China SIM Card for Tourists: Passport Rules, Prices and the Great Firewall

Last updated on 10 October 2026

A tourist SIM card in China costs about 80 to 200 yuan (€10.67 to €26.67) for 7 to 30 days. You buy it in person with your passport at a shop or airport counter of China Mobile, China Unicom or China Telecom, and it runs behind the Great Firewall, so Google, WhatsApp and Instagram stay blocked. The POVNOMAD China eSIM costs from €2.90, you install it at home, and it sends your data out via Hong Kong or Singapore. As of 10 October 2026.

If you have already decided on an eSIM and want to know what POVNOMAD, Airalo and Holafly each say about VPNs and blocked apps, read the China eSIM provider comparison. This guide covers the local SIM card: who may buy one, where, at what price, and what it cannot do.

Local SIM, travel eSIM or roaming: China at a glance

Local SIM price range: short-term cards for foreigners with 7, 15 or 30 days, reported by China Economic Weekly (issue 12/2024, published 2 July 2024). We found no current official price list from China Mobile, China Unicom or China Telecom online on 10 October 2026. Yuan converted at the ECB reference rate of 9 October 2026 (€1 = 7.4992 CNY). POVNOMAD prices from the product page, Vodafone ReisePaket Data Woche for country zone 1 (which includes China) from vodafone.de, both on 10 October 2026.

Can tourists buy a SIM card in China, and what do you need?

Yes, with a passport. China requires every phone number to be registered to a real identity. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) lists a foreign passport as valid ID in its real-name rules of 2013 (MIIT Order No. 25, English translation by DigiChina). The Anti-Telecom Fraud Law, in force since 1 December 2022, makes operators enforce that registration in full and caps how many cards one person may hold (Xinhua, 2 September 2022).

Since 1 December 2019, operator shops must also compare your face with your ID photo before they activate a number (ifeng, 1 December 2019). You have to be there in person.

The Shanghai city government advises foreigners to bring a passport valid for at least six more months and to go to an operator store in the city centre, where foreign passports are more likely to be accepted (Shanghai government guide, 30 January 2024). The same page recommends China Unicom, because its network works with more foreign phones.

Where can you buy a Chinese SIM card at the airport?

In Beijing, China Unicom runs service halls at Capital International Airport and Daxing International Airport. According to the Beijing city government, visitors get SIM plans for 7, 10, 15 or 30 days there with their passport and visa, at rates below international roaming. The announcement names no prices (Beijing government, 4 March 2025). The same announcement mentions a China Unicom service hall at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

One of these products is the CUBe Card, launched in January 2025 by China Unicom with Bank of China and Beijing’s transit card company. It combines the SIM with e-CNY payment and Beijing public transport (Xinhua, 20 January 2025). It only works in Android or HarmonyOS phones with NFC, each person can hold at most three, and unused credit is not refunded when the plan expires (Beijing government, CUBe Card page).

Short-term cards end on their own: China Economic Weekly describes 7, 15 and 30 day cards for foreigners that start right away and cancel automatically at the end, priced between 80 and 200 yuan (China Economic Weekly via Sina, 2 July 2024). Data allowances and current prices differ by city and counter, so check the price list on the spot.

Does WhatsApp work with a Chinese SIM card?

No. A Chinese SIM card and Chinese Wi-Fi both sit behind the Great Firewall. Freedom House lists Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, X and YouTube as blocked, and Google search has been blocked since 2012, along with Google Maps, Translate and Drive (Freedom on the Net 2024, China).

To reach blocked services over a local SIM, you would need a VPN app. An MIIT notice of January 2017 bars setting up or renting VPN channels for cross-border business without approval (published by the Cyberspace Administration), and Freedom House reports that authorities block unlicensed VPN services. We cannot give legal advice on VPN use. With a travel eSIM that routes your data abroad, the question does not arise for the services our product page names.

How does the travel eSIM get around the Great Firewall?

The POVNOMAD China eSIM connects to China Mobile or China Unicom in 4G and 5G as a roaming guest, but your data leaves the country via Hong Kong or Singapore. You choose the exit when you buy:

Prices from povnomad.com on 10 October 2026. Unlimited Smart gives 1 GB at full speed per 24 hours, then up to 1 Mbit/s. The China eSIM sells Unlimited plans with the Singapore IP only.

The product page says most apps work with the Hong Kong IP, naming Google, WhatsApp, Instagram and YouTube, and warns that some services such as TikTok, certain streaming or banking apps can be restricted. The Singapore IP is labelled “TikTok ready”. For comparison, Airalo charges €25.00 and Holafly €25.50 for 7 days of unlimited data in China, Airalo on the China Unicom network. POVNOMAD guarantees the IP location only, not every single service, and suggests testing a small pack first. Which plan suits Beijing, Xi’an or Guilin is in our China regions guide.

How to buy a local SIM in China the right way

1. Check before you fly that your phone is unlocked and works on Chinese 4G bands. A locked phone will not take the Chinese card.
2. Bring your passport, valid for six more months. For the Beijing airport halls, the city government names passport and visa.
3. Buy at an operator’s own shop or airport service hall. China Economic Weekly names these as the places where foreigners register with a passport.
4. Ask what the plan includes and when it ends. Short-term cards cancel automatically, and for the CUBe Card, leftover credit is not refunded.
5. Keep your German SIM in the second slot or as eSIM, so banking codes still reach you.

When the eSIM is the better choice, and when it is not

The eSIM suits you if you want WhatsApp, Google Maps and Instagram without setting up a VPN, if you land late when counters are closed, or if you stay one or two weeks. You arrive online and skip the passport queue.

A local SIM is the better choice if you need a Chinese phone number for calls and SMS, which no data eSIM provides. On a month-long stay, a 30-day local card at up to 200 yuan (€26.67) can also cost less than Unlimited Smart for 30 days at €34.90, though you then live with the Great Firewall. If your phone has no eSIM support, dial *#06#: if no EID appears, a local SIM card is your option. Install guides for the eSIM are in our instructions for iPhone and Android.

Frequently asked questions

As of 10 October 2026. Own prices read on povnomad.com, roaming price on vodafone.de, exchange rate from the ECB, all on that day. Local SIM prices come from the sources named above and may differ at the counter.