If you're looking for the best VPN for China, this China VPN guide will help you get around the censorship and beat the great firewall, allowing you to access YouTube, Facebook, Netflix, and Gmail in China with ease. As of September 2026, I recommend the following VPNs below.

Update: China is now welcoming more and more travelers for tourism, with increasingly open visa policies. However, the censorship efforts are still in place, and using a VPN is still as important as ever. Make sure to choose a suitable VPN from below. If you're in a rush, I recommend ExpressVPN (49% off using this link) as of September 2026.

I've been living and traveling through China for over 13 years now, and using VPNs to circumvent the great firewall has been a daily part of life. Since China has their own social media platforms and has chosen to disallow foreign social media like Facebook and YouTube from operating in the country, I have written this VPN guide for travellers to China who would like to access their Gmail and social media just like back home.

First, I'm breaking down all of the best VPNs for China, showing you which VPNs are best and giving you the fastest VPNs for China in a big list. Then, I'm reviewing all of the best VPNs one by one and comparing them. In each VPN review, I've also found some discount links that will help save you money! Welcome to the ULTIMATE China VPN Guide!

At the bottom, I'm also providing a resource of some of the best free VPNs for China as well.

SUMMARY: THE BEST 3 VPNS FOR CHINA

VERDICT
As of September 2026, ExpressVPN (49% off using this link) currently ranks #1 as the best VPN for China. It is the fastest and most reliable. I’ve been using ExpressVPN for years, mainly to watch YouTube in China and also upload videos to YouTube, both of which work fantastic in China. Astrill VPN is my secondary VPN, which I also use quite frequently as a backup VPN, although lately ExpressVPN has been investing heavily in their server technology for China and I’ve barely needed to connect to other VPNs.

QUICK BREAKDOWN: THE 8 BEST VPNS FOR CHINA

VERDICT
ExpressVPN is the clear winner in terms of speed (especially on Hong Kong 5 and LA 4 servers, wow, fast!) and the number of countries. The best part about ExpressVPN which sets it apart from other VPNs is their technology which can bypass the great firewall even during blockages. Out of the past few years I’ve used it, downtime is less and less and speeds are getting faster and faster. Astrill VPN comes in second with very strong security and fast speeds too. Please note that these speeds are highly subjective to many different factors. Sometimes I get slower speeds, especially when uploading to YouTube.

VPN SPEED TESTS IN CHINA

These speed tests were done on Speedtest.net while in China. Home usage was on both China Unicom and China Telecom networks as well as on mobile 4G data.

VERDICT
ExpressVPN is best for speed on both downloading and uploading, which holds true to what I’m using 90% of the time I upload 4K videos to YouTube. After traveling to dozens of cities across China, and uploading Chinese food videos on YouTube while staying at hotels, I can confirm that 99% of the time I’m using ExpressVPN to both watch and stream YouTube and Netflix, but also to upload as well. The Los Angeles 5 server gave me a 10mb/s upload speed the other day! You can also read my full review for more information.

FULL VPN REVIEWS

6. Mullvad VPN

Multiple built-in obfuscation methods

PROS and CONS

OBFUSCATION FEATURES
I like how Mullvad VPN has 4 built-in obfuscation options for users in China. These range from using different ports alongside traffic encryption to using Shadowsocks. I used this VPN during some of my stays in China, and it generally bypassed restrictions very well. If one obfuscation method didn’t work, I simply switched to another one.

ADVANCED SECURITY
Mullvad VPN can be a good fit if you’re looking for a VPN that works well in China and has sophisticated safeguards to protect your data. Like ExpressVPN and PureVPN, Mullvad VPN also provides quantum-resistant connections. In addition, the provider developed a feature that defends against AI-guided traffic analysis, which isn’t something I’ve seen other VPNs do.

FLAT FEES AND PRIVACY-FOCUSED SIGN-UP
I think Mullvad VPN’s pricing offers great flexibility since it doesn’t have plan lengths. Instead, you only pay one flat monthly rate, and you can cancel any time. The provider also doesn’t ask for any personal data when you sign up, not even your email address. You just generate an account and top it up as needed. And there’s also a 14-day money-back guarantee that covers most payment methods.

