China SIM Card & eSIM Guide: Which Option to Choose and How to Buy

For most short trips to China, the easiest way to stay online is a travel eSIM that you buy and install at home before you fly, with your home SIM left in the phone for bank codes. A Chinese SIM card from China Mobile, China Unicom or China Telecom is worth getting if you are staying longer, need a Chinese (+86) number for apps that insist on one, or your phone can't take an eSIM. You buy it in person with your passport, and several big international airports sell them in the arrivals area. The new Chinese carrier eSIM is rarely an option for visitors: on iPhone, only certain models sold in mainland China can install it, and an iPhone bought elsewhere cannot.

Which option should you choose?

The four options differ on three things: whether you get a Chinese number, whether Google and WhatsApp load without extra apps, and how much effort it takes on arrival.

Our advice for most first-time visitors on a one- to three-week trip: get a travel eSIM, install it a day or two before you leave, and keep your home SIM active so one-time codes from your bank still reach you. You land with working maps and ride-hailing and skip the counter queue.

A Chinese number becomes worth the trouble in a few cases. Public Wi-Fi in China usually logs you in with a code sent to a Chinese phone number, and foreign SIMs can't receive that code. If you plan to stay a month or more, rely on public Wi-Fi, or want cheap local calls, buy a Chinese SIM as well, or instead.

Roaming is the zero-effort option. Beijing's government guide for new arrivals calls international roaming the most reliable way to stay in touch with family and friends, while warning it can be expensive. Check your carrier's daily rate for China first.

The short version: check that your phone takes an eSIM, install a travel eSIM before you fly, keep your home SIM on for codes, and buy a Chinese SIM at the airport only if you need a local number or a longer plan.

Getting a Chinese SIM card as a foreigner

Every phone line in China is registered to a real person. Under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) rules on real-name registration of phone users, in force since September 2013, a carrier must ask for a valid ID and real identity details before opening a line, and a foreign passport is one of the accepted IDs. If you won't show ID, or use someone else's, the carrier is not allowed to sign you up. China's Cybersecurity Law sets the same real-identity requirement for opening any mobile phone line.

In practice this means you go to a counter in person with your own passport.

What happens at the counter

Shenzhen's official English portal describes the steps at a carrier store: bring your own valid passport, choose a number and a plan, complete real-name registration with a face-recognition check, then sign the service notice and network access agreement. Staff then put the SIM in your phone and activate it.

Before you walk away, check that you have signal, that an app loads over mobile data, and that you know how to top up and check your balance. Ask staff to show you the top-up screen, since carrier menus are mostly in Chinese.

The carriers' names on shop signs are 中国移动 (China Mobile), 中国联通 (China Unicom) and 中国电信 (China Telecom). All three sell plans to foreigners. For a city-based trip, any of the three works for most visitors; pick by which counter is open and which plan fits your stay.

About "how many SIMs per passport": MIIT requires stricter checks once a person already has five or more mobile numbers with the same carrier in the same province, and any new line after that has to be opened at the carrier's own store. This is a closer check, not a fixed cap, and it won't affect a visitor buying one or two cards.

Where to buy: airports and carrier stores

China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism says Beijing Capital, Shanghai Pudong, Guangzhou Baiyun and several other international airports have counters or shops where you can buy a SIM card on arrival, usually with tourist plans of different lengths and data sizes. Specific examples from city governments:

• Beijing. The China Unicom service hall at Beijing Capital, and the Beijing Service counter and China Unicom hall at Beijing Daxing, sell SIM cards to inbound visitors, including TRAVEL PASS (畅游通), a tourist plan sold in 7, 10, 15 and 30-day versions; as of March 2025 the city said you only need your passport (and visa, if you have one) and the process takes about five minutes. Beijing's 2024 arrivals guide also mentions SIM vending machines alongside the staffed counters at both airports. More on the terminals in our Beijing airports guide.
• Shanghai. As of April 2026, the Shanghai government reported that the "International Services Shanghai" one-stop centre in the Pudong arrivals hall issues China Telecom short-term cards for 7, 15 or 30 days with a passport or other valid ID. See our Shanghai airports guide for the layout of each terminal.

Counter positions and opening hours change, so check the airport's website or ask at the information desk after customs. If you land late or at a smaller airport, a travel eSIM saves you from depending on an open counter. A carrier store in the city usually has more plans, but expect a queue and limited English.

In Beijing there is also the China Unicom CUBe card, launched as a pilot in 2025 and sold at the Unicom counters at both airports with your passport (and visa, if you have one). It goes in your SIM slot and combines 5G data, calls and texts with digital yuan (e-CNY) payment and the BEIJING PASS transport card, with no app to download. The city did not publish its price, so ask at the counter whether it's still offered and what it costs.

What a tourist SIM costs

Two city governments have listed tourist plan prices. Use them as a guide to the range and confirm the current plan at the counter.

The Shenzhen page does not say whether the China Mobile and China Unicom prices are per month, so check how long the plan runs before you pay. The data is domestic, so it works across mainland China but not abroad.

Chinese carrier eSIM: can visitors use it?

China's three carriers received MIIT approval for a commercial trial of eSIM phone service in October 2025, and in Shanghai the carrier stores began taking eSIM applications on 14 October 2025. The catch is which phones can take it.

