How much would it cost to bring my own GSM phone to Beijing, swap out the SIM card, and get a Chinese mobile number for a period of one month?

I will be in Beijing this summer for one month to take some university classes.

Thank you!

It's easy to do, just make sure that the card you purchase works in whatever areas you might travel to. When we were buying them in Shanghai, the guy switched the one we were buying once he learned we needed it to work in Beijing, as well.

I believe you can negotiate a little on these, but we didn't. It was about 100 RMB for the SIM card and then a 50 RMB card to start (don't think there is any negotiating room for the add-on cards). Not a bad deal at all. The add-in cards we were using were red in color.

Enjoy your trip.

sim cards are cheap here. in fact, one of my friends recently got a free number because there were lots of 4s in it. standard numbers --without 4s-- cost around y50. whatever you do, make sure to get a shenzhouxing card if you're going to be traveling a lot. some of the local cards (shanghai mobile) are a real hassel when you need to recharge out of your home city. you can expect to spend around y150 per week on air time if you don't make international calls. if you do make a lot of overseas calls, then you should jack up your budget by a factor of 5 or 6.

also, you might want to buy a new gsm phone when you get here. most of the foreign models don't support chinese characters. even if you don't speak chinese, this feature comes in handy when you need to get addresses, flight confirmations, balance inquiries, etc.

sony ericsson typically has a really nice entry level model for around $100.

I'm going to be staying pretty close to the Beijing area, as I don't anticipate being able to travel a lot outside Beijing with my class schedule. I’ll be taking classes five days a week at UIBE (http://www.uibe.edu.cn/upload/uibe_eng/).

So from what you two are saying, 150RMB for the SIM and phone number, another 820RMB for the phone, and roughly another 800RMB for one month's service. Does China Mobile not require a contract? Also, what's the cheapest plan they have? I don't anticipate doing ANY international calling (going to do that with a phone card), and I don't think I'll be using many minutes because I'll just be taking calls from my university pals and the occasional call from the girlfriend.

I was in Beijing for a week last June and bought a China Unicom SIM card for my Siemens S46 phone, which operated on the 900 and 1900 GSM frequencies. Even thought I bought my phone here in California, it worked just fine for both local and international calls.

If I remember correctly, the SIM card cost me something like 80RMB just for the card. I still have it though (am looking at it right now), and since I don't have any plans to go to China (unfortunately!) any time soon, the card is yours if you want it. All of the original packaging, including recharge instructions are still there.

So from what you two are saying, 150RMB for the SIM and phone number, another 820RMB for the phone, and roughly another 800RMB for one month's service. Does China Mobile not require a contract? Also, what's the cheapest plan they have?

-the phone number is stored on the sim = cost is y50 (not 150) for a generic number.
-as a student, i think you could do a month for 200-300 (get used to texting as much as possible)
-i can't think of any reason why you'd want to go post-paid (with a plan) if you're only going to be in town for a month
-pre-paid is an ok deal anyway (unlike the US)

-one other option that i forgot to mention is xiaolingtong (小灵通), which is a wll system. some students like it because the phones/airtime are very cheap (identical to land-line pricing). if you do opt for a 小灵通 phone, i'd advise you to get real phone as well (even if you just stick Y50 or Y100 on it).

Thanks a lot, you all are GREAT!

It appears I can buy a Siemens S46 on ebay for about $20, SMF UA 1K has graciously offered to give me his old SIM card. I'll probably put about $50 on my phone with a pre-paid plan once I get to Beijing.

Thanks again!

Thanks a lot, you all are GREAT!

It appears I can buy a Siemens S46 on ebay for about $20, SMF UA 1K has graciously offered to give me his old SIM card. I'll probably put about $50 on my phone with a pre-paid plan once I get to Beijing.

Thanks again!

Just make sure you get a phone that supports Chinese input/display.

If you're pressed, I can lend you an oldish Ericsson (which I use as my back-up) that will get the job done. Let me know.