International roaming on China Mobile, Unicom and Telecom: on, off, and what it costs

It is on your carrier’s side and covers the whole number: calls, texts and data. China Mobile calls it the international / Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan roaming function, one function for all of them; China Unicom asks you to open international roaming and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan roaming rights before you leave. Data roaming is a different thing: a switch on the phone that only decides whether a SIM may use data abroad. What data roaming is, and where the switch is

• To turn it on, text GMKT to 10086 (long-term). For 30 days only, text GMKT30; for 180 days, GMKT180. You can also do it online on China Mobile’s roaming site (10086.cn/roaming). Every customer can open it without a deposit, and the function costs ¥0.
• To turn it off, text GMQX to 10086. China Mobile’s own advice is that once on, it can usually stay on; to avoid data charges, turning data roaming off on the phone is enough.
• Beijing Mobile’s own page gives different commands, all to 10086: KTGM to open, GBGM to close, CXGM to check (KTDQGM, QXDQGM and CXDQGM for its short-term version). The national page gives no check command; if a command gets no reply, call 10086 and ask what applies in your province.
• Abroad and found it is off? From someone else’s phone, call China Mobile’s roaming hotline +86 13800100186 to open it (free from a China Mobile number).
• Data packs are ordered in the 无忧行 (Wuyouxing) app → Home → 境外流量, or in the 中国移动国际漫游 WeChat account → 资费优惠 → 流量优惠.

• Open international roaming and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan roaming rights before you leave. Where it cannot be done online, call 10010 in China or +86 18618610010 from abroad, or take your ID to a branch where the number was registered.
• To check: on 10010.com, the 出境漫游 (roaming) zone has 我的漫游 → 出境漫游权限 (roaming rights), shown once you sign in.
• The roaming line +86 18618610010 is free from abroad, around the clock. Calling your home 10010 from abroad is charged at roaming rates.
• Unicom’s current pages give no SMS command to turn roaming on or off, so none is given here; to turn it off, ask 10010.

We could not open China Telecom’s roaming site to check it, so this page gives no Telecom commands or prices rather than repeat ones we cannot confirm. Ask China Telecom, in its app or at a branch, whether roaming is on and how to switch it. The rest of this page, from data roaming to text codes, applies to Telecom numbers too.

• Opening it: ¥0 at China Mobile. You pay for what you use abroad.
• Data without a pack is charged at the standard rate. China Mobile’s national guide: in most places (216) ¥3 per 3MB, at most ¥30 a day, after which data goes on and is slowed past a daily threshold; other places are ¥6 or ¥9 per 3MB with a ¥60 or ¥90 daily cap, and a few stop at 50MB a day. China Unicom’s roaming zone: its default standard rate is ¥25, ¥35 or ¥55 for a day. Days are counted in Beijing time.
• Day passes, multi-country packs and monthly packs (China Mobile calls them its roaming offers) have to be ordered; without one, the standard rate applies. China Mobile’s packs lapse if not used in their area within 90 days of ordering, can be cancelled before first use, and start with the first data used there.
• Calls at China Mobile’s standard rate: ¥0.99 a minute in most places (247), ¥1.99 or ¥2.99 in a few, for calling mainland China, calling locally and receiving calls; calling a third country costs more.
• Texts at China Mobile’s standard rate: ¥0.39 to ¥2.89 to send, free to receive. China Unicom charges for receiving multimedia messages abroad.
• Prices depend on the destination and on your plan; China Mobile’s pack pages are shown by province. Look up your own: China Mobile’s 查询当地资费 (10086.cn/roaming/search), or China Unicom’s roaming rates page and 漫游包天区域查询 in its roaming zone. Beijing Mobile also answers a destination’s name texted to 10086.
• Before leaving, turn off call forwarding, voicemail and secretary services: a forwarded call abroad is charged twice as international. Both China Mobile and China Unicom warn about this.

The same roaming: China Mobile’s one function covers Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as well as other countries, and China Unicom has you open Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan roaming rights together with international roaming. Data is separate: order a Hong Kong and Macao pack from your carrier, or keep the home SIM’s data roaming off and use a travel eSIM or SIM. Getting online in Hong Kong and Macao

1. 1Keep international roaming on for the home number, so it is reachable abroad. Receiving a text is free at China Mobile; check with your carrier.
2. 2Turn the home SIM’s data roaming off on the phone: no data is used on it, so no data is charged.
3. 3Set mobile data to the travel eSIM and turn data roaming on for it.

Getting your home text codes abroad, and what to do if they stop

• A day or two with very little data: carrier roaming is quickest to switch on; check the price first.
• More days, or maps, video and social apps every day: roaming is charged by the day or by pack, so the bill grows with every day. A travel eSIM is a fixed amount of data paid once, and running out costs nothing extra.
• Your home number stays in the phone for calls and codes; the eSIM only carries data. Your phone has to support eSIM: dial *#06# and an EID has to show.

Roaming, eSIM, SIM card or pocket WiFi: how to choose

The carriers’ own pages, read on October 28, 2026. China Telecom’s roaming site could not be opened, so nothing about Telecom is quoted.