DECENT SPEEDS BUT SOME SERVER ISSUES
I generally have okay speeds when I use Mullvad in China, but I sometimes experience slowdowns, especially when uploading large videos to my YouTube channel. This is because I can’t use nearby servers, as all Asian server locations are blocked in China.

7. ProtonVPN

Good speed-focused China VPN

PROS and CONS

SPEED-OPTIMIZATION FEATURES
I used Proton VPN a few times in China and it always felt like this VPN was designed with speed in mind. In addition to fast connections, it also has many built-in features that allow you to optimize your VPN speeds. There’s split-tunneling, port forwarding, and VPN Accelerator, which increased my speeds by around 45-50%.

HUGE SERVER NETWORK
The provider has around 20,000 servers in over 140 countries. The list includes server locations near China, such as Hong Kong, Japan, Laos, Macao, Mongolia, Nepal, Taiwan, and many others.

HIGH-END PRIVACY
I think Proton VPN can meet the demands of even the most stringent privacy-focused users. It’s headquartered in Switzerland, has open-source apps, and regularly undergoes independent audits.

GOOD ACCESS IN CHINA
When I used Proton VPN in China, it usually got around restrictions pretty well. On the few occasions I encountered issues, there were many workarounds at hand. For example, using Proton VPN’s obfuscation protocol (called Stealth), enabling alternative routing settings, or using non-Asian servers.

8. Surfshark

Good VPN for short stays in China

PROS and CONS

MANUAL SETUP
I mainly recommend Surfshark for shorter visits in China because you have to manually set up a VPN connection on your device using the WireGuard protocol for it to circumvent restrictions. I have also tried using Surfshark’s apps in China, but they rarely worked.

GREAT VALUE
The VPN provides really good value, since it works well with all the popular streaming services, including Netflix, Disney+, and BBC iPlayer. It also has very fast speeds and it’s great for torrenting. But because it’s inconvenient to use in China, I think it’s better suited to users who want to keep using the service even after the vacation is over.

GOOD FOR FAMILIES
I really like that Surfshark allows unlimited simultaneous connections, meaning you can connect to its servers on as many devices as you want. This makes it an ideal choice for families traveling to China.

FAQs

WHY DO I NEED A VPN FOR CHINA?

Living in China is much different than the Western world when it comes to Internet usage. If you are new to the country, you will need to get used to a different world of internet. China has a different world of internet full of their own local platforms, making the use of a virtual private network (VPN) essential if you want to continue using websites such as Google, Facebook, and YouTube. All of the main international websites and apps are not accessible unless you connect to one of the best VPNs for China.

HOW DO I CHOOSE A GOOD VPN FOR CHINA?

There are many different VPNs that work in China. The most important thing is to find one with fast speed, solid uptime, and good customer service to assist you when things aren’t going the way they should. When choosing which VPN to use in China, there are three main things to consider:

1. The VPN works in China. Not all VPN providers have a successful connection and sometimes the connection is patchy. Find a reliable and stable provider like ExpressVPN.
2. How fast its upload/download speeds are. Low speeds can be a killer, particularly if you are into streaming content or uploading videos to YouTube. This is very important for me as I’m always uploading content to YouTube.
3. What its customer service looks like. The more money invested in customer service, i.e. live telephone operators, 24/7 availability, the better the VPN generally is. This is especially true in China, when VPNs get blocked and you may occasionally need to contact the support team for assistance and workarounds.

WHICH WEBSITES ARE BLOCKED IN CHINA?

Because China has their own platforms and are pushing to support their local businesses, they have decided to block most major international competitors. If you wish to access these international sites and apps, you will have to use a VPN in China. The following sites are currently blocked in China:

HOW DO VPNS WORK?

