultaneous connections.
There are a whole bunch of security options, including industry standard 256-bit encryption, support for pretty much all protocols, built-in ad and malware blocking, DNS and IPv6 leak protection, and a kill switch. PureVPN has a self-managed network so your data is handled by PureVPN only, without the intervention or interference of any third-parties. There is also the option to use a NAT Firewall add-on, which provides an added layer of security by safeguarding a user’s device from hackers exploiting loopholes. The company claims to have a zero logging policy, although in 2017, a user was arrested due to session logs held by the VPN. This practice is unusual, but may put some people off, particularly in a country where there is believed to be a lot of surveillance.
There are lots of extra features with PureVPN, including split tunnelling so users can decide which traffic is funnelled through their VPN, unlimited server switching and data transfer, plus the ability to create a WiFi VPN hotspot.
When it comes to troubleshooting worries, PureVPN has live chat support for customers open every hour of the day, as well as ticket and email support. As with other offerings, there are apps for Mac OS, Windows, Android, and iOS devices and the company claims its product is easy to set up on gaming consoles and smart TVs too.
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While China tends to focus its crackdowns on VPN providers, security and privacy is important to VPN users too. NordVPN has some neat security features, including shared IP addresses. Its Mac client uses Next Generation Encryption (NGE) IKEv2/IPsec as standard and 256bit-GCM for encryption, which is used by the military. There is also the option to use ‘Onion over VPN’ or Double VPN servers, which means data is passed through two separate VPN servers instead of one. For users in China this means traffic can be re-routed to Taiwan, then travel through a server in Hong Kong before reaching its destination, which does take a toll on speed.
NordVPN doesn’t keep logs of online activity. This means that your private data, online activity and browsing history should’t be monitored, gathered, exposed, or intercepted by third parties. Users can also select DNS leak protection to protect their IP address and an automatic kill switch, which either kills all programs or chosen programs if the VPN connection drops. This protects a user’s personal data from being temporarily exposed. There’s also ad-blocking functionality and protection against phishing threats.
Users can link up to six devices simultaneously to NordVPN’s servers using apps for Mac OS, Windows, iOS, and Android. The service also boasts unlimited bandwidth for torrenting, decent download speed, and a 24/7 live chat tool for support.
Expats have reported they have successfully used NordVPN to unblock geo-locked services including Netflix US, BBC iPlayer, and Amazon Prime Video, making it a popular choice for travelers wanting to keep up with the latest films and TV shows while in China.
NordVPN may have 3,000 servers around the world, but one downside is that none of them are in China, meaning users in the country face speed penalties as internet traffic has further to travel. Nearby servers are located in Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.
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When it comes to free VPNs some experts are skeptical, but for those looking to save money on their travels, there’s TunnelBear. The Canada-based VPN is packed with features and has a sense of humour with a strong bear-theme running through its programs. For example, to connect to the VPN users choose a country and then another to connect to and watch a bear tunnel there when the connection is secure.
There are apps for Mac, Windows, iOS, and Chrome and support for five simultaneous connections for premium accounts. When it comes to security, TunnelBear uses strong AES 256-bit encryption by default, the same level of encryption as many expensive services. There is also a feature called ‘VigilantBear’, a kill switch that blocks all unsecured traffic when you lose your WiFi connection, until a device has safely reconnected again.
Stealth mode is another handy feature — particularly in China — which makes a user’s VPN-encrypted data less detectable to governments, businesses, and ISPs. It disguises OpenVPN traffic to help people get around firewalls by using obfsproxy, but can take a toll on speeds.
The VPN has servers in 20 countries, but one downside is that not all of them are available to non-fee-paying customers, meaning potentially slower speeds. It’s doesn’t allow P2P torrenting, so users of BitTorrent should look elsewhere. Unlike many other VPNs TunnelBear doesn’t have a no logging policy, but instead keeps minimal logs for one month in order to comply with Canadian law, which could worry some users.
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Private Internet Access offers powerful encryption, strong connection speeds, and a massive server network. What more do you need?
Some users have reported issues connecting in China, especially when trying to stream content, but that can be an issue with just about every VPN. If you’re looking for a straightforward service that delivers where it counts, Private Internet Access should be something to seriously consider.
You also get 10 simultaneous connections with Private Internet Access, so if you’re travelling with a lot of devices in China, you can remain secure on everything.
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Joseph joined Mashable as the UK Shopping Editor in 2018. He worked for a number of print publications before making the switch to the glittery world of digital media, and now writes about everything from coffee machines to VPNs.
Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what’s actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons.
Haley received a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and honed her sifting and winnowing skills at The Daily Cardinal. She previously covered politics for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, investigated exotic pet ownership for Wisconsin Watch, and blogged for some of your favorite reality stars.
In her free time, Haley enjoys playing video games, drawing, taking walks on Lake Michigan, and spending time with her parrot (Melon) and dog (Pierogi). She really, really wants to get back into horseback riding. You can follow her on X at @haleyhenschel or reach her via email at [email protected].
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