Originally Posted by gudugan

I got a new Beijing number today. My Sichuan number got flagged for fraud (I hadn't used it for several months then started using it again). You can verify online if you have a shenfenzheng, but if you have a passport you need to verify in person at the branch you opened it in (i.e. in Sichuan). That wasn't really worth a flight there, so I'm abandoning it and the Y200 that's in the balance. Because of course I can't get a refund for it unless I show up in person.

China Unicom (联通) said the cheapest plan was Y58 per month. There's a Y8 per month plan but they have limited amounts of these numbers and you have to call ahead to the branch to see if they have this available. Sounded like too much work so I went back to China Mobile (移动).

This store had great service: 中国移动三元桥营业厅
Address: 朝阳区东三环北路戊2号国际港. EDIT: the official website https://10086.cn/support/service/cro...ka/indexc.html says the address is 朝阳区霞光里2号
https://surl.amap.com/aRMSnN1aau6

Waited for 40 mins, then whole process done in 30 mins. I already had opened another number with China Mobile previously so some documents were on file. Used US passport with L tourism visa.

I'm on a Y9 plan per month now with a couple minutes and no data. Just need to buy a data package every so often or pay the overage fees (less recommended).