While Internet censorship might sound like a nightmare, the best VPNs for China are designed specifically to provide a workaround to content restrictions and blocked websites. VPNs work by creating an encrypted connection between your computer and one located in another geographic location – in another country for the purposes of using one while located in China. The encryption factor is what separates a VPN from a typical proxy.

No one, including governments or ISPs can see the data you are transmitting to or receiving from a VPN connection; all they can see is that you are connected to the Internet. Once the connection is secure, all requests that you send to the Internet are first passed to a remote server located outside of China, say in Japan. The server there decrypts your requests and assigns them a Japan-based IP address before sending them along to the Internet. Since the requests are being made from Japan, not China, they are not blocked by Chinese censorship protocol. When you download pages, images, or files, they travel back to the Japanese server where they are encrypted and sent to your computer, which decrypts them via the VPN protocol installed on your device.

IS USING A VPN IN CHINA ILLEGAL?

This is one of the most common questions about using a VPN in China. The answer really depends on what you are using a VPN for and who you talk to. Luckily for you, using a VPN as a foreigner to connect to social media, read Gmail and watch Youtube is 100% safe as a means to get around the great firewall of China. It is a safe way to connect to Instagram, Gmail, YouTube, etc, in China. Selling VPN services in China is definitely illegal and promoting VPN services in China is also bound to cause trouble. That’s why I recommend whenever you travel to China, or any country in the world, to enjoy the beautiful parts and keep positive without getting into any politics or debates. This outlook has served me well for 10 years of traveling around the world. Keeping an open mind and a positive outlook has helped me make friends and not offend anyone. If you follow this outlook in China, you will not have any issue using a VPN. 

That being said, since 2012, China has deployed software to seek out and block VPN usage inside its borders. However, most of these are domestic VPNs or low-budget imports that don’t have the funds to install proper security protocol to avoid detection. Higher quality VPNs have more robust defensive mechanisms to work around censorship in countries like Russia and China. However, a huge thing to remember is that most of the VPN websites are blocked within Chinese borders. That means if you want to use one of them during your travels to China, you must download the VPN before you enter the country.

THE BEST FREE VPNS FOR CHINA

Check out my full post on the best free VPN for China, but to summarize, there are also quite a few options. I haven’t used them extensively, because I need the premium speed and servers that most paid VPNs offer, but if you want to try a free VPN, you can try these ones out below:

1. TunnelBear offers a free version that is quite limited but allows you to bypass the firewall without problem. There have been some connectivity issues in the past.
2. Windscribe gives users 10GB of data for free every month.
3. Hotspot Shield gives every user unlimited bandwidth.

WHICH VPNS ARE NOT WORKING IN CHINA?

There are a few VPNs that I do not recommend using in China. I have tried most of them and also heard complaints from other users about connectivity issues and complexity.

1. IPVanish VPN has had mixed results in China and in order to get around the great firewall, you have to manually connect and input their servers’ IP addresses in yourself instead of connecting to the server names. Even doing this may cause problems, as China has blacklisted many of their IP addresses, so I do not recommend using IPVanish in China.
2. HideMyAss! have said themselves that they aren’t able to bypass the great firewall of China and have lost many clients in the process. Many of their servers are no longer working and you would be better off choosing a better VPN from the list above.
3. Shadowsocks. While technically still working, using and setting up Shadowsocks in China is quite difficult without advanced knowledge. Therefore, I don’t recommend going this route because setting up Shadowsocks can be quite complicated for a traveler coming to China or even someone living in China full time. Even with marginally faster speeds, using ExpressVPN or Astrill VPN is much more convenient and requires a lot less technical knowledge.

THANK YOU!

I hope you enjoyed my comprehensive VPN review for the best VPNs in China. If perhaps you're also looking for a premium VPN service while back home, check out this resource of best VPNs. If you find one of these not working, please leave a comment down below and I will update the reviews. I hope this guide is useful for you as you travel around China!

Disclaimer: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means that I will receive a small commission if you purchase from one of my recommendations (at no extra cost to you). In fact, for many of these, I’ve found exclusive deals that will save you money!