China eSIM for visitors: getting online in China, prices, and setting up Alipay

• Your home carrier’s roaming: nothing to buy, at your carrier’s price, often charged by the day. Check the price for China before you go.
• A China eSIM: bought online, installed before you fly, data only, from $1.60. No passport check and no shop visit; the phone has to support eSIM.
• A local SIM card: bought in person at a carrier’s shop or an airport counter, with your passport, which is registered to the number. It comes with a Chinese number; it takes a visit and usually costs more than a short eSIM plan.

• 1GB / 30 days$1.60
• 3GB / 30 days$3.90
• 5GB / 30 days$4.90
• 10GB / 30 days$5.80
• 30GB / 90 days$17.50
• 50GB / 180 days$25.90
• 100GB / 365 days$49.90

Every plan lasts at least 30 days, longer than most visits, so choose by data: maps, messages and paying by phone use little, video a lot. Prices are in US dollars. How much data you need

China one stop of a longer trip? The Asia plan covers mainland China and 16 other places, from $3.30.

1. 1Check the phone takes an eSIM: dial *#06#, and an “EID” line means it does. It also has to be unlocked, not tied to one carrier.
2. 2Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay at home: both let visitors register with an overseas number and link a Visa or Mastercard. Shops, taxis and metro tickets in China are mostly paid by phone.
3. 3Buy the eSIM and install it at home on Wi-Fi. Most plans start counting only when you first connect in China; the plan page says so.
4. 4Download what you will want offline: maps of where you are going, a translation app with Chinese offline, and your tickets and bookings.
5. 5When you land: in Settings, turn on data roaming for the China eSIM and choose it for mobile data. Keep your home SIM switched on for text codes.

• A China eSIM is data only: no Chinese number, no calls, no texts.
• For most of a trip that is fine: Alipay and WeChat accept an overseas number, and their codes go to your home SIM (receiving texts while roaming is usually free; check with your carrier).
• A service that insists on a Chinese (+86) number cannot send its code to the eSIM. If you need one, a local SIM, with your passport, is the way.

Getting text codes while away

Some foreign apps and websites are not available on networks in mainland China, and which ones changes. We do not promise that any particular one will work, and our terms ask everyone to use the service lawfully, in line with the rules of where they are. Plan around it: apps that work in China (Alipay, WeChat, and Apple Maps, which works there) set up before you go, and offline copies of anything you cannot do without. Terms of service

• Our mainland China plans work in mainland China only; Hong Kong and Macao have their own.
• Going on to Hong Kong or Macao? A separate eSIM for each: Hong Kong from $1.80, Macao from $1.80.

Hong Kong plansMacao plans