China eSIM

China is the trip where your phone does the most work: you pay with Alipay or WeChat Pay, book rides in DiDi and scan QR codes for almost everything. A travel eSIM installed at home roams on China Mobile from the moment you land, so set up your payment apps first and know which apps you'll lean on.

What a week of data costs in China

Prices for 7 days of data, checked on 2 November 2026. Home-carrier passes charge per phone, and daily passes charge each day you use the phone abroad.

For a family of four on Verizon, that's $336 for one week. A Chinese SIM is cheap on data, but you need your passport and a shop visit.

Landing at Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen or Chengdu

Beijing has two international airports, Capital (PEK) and Daxing (PKX), so check which is on your ticket. Shanghai's long-haul flights land at Pudong (PVG). Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN), Shenzhen Bao'an (SZX) and Chengdu Tianfu (TFU) take most of the rest. Switch the kimsim line on as the plane taxis in, so you can open Alipay and message your hotel while you queue.

In order: turn on Data Roaming for the kimsim line only, go through immigration, collect your bags and walk through customs. China Unicom sells 7, 10, 15 and 30-day cards at its halls in both Beijing airports, with your passport. With your eSIM already working, you can walk past.

Into the city: Beijing's two airport express lines are part of the subway, and every gate takes a contactless Visa or Mastercard. In Shanghai, the Maglev runs from Pudong to Longyang Road in about eight minutes and takes Visa, Mastercard, American Express and JCB at the gates. Chengdu Tianfu is about 50 km out; metro line 18 runs into the city. Guangzhou and Shenzhen airports are on their city metros too. For taxis, the UK Foreign Office says to use marked, metered cars only and ask for a receipt.

Networks and coverage

Mainland China has three big mobile operators, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, plus a newer fourth, China Broadnet, which shares China Mobile's frequencies. China Unicom switched off its 2G and 3G networks in December 2023, so phones run on 4G and 5G. Your phone shows the Chinese operator's name, not kimsim.

China had 5.15 million 5G base stations by the end of July 2026. Expect 5G in the big cities and 4G elsewhere. Coverage is generally strong in cities and along the main rail lines. It thins on mountain roads in the west and on long hikes.

The networks your plan uses are listed above.

Region by region

• Beijing: dense coverage. The Great Wall sections further out, such as the wilder hiking stretches, can be patchy, so save your tickets and the driver's details first.
• Shanghai: well covered in the city. Water towns out of town, such as Zhujiajiao, are usually fine too.
• Guangzhou and Shenzhen: well covered. Shenzhen is the usual crossing to Hong Kong, which is a separate destination: see the Hong Kong page.
• Chengdu and Sichuan: fine in the city. Mountain areas outside it can be patchier, so download maps before you go.
• Xi'an, Guilin and Zhangjiajie: usually fine in town. Expect gaps on river trips and in the mountain parks.
• Macao: a separate destination with its own networks. See the Macao page.

This is general guidance, not a coverage map.

Trains, metros and flights

China's high-speed rail network passed 50,000 km at the end of 2025. Book on the official 12306 site, which has an English version, using your passport. Signal on the trains is generally good but drops in tunnels. Download your ticket and hotel address before each leg. City metros are the easy way round Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu.

Apps worth having

• Alipay and WeChat: the UK Foreign Office says cashless payment by app is "almost universal". You can register with a foreign mobile number and link a Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, American Express, JCB, Diners Club or Discover card; your bank has to approve the link. In 2024 the central bank told Alipay and Tenpay (WeChat Pay) to raise the single-payment limit for visitors to 5,000 US dollars. Set both up at home, where the text code reaches your usual number.
• DiDi: the DiDi-Greater China app lets visitors sign up with a foreign number and an international card. Do that at home too.
• Maps: Chinese law requires street maps to use their own coordinate system, so a GPS dot on Google Maps' street map can sit hundreds of metres off. Amap (Gaode) has had an English version since January 2025, and its main features work without signing in.
• WhatsApp and your usual apps: we can't promise any particular app works, so test the ones you rely on when you land. Hotels and guides in China mostly use WeChat, so have it ready too. Keep your WhatsApp number working abroad.

SIM and internet rules

The UK Foreign Office says VPNs and similar services need a licence from the Chinese government.

How a roaming eSIM differs. Your kimsim line roams on China Mobile as a visitor, so there's no shop visit or passport check. We can't promise that any particular app or website works in mainland China, so test the ones you rely on when you land. Using kimsim in China

A Chinese SIM is sold at China Mobile, China Unicom or China Telecom offices, and you bring your passport. Chinese eSIM lines are new: the three operators were approved for commercial eSIM trials on 13 October 2025, with activation in a store with ID. A travel eSIM installed at home skips the shop and the paperwork. If your plan needs an APN, it's shown in My eSIMs. How to set an APN

Common mistakes

• Setting up Alipay or WeChat Pay on arrival. Card checks take time, and the sign-up code goes to your usual number. How your home number keeps getting texts
• Buying the China plan for a Hong Kong leg. The China plan doesn't work in Hong Kong or Macao. How regional plans work
• Starting the plan on a stop-over. If you change planes in Hong Kong or elsewhere, keep the kimsim line off until you land in mainland China. If your plan started early
• No way to call for help. In China, police is 110, ambulance 120 and fire 119. A data-only eSIM can't dial them, so use your home line or any local phone.

More on China

• Does WhatsApp work with a travel eSIM? Keep your number
• How much data do I need for a week abroad?
• What is an eSIM? A plain-English guide for travellers

How we put this page together

We checked the UK Foreign Office, Chinese government, embassy and immigration pages, carriers' roaming price pages and the other sources noted above on 1–2 November 2026, and we'll keep them up to date. We haven't measured speeds, coverage or which apps work in China ourselves, so coverage notes are general guidance, not a map. kimsim sells the eSIMs on this page.