-We have been discussing this topic in the Alipay thread
-The real ID requirement sort of spoiled the pre-paid SIM business
-I think you will need to go to a Moblie/Telecom/Unicom store
-The good news is that cell phone rates are very cheap now, and you can easily add minutes or data via Ali/Wx
-I haven't used a true post-paid account during the past 5 years; now we can downgrade or suspend at any time

Prepaid cards are still easily bought but can be activated only after you've completed real-name registration with your passport, normally at a customer service centre, not one of those small shops.

One of my friends told me that the last time he went back, he had to go to a company customer service center, and he was asked to record a statement saying that he wouldn't use his phone for things that the government didn't want you to do in addition to the passport thing. I thought that was kind of weird.

Since it's necessary to visit a service center in order to use your SIM, why not buy the SIM from the service center as well?

Yes I had to do that https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/35217727-post24.html

Your phone number is strongly linked to your identity in China. In other places they take down the passport data but the link is not so strong.

I'm not entirely sure if this is still the case, but back before 2020 there were certain starter packs with special offers or plans that could only be purchased from smaller stores and not directly from carrier service shops. That being said, I haven't gone looking since then (back then I'd keep an eye on these things even though I'd kept the same China Mobile number since 2006 because I'd volunteer to help exchange students with phone service every year).

I actually tested out the China Unicom HK GO Travel eSIM: https://www.cuniq.com/global/travel-...goodsId=506001

Once you order it, download it to your phone (over WiFi via QR code), and activate it, you can use it in many different areas, including Mainland China (I bought one day of data in the US just to see how it would work). And since it routes data via HK, you don't need to use a VPN when you're using it. I did find two downsides though:

1. The activation page is a pain in the .... It initially didn't work on my phone's Chrome browser. Eventually I realized that this was because I denied permission to my browser to use the camera, and after you take a picture of your passport, it then wants you to do "facial recognition". When you aim the camera at your face, it then asks you to open your mouth, and then to nod, but only in Chinese. It also has a 30 second timeout, so I had to Google translate the instructions and then do this over multiple times before it worked.

2. The bigger issue is that these cards become completely unusable after you use > 500 MB of data in 1 calendar day in HK. It throttles you to 128 kbps at this point and it's useless. And it doesn't even give you the option to pay more to lift the bandwidth cap.

These cards remain valid for 6 months, and as long as you purchase at least 1 days' worth of data every 6 months, you can keep them active indefinitely. They work, but you'd better have a backup in case you hit the throttling threshold.

Does anyone have experience using the airalo esim in china? I've used their esim's before and had good experience, but china (as always) is likely to be different. Current pricing is $28 for 10gb for 30 days (cheaper for less data) -- no phone number, just internet which works for me. Says carrier is China Unicom. Any other e-sim recommendations? I want to make sure it works as soon as I land in Shanghai as I'm always nervous as I go through the foreigner immigration line and speak no english when my wife will go through the China citizen line and I want to be able to connect in case I need translator or help.

https://www.airalo.com/china-esim

I haven’t used this but I won’t recommend it because you will get firewalled. Use a non Chinese SIM that roams into China. T Mobile works or SIM from Hong Kong

Did you manage to get a local SIM during your trip? While this option doesn't satisfy the "as soon as you land in China" requirement, Y300 (in cash) does.

I did, but it took 2.5 hours at a China Mobile center in town which doesn’t meet the requirements. Also I need to keep paying for the plan.

You can get on arrival SIM at Shanghai airport but that also doesn’t meet the requirements.

Google Fi is a last resort backup option but it’s expensive and slow. Also I’m banned from it from too much international roaming.

Try Unicom next time. You can call them at 10010 (option 2 is English) and ask them where to go to get a SIM (a lot of their stores don't sell SIMs at all, let alone to foreigners). Their English CS is really great IME (e.g. you'll never wait more than 2 minutes to get connected and the person who you talk with will be smart as a whip). And after you're enrolled, you can call the same number to drop your plan down to 8 per month. Mobile is better country-wide, but Unicom is quite solid in major cities.

SIMs on arrival at PEK or PVG are no longer an option. I just wanted to give the Unicom lady at PVG Y300 to top me up, but her offer was Y50 for WiFi access in the airport only. So, I called 10010, and they hooked me up with a free 48 hours. This allowed me to access data and pay them, plus get a taxi home.

You sure about that? They have roaming agreements with many providers through certain specific providers that act as the "home" network. This would only be the case if Unicom is the "home" network. Even if it is, they also have a SIM for Asia called Asialink that almost certainly would not use Unicom as the "home" provider otherwise people traveling in Japan and South Korea would get firewalled.

Both can be true- Unicom can be the home provider and it can be free from firewalling. Unicom does operate in HK as a MVNO with its own core but using other networks' towers; if your SIM is "issued" by Unicom HK then no firewall (but they're still a Chinese provider, so up to you if you're comfortable with that).

So who is the "home" provider for the Chinacom Airalo eSIMs?