Coding in China: Which Developer Tools Work

App	Chinese networks	Roaming eSIM	VPN
ClaudeChecked Oct 19, 2026	Blocked	Varies	Varies
DockerChecked Oct 25, 2026	Blocked	Varies	Varies
Hugging FaceChecked Oct 25, 2026	Blocked	Varies	Works
AWSChecked Oct 25, 2026	Unreliable	Varies	Varies
CursorChecked Oct 25, 2026	Unreliable	Varies	Varies
GitHubChecked Oct 8, 2026	Unreliable	Varies	Works
Microsoft AzureChecked Oct 25, 2026	Unreliable	Varies	Varies

Programming in China: which developer tools are blocked

Docker Hub and Hugging Face are blocked on Chinese networks, while GitHub, Cursor and the big cloud consoles connect, some only part of the time, as the table above shows. GreatFire’s test servers in mainland China give these answers:

• GitHub: “Sometimes” for github.com, as of October 25, 2026.
• Docker: “No” in its October 11 test of hub.docker.com.
• Hugging Face: “No” for huggingface.co on October 25. Developers in China say Chinese hubs such as ModelScope download faster, but they would still rather use Hugging Face with a VPN, Rest of World reported in September 2026.
• AWS and Azure: “Yes” for the AWS console and the Azure portal, “Sometimes” for AWS’s main site and Azure DevOps. AWS China and Azure in China are separate clouds.
• Cursor: “Yes” for Cursor’s website on October 23.

npm China mirror: the npmmirror registry

npmmirror, built on the open-source cnpmcore software with infrastructure sponsored by Alibaba Cloud, is a Chinese mirror of the npm registry. Its home page calls it complete and read-only, says it tries to sync with npm in real time (our translation), and gives this setting:

npm config set registry https://registry.npmmirror.com

npm’s own registry isn’t blocked: GreatFire answers “Yes” for registry.npmjs.org as of October 3, 2026, and for npmmirror’s registry as of September 21. npmmirror replaced the Taobao npm mirror, whose old domains its maintainers said in 2022 would stop resolving. In April 2024, one of them wrote that npm.taobao.org no longer resolved; whether every old Taobao address is offline is not confirmed.

pip China mirror: PyPI mirrors in China

Tsinghua University’s TUNA association, the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and Alibaba Cloud run PyPI mirrors. PyPI’s website opens from mainland China, but pip’s downloads don’t always: GreatFire answers “Yes” for pypi.org as of August 12, 2026, but “Sometimes” for the index pip uses by default and PyPI’s file server.

TUNA’s mirror syncs again five minutes after each successful sync and gives this setting:

pip config set global.index-url https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/pypi/web/simple

GreatFire answers “Yes” for TUNA’s site, as of October 17, 2026. USTC’s mirror caches packages on demand and redirects misses to TUNA. Alibaba Cloud’s mirror warns that Chinese mirrors generally update incrementally, so malicious packages deleted from PyPI may linger on them (our translation); it lists the ones it has removed.

GitHub in China and GitHub China mirrors

GitHub opens from mainland China only some of the time, and an official GitHub mirror there is not confirmed; we found none.

Gitee, OSChina’s code-hosting site, can import a GitHub repository and refresh it with a sync button, its help center says. GreatFire answers “Yes” for gitee.com, as of August 27, 2026.

Can I use Claude Code in China?

No. Claude Code, the Claude API and Claude models on cloud platforms fall under Anthropic’s Supported Regions Policy, and its country list leaves out mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. It also treats anyone using Claude Code while physically in one of those places as unsupported, so a short visit counts too. Claude Code’s Chinese-language docs add that on mainland networks, the Claude website and API it relies on may not be directly reachable (our translation), and GreatFire answers “Sometimes” for both claude.ai and api.anthropic.com.

A VPN may get Claude Code connected, but Anthropic’s Usage Policy treats access that breaks the regions policy as abuse of its platform. Many Chinese users had reported sudden Claude account suspensions since late June, Yicai Global said on July 6, 2026. See Claude in China.

Cursor and GitHub Copilot in China

Cursor’s editor connects from China, but without Claude, GPT or Gemini. Cursor’s model routing follows each model maker’s supported regions, a staff member said in July 2025, and the API country lists of Anthropic, OpenAI and Google all leave out mainland China.

Whether GitHub Copilot is supported in China is not confirmed. GitHub’s trade controls page lists where Copilot may not be exported and doesn’t name China. Copilot’s docs also require GitHub authentication, and GitHub opens from mainland China only part of the time. More on our Copilot page.

Software developer in China: what to do before the trip

Do the big downloads at home, and sort out a roaming eSIM or a VPN before you land.

1. Clone and pull. Clone your repositories and pull your container images. docker image save writes images to a tar archive that docker load can restore.
2. Download models. Fetch your models and datasets. With HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1 set, Hugging Face’s library makes no calls to the Hub and reads only cached files.
3. Get a roaming eSIM or a VPN. Airalo’s help center (Airalo sells eSIMs) says its China-coverage eSIMs need no VPN and apply no filters, since their data exits via gateways located outside mainland China. Hotel Wi-Fi gets no such benefit. A phone can pass that data to a laptop over its hotspot if the phone and network support tethering. See eSIM plans for China, which VPN works in China now and eSIM or VPN for China?
4. Know the rules. The UK’s China travel advice puts VPNs among the online products and services that need a Chinese government license under the country’s cybersecurity laws. Is using a VPN legal in China? has a section on foreign visitors.
5. Ask IT first. Microsoft tells Azure customers in China to buy any office VPN or dedicated line from a qualified vendor that holds a valid operating license. See our corporate VPN guide.

Coding in China: what users report

Reports from 2026 describe unreachable registries and Claude accounts at risk. Each describes one setup, not a test.

• Build pipelines, updated August 2026. MEV, a software firm, writes that the Great Firewall made parts of Docker Hub and of the public npm and Python registries unreachable for its AWS project in China. Its fix was a careful choice of mirrors, plus custom registries where needed.
• A trip, September 2026. A traveler asked r/ClaudeAI how to use Claude Code on a trip to China. One reply warned that Claude bans accounts it catches on a Chinese IP address; another said a VPN over a travel eSIM had worked.
• A team, October 2026. A small-company owner on r/ClaudeAI said two staff, US citizens living in China, use its Claude Team plan over a US VPN. One reply called that very risky; another said friends at private companies in China had all had their accounts banned.