Those SIM cards are a ripoff. I mean, most stuff sold to tourists is a ripoff, but these go above and beyond expectations. They're charging about ¥160 (US$25) for 1GB of data. Even if you go with the 6GB plan, it's near ¥90 (US$80) per GB, assuming you use all of it. I didn't think this was a really bad price when I got mine, in fact, I thought maybe it's 50-100% more than locals pay. But then a friend told me what he pays: ¥20/GB. So it's more like a
700% premium that you're paying for the service.
If you're going to pay a premium for data, at least get a Unicom HK card that allows access to all websites without a VPN. It comes in two flavors, one with cheaper local calls and free received calls, the other with a lower monthly administration fee:
http://www.cugstore.com/hk_en/prepai...rder-king.html
http://www.cugstore.com/hk_en/prepai...vice-plus.html
I did extensive testing during my trip to China and found that, despite the fact that it is only a 3G card, the total speed to sites outside China is better than it was on Unicom cards with a VPN active, even during the rare case where my phone got full LTE service at the Disney resort.
China - SIM Card and VPN Tests
Oh, and did I mention that data on those Unicom HK cards is actually
cheaper than it is on the mychinaunicom ones? It's about ¥100 (HK$118) per GB when you order the 1GB plan. This is the case until you get to the 3GB mychinaunicom plan, at which point the two are roughly equal and the 6GB plan only gives a roughly 10% "discount", being about ¥90/GB. Then there are the data connectivity dropouts
What's with the data connectivity dropouts? which make it a pain in the rear end to keep a VPN connection open sometimes. You'll thank yourself for buying a SIM card where data service just works like it should, at least when you have service, and you can just use your VPN for Wifi connections only.