May 24, 2019, 11:11 am
Last edit by: moondog
If you want to use sites like Google, FB, and Twitter in China, you need a means to bypass government imposed blocks.
Roaming on your home country's network works like a charm, but this can be slow and/or expensive.
Most of us use VPNs or Shadowsocks (the latter requires a bit more legwork because you need to find, and pay for, a good server on your own you want good results).
While this topic is not illegal, we have definitely noticed that over plugging solutions that work well often results in diminished performance (because this makes them targets).
As such, my hope is that we can refrain from using buzzwords or complete company names in this thread. By way of example, "E" is impossible to catch via search, while the company name is easy.
Roaming on your home country's network works like a charm, but this can be slow and/or expensive.
Most of us use VPNs or Shadowsocks (the latter requires a bit more legwork because you need to find, and pay for, a good server on your own you want good results).
While this topic is not illegal, we have definitely noticed that over plugging solutions that work well often results in diminished performance (because this makes them targets).
As such, my hope is that we can refrain from using buzzwords or complete company names in this thread. By way of example, "E" is impossible to catch via search, while the company name is easy.
Best and Fast VPN for China ?
Apr 13, 2019, 6:07 pm
#106
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Apr 14, 2019, 9:16 pm
#108
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,311
I used Google Fi last month in China and it worked great. I didn't have any VPN installed and I was using google's VPN that comes with Google Fi and had no issue with any US sites. The only major issue I had was uploading pictures or video on google hangout. Uploading to instagram had no issues, so I wonder why hangout gives me trouble.
I had no issue at all in Shanghai.
Xi'an I had no issue but the google map locations for stuff is way off so don't rely on it.
Beijing I occasionally get dropped and I try to manually connect to another carrier and it works again. I had issues with google map labeling my hotel about a mile away from where it is actually so I would avoid relying on the map locations too much.
I had no issue at all in Shanghai.
Xi'an I had no issue but the google map locations for stuff is way off so don't rely on it.
Beijing I occasionally get dropped and I try to manually connect to another carrier and it works again. I had issues with google map labeling my hotel about a mile away from where it is actually so I would avoid relying on the map locations too much.
Apr 15, 2019, 7:04 am
#109
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 1
I am using ExpressVPN every year my business trip in china 3 to 4 times a year i am using ExpressVPN service Every time it is the only one vpn its works proper in china many others vpn also have but i am selectiing a vpn first read user reviews then research on internet i found 3 best sites for vpns these are the best sites Cnet.com, Pcmag.com, Rivipedia.com
Apr 17, 2019, 10:29 am
#110
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: SF Bay Area
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It has nothing to do with the SIM. You can see the same offset between satellite and map view on the desktop website from a PC. But ditu.google.cn has no annoying offset problem.
Apr 17, 2019, 11:26 am
#111
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 3,096
Wikipedia has an interesting article on the required-by-law-map-offset in China.
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrictions_on_geographic_data_in_China
I don't know whether it's up-to-date or wholly accurate, but it does say, "The Google.com street map is offset by 50–500 meters from its satellite imagery, while the Google.cn map is not."
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrictions_on_geographic_data_in_China
I don't know whether it's up-to-date or wholly accurate, but it does say, "The Google.com street map is offset by 50–500 meters from its satellite imagery, while the Google.cn map is not."
Apr 17, 2019, 9:47 pm
#112
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,311
Lots of people in China root their phones in order to access Google software by faking their SIM country code and then run into the GPS offset issue so it is a well-known problem.
Apr 17, 2019, 9:52 pm
#113
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,311
Wikipedia has an interesting article on the required-by-law-map-offset in China.
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrictions_on_geographic_data_in_China
I don't know whether it's up-to-date or wholly accurate, but it does say, "The Google.com street map is offset by 50–500 meters from its satellite imagery, while the Google.cn map is not."
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrictions_on_geographic_data_in_China
I don't know whether it's up-to-date or wholly accurate, but it does say, "The Google.com street map is offset by 50–500 meters from its satellite imagery, while the Google.cn map is not."
google.cn has processed the satellite imagery for China (or perhaps they munged the China maps instead) which is why it lines up. Funnily enough, your raw GPS locations will match up with unprocessed satellite imagery, while appearing to be wrong if you display them directly on the Google China maps. You can see this effect by reviewing your Google timeline.
Apr 18, 2019, 3:15 am
#114
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: China and Canada
Posts: 1,886
I keep reading about this offset but as I drive in China, I don't notice it. when it tells me to turn right in 100 meters, it is in 100 meters. I find it rather precise.
"All maps in China are required to apply an offset by law" - everybody is using GPS here. My wife uses other mapping services and they all work fine.
"All maps in China are required to apply an offset by law" - everybody is using GPS here. My wife uses other mapping services and they all work fine.
Apr 18, 2019, 5:04 am
#115
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: PEK and BOS
Programs: BA - Blue
Posts: 4,530
Agree: I don't fully understand the offset issue, but it's idiosyncratic. Some places, the minority, on Google maps are in the wrong place, possibly due to offset. But the majority are fine.
tb
tb
Apr 18, 2019, 9:44 pm
#116
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,311
I keep reading about this offset but as I drive in China, I don't notice it. when it tells me to turn right in 100 meters, it is in 100 meters. I find it rather precise.
"All maps in China are required to apply an offset by law" - everybody is using GPS here. My wife uses other mapping services and they all work fine.
"All maps in China are required to apply an offset by law" - everybody is using GPS here. My wife uses other mapping services and they all work fine.
Apr 18, 2019, 9:48 pm
#117
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,311
FWIW these days people can't create PoIs at all with Google Maps in China.
Apr 19, 2019, 11:36 am
#118
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 12
Found this article about the Great Firewall Of China on a vpnsite.
Apr 22, 2019, 3:05 pm
#119
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: SF Bay Area
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I think the reason many VPNs are so slow is that the bandwidth is ridiculously oversold. On China Telecom, my VPN speeds to HK dropped as low as 1-1.5 Mbps during peak hours (mainly evening and late evening), while the same endpoints were getting around 10-15 Mbps in the early mornings. VPN.ac's Taipei endpoint reaches around 75%+ load during the evenings and I never saw more than 2 Mbps throughput under those conditions on China Telecom, while from home, I can routinely get 5-10x the bandwidth to HK from Comcast in Silicon Valley, through miles and miles of undersea cables. Even VPN.ac, while it was experiencing 100% load on its Taipei endpoint, gave me around 10 Mbps! I routinely see VPN speeds to .hk and .tw maxing out at my actual advertised line rate from Silicon Valley.
Overselling is a business strategy that every ISP uses. Not everyone uses 100% of the bandwidth 100% of the time. But being oversold to the extent of 10x actual usage is ridiculous. I'd find China Telecom's complaints line and blast them for crappy network management, but I'm not technically their customer, so they are unlikely to care.
Overselling is a business strategy that every ISP uses. Not everyone uses 100% of the bandwidth 100% of the time. But being oversold to the extent of 10x actual usage is ridiculous. I'd find China Telecom's complaints line and blast them for crappy network management, but I'm not technically their customer, so they are unlikely to care.
Last edited by STS-134; Apr 22, 2019 at 3:20 pm