Apple's support page on using eSIM in China mainland says only specific iPhone models sold in mainland China can install a mainland carrier's eSIM: iPhone 18 Pro (A3715), iPhone 18 Pro Max (A3718), iPhone Duo (A3721), iPhone 17e (A3635) and iPhone Air (A3518). Other iPhones, including any iPhone bought outside mainland China, cannot install a mainland carrier eSIM, and activation has to be done in a carrier store with an ID check. You can read the model list on Apple's China eSIM support page.

If you have an iPhone bought outside mainland China, you can't use a Chinese carrier eSIM; your choices are a physical Chinese SIM or a travel eSIM. There is no single official list of Android phones that accept a mainland carrier eSIM, so if you have an Android phone, check at the carrier store before counting on it.

One more case catches a few people: an iPhone bought in mainland China cannot install a non-mainland eSIM while you are in mainland China. If you bought your phone in China on an earlier trip, install and test your travel eSIM before you arrive, or plan on a physical SIM.

Travel eSIM: how to set it up

China's own Travel China website advises short-term visitors to buy a regional eSIM plan that includes China data before arriving and activate it after entry. It notes your phone must support eSIM, such as iPhone XS and later models and some Android phones, and it names Airalo and Nomad as examples of providers. You can read the full SIM Cards & Networks page on Travel China.

Two well-known providers are Airalo, which sells China and regional plans by data size, and Holafly, which sells plans by number of days. Check the plan details for whether China mainland is covered and whether hotspot sharing is allowed; these plans are data only, with no Chinese number.

Before you buy: check your phone

• eSIM support. On an iPhone, look for "Add eSIM" under Settings > Mobile Data (Cellular). On Android, look under Settings > Network & internet or SIM manager for an option to add or download a SIM. The exact wording differs by brand.
• Unlocked. A phone locked to your home carrier may refuse another provider's eSIM. Ask your carrier to unlock it before you travel; this can take a few days.
• Where you bought it. If your iPhone was bought in mainland China, see the section above.

Install at home, switch on in China

1. Buy the plan and install it on stable Wi-Fi at home, a day or two before you fly. On iPhone: Settings > Mobile Data > Add eSIM, then scan the QR code. On Android: add or download an eSIM in the SIM settings and scan the code.
2. Many plans start counting days only once they connect in China, but some start at install; check your provider's rule.
3. After landing, set the eSIM as your mobile data line and turn on Data Roaming for that line. Keep your home SIM on for texts but turn off its data roaming.
4. Test before you leave the airport: open a map, then a messaging app.

As for Google and WhatsApp: most travellers find these load on a travel eSIM without a separate VPN app; check the provider's China notes before you buy. Our internet and VPN guide covers what Chinese rules say about cross-border connections and what you can do on hotel or local-SIM internet.

Do you need a Chinese phone number?

For most tourists, no. The main apps accept foreign numbers or an email address.

• Train tickets on 12306. China Railway's official booking app lets you register with your passport and either an email address or a mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan phone number, so an email address is enough; Beijing's foreign affairs office explained this in a January 2024 guide. Step-by-step help is in our train ticket booking guide.
• DiDi ride-hailing. As of October 2026, DiDi's own store listing says the app has an English interface and accepts sign-up with a mobile number from abroad, with in-app chat translated between Chinese and English. See our DiDi guide for setup.
• WeChat. You can sign up with your home number, since WeChat accepts numbers from more than 200 countries and regions; our WeChat setup guide covers the verification steps. One thing to know before adding a Chinese number later: as of October 2026, WeChat's help centre says switching your account to a +86 mainland number moves you from WeChat to Weixin, its mainland service, and switching back works the other way.
• Payments. Opening WeChat Pay with a passport does not require a mainland phone number. Card binding, fees and limits are covered in our guides to Alipay with foreign cards and WeChat Pay with foreign cards.

Where a Chinese number helps most:

• Public Wi-Fi. Most networks text a login code to a Chinese number. Some airports have a passport route instead: Shanghai Pudong lets you scan your passport photo page on the Wi-Fi login page, at Beijing Daxing you can photograph your passport information page on the Wi-Fi login page, and as of 2024 at Beijing Capital, travellers with foreign numbers could scan their passport at a Wi-Fi self-service kiosk to print a login good for 5 hours, up to 3 times per passport. Our internet guide has the full airport Wi-Fi table.
• Some ticket and reservation mini-programs. In June 2025, Beijing's 12345 government hotline said online tickets for city-run parks such as the Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven needed a mainland number, and that foreign visitors can buy at the park gate window with a passport instead. Rules differ by site, so check each attraction's booking page.
• Food delivery and local calls. Delivery drivers and small businesses often expect a +86 number to call. A cheap Chinese SIM alongside a travel eSIM covers this.

For the apps to install before you go, see our must-have apps checklist. Airport SIM counters come after immigration and customs, which our guide to arriving in China walks through.

FAQ

Hong Kong "one card, two numbers" SIMs

Some Hong Kong carriers add a mainland number to a Hong Kong SIM. 3 Hong Kong's "Chinese Mainland & HK 1-Card-2-Number" lets you receive texts, hail rides and pay by phone with the mainland number on China Unicom's network, without video calls or MMS; the dual-number add-on is HK$28 a month on a 24-month contract. That suits people who live in or often visit Hong Kong, not a one-off trip; see our Hong Kong and Macau guide if you are passing through.

Last updated: November 2026