Getting online in China: eSIM, roaming or a local SIM

There are three ways to be online in China, and they answer different questions. An international data eSIM bought before you fly answers "how do I get map and message access the moment I land". A local SIM bought with your passport answers "how do I get a Chinese phone number for the apps that want one". Roaming from your home carrier answers "how do I keep my number working without thinking about it", at a price.

This guide sets out what each option involves, using the Beijing municipal government's own SIM guide and carrier information checked on 1 November 2026. What it will not do is pretend that everything you read about connectivity is stable — it is not, and the in-country instructions are the ones that count.

Option one: a data eSIM, installed before you fly

This is the default for a short trip. You buy a data plan online, install the eSIM on your phone at home, and land with data. There is no queue, no passport check and no Chinese number.

Two checks decide whether it works. First, your phone must support eSIM — Apple publishes a list of carriers and worldwide providers offering eSIM service on iPhone, and that is the list to check rather than a reseller's claim. Second, the plan must cover mainland China; a regional Asia plan that excludes it is a common mistake.

The trade-off is that a data eSIM has no phone number, so it cannot receive bank verification texts. Keep your home SIM in the phone for that, with a small roaming allowance for the first day.

Option two: a local SIM, with a passport

If you want a Chinese number — for local apps, for calls to hotels and drivers, or because you are staying longer — the process is more formal but not difficult. Beijing's official guide is clear: prepare your passport, and any individual with a valid passport can apply for up to five SIM cards, each with a different number.

The fastest version is the airport. You apply online with China Mobile or China Unicom, then collect the card at the "Beijing Service" counter — China Mobile orders at Capital airport, China Unicom orders at Daxing. The offline alternative is a carrier service hall run by China Mobile, China Unicom or China Telecom, or the airport service counters without a prior application.

There is no processing fee; you pay the carrier's plan rate. Issuance at the hall is immediate. Service halls typically operate around 08:30 to 20:00 seven days a week, but the guide warns that each branch differs, and recommends calling the carrier first — China Mobile on 10086, China Unicom on 10010, China Telecom on 10000 — to confirm the branch accepts foreign nationals and to find the one nearest you.

Option three: roaming on your home SIM

Roaming is the least effort and usually the most expensive. It keeps your number, so bank codes and two-factor prompts arrive normally, and it requires no setup. Check your carrier's daily pass before you dismiss it: some are competitive for a short trip, and the convenience of landing with a working phone is worth something.

The catch is the data behaviour. Roaming traffic is routed through your home carrier, which is why "everything works" is often reported by roamers and not by local-SIM users. That is also why roaming can be slower, and why it is a poor choice for a two-week trip.

What to do about apps that do not behave

Assume that some of the services you rely on at home will not work as expected on mainland networks, and plan for it rather than discovering it in a taxi queue. The practical options are a data plan that routes your traffic outside the mainland (many travel eSIMs do) or roaming on your home SIM. Check what your provider actually offers before you buy; it is the one detail that decides whether your maps and messages work.

Download offline maps and translation packs before you fly. They cost nothing and they are the difference between a functioning phone and a brick when the network is not what you expected.

A setup that covers all three

Keep your home SIM active for texts and banking. Add an international data eSIM for maps and messaging. If you need a Chinese number, buy a local SIM at the airport on arrival, keeping the eSIM as your data line.

That combination costs more than one plan, but it solves the three problems that actually bite: verification texts, map access, and local registrations. And it means a failure in any one of them does not take your whole trip offline.

What a Chinese number actually unlocks

A local number is less about calls and more about registrations. Several services you may want during a trip assume a mainland number: ride-hailing accounts that verify by SMS, some restaurant queueing systems, hotel WiFi portals, delivery apps, and the occasional attraction booking channel. If your plan is to use just the apps you set up at home, you may never need one. If you want to move like a local, it saves a lot of asking strangers.

The other side of that trade-off is paperwork. A local SIM is real-name: your passport is the registration, and the carrier keeps that record. The Beijing guide is explicit that a passport is the requirement and that a person can hold up to five cards, each with a different number. That is more generous than most visitors expect, and it is useful if you are travelling with family and want separate numbers.

What a local number does not give you is a way around the network behaviour of the apps themselves. It is a Chinese number on a Chinese carrier, which is the most "local" configuration available, and it comes with the local rules of the road.

Cost, duration and the honest trade-offs

Think about duration first. For three to five days, an international data eSIM or roaming is simpler than buying a local SIM, and the difference in cost is small compared with the time you save. For two weeks or more, a local plan usually wins on both price and utility, because you get a number and a local data allowance.

Think about what fails. Roaming is the most reliable for keeping your existing apps and bank codes working, because your traffic and your number behave as they do at home. It is also the most expensive and sometimes the slowest. An international eSIM is the middle option: good data, no number, and behaviour that depends on the provider's routing. A local SIM is the most local and the least like home.

Think about the phone itself. A dual-SIM setup is the practical answer for most travellers: home SIM active for texts, travel data on the second line. Check that your phone supports two active lines and that the eSIM is installed before you fly, because installing it needs an internet connection.

A day-one checklist

Before you fly: check your phone's eSIM support against Apple's provider list, buy a plan that explicitly covers mainland China, install and test the eSIM at home, and note your carrier's customer-service number for the country.

On arrival: keep the home SIM enabled for verification texts, switch data to the travel line, and check a map and a message app before you leave the airport. If you plan to buy a local SIM, go to the airport counter or a carrier service hall with your passport, and call the carrier hotline first to confirm the branch accepts foreign nationals.

On day two: if something has failed, fix it in a city rather than a village. Replacing a SIM or re-linking a card is a twenty-minute job with a service hall nearby and an afternoon of apologies without one.

What most guides don't tell you

• A passport is all you need for a local SIM, and one person can apply for up to five SIM cards, each with a different number.
• Beijing's airport shortcut is real: you can apply online with China Mobile or China Unicom and collect the card at the 'Beijing Service' counter at Capital or Daxing airport.
• There is no processing fee for the SIM; you pay the carrier's plan rate, and issuance at a service hall is immediate.
• Carrier service halls typically run about 08:30 to 20:00 seven days a week, but hours vary by branch — call the carrier's hotline first and ask whether that branch accepts foreign passports.
• Keep your home SIM able to receive texts alongside whatever data plan you buy, because bank verification codes go to your home number, not your new Chinese one.
• Check eSIM support before you buy a plan: Apple publishes a list of carriers and providers that offer eSIM for iPhone, and that list is the compatibility check that matters.