How to Livestream in China on YouTube, Twitch or TikTok

YouTube Live in China

YouTube Live doesn’t work on Chinese mobile data or Wi-Fi, because YouTube is blocked in mainland China. The UK government’s travel advice lists YouTube among services that are permanently blocked there, with Google, Facebook and X. GreatFire’s test page for youtube.com answers “No” to whether it opens from mainland China.

GreatFire has also tested the server that encoders send YouTube streams to. Haivision, which makes streaming encoders, lists rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2 as YouTube’s primary stream server, and GreatFire’s test page for a.rtmp.youtube.com also answers “No”. GreatFire tests web connections to that server, not live streams.

Watching YouTube from China needs the same kind of connection as streaming to it. Our YouTube page covers watching, Premium and the local alternatives.

Set up your channel before the trip. YouTube says you need a verified channel with no live streaming restrictions in the past 90 days, and you must be at least 16. To stream from the YouTube app on a phone, you also need at least 50 subscribers, and YouTube says you may need to wait 24 hours before your first live stream.

Can you stream on Twitch in China?

Not on a Chinese connection: Twitch is blocked in mainland China. TechRadar reported on September 21, 2018 that Twitch’s website had been unreachable from China since September 20, and that its app was no longer available in Apple’s China App Store. Twitch confirmed the block but said it didn’t know what led Chinese authorities to impose it.

The block is still in place. GreatFire’s test page for twitch.tv answers “No” to whether it opens from mainland China, and Apple’s China App Store still doesn’t list the Twitch app. To stream to Twitch from China, you need one of the connections described below.

TikTok LIVE in China

TikTok LIVE isn’t available on Chinese networks. TikTok said in October 2019 that it “does not operate in China, nor do we have any intention of doing so in the future.” GreatFire’s test page for tiktok.com answers “No” to whether it opens from mainland China, and the TikTok app isn’t in Apple’s China App Store.

Hong Kong doesn’t help. In July 2020, TikTok said it had decided to stop operations of the TikTok app in Hong Kong, TechNode reported, and the app still isn’t in Apple’s Hong Kong App Store. That matters for travel eSIMs whose data comes out in Hong Kong:

• Find Your eSIM, which reviews eSIMs with affiliate links, says companies like TikTok often block access from Hong Kong themselves.
• Notes from China, another blog with affiliate links, says TikTok shows a black screen on an eSIM whose data comes out in Hong Kong, and works normally when it comes out in Singapore, Thailand or another place outside Hong Kong. It adds that TikTok reads your phone’s SIM card country code.

To go LIVE, TikTok says you must be at least 18 and have 1,000 followers, a number it says may vary by region. It also says LIVE features aren’t available everywhere.

Douyin is the Chinese version of TikTok, as NPR describes it. It’s a separate app from Beijing Douyin Technology, and it works on Chinese networks: GreatFire’s test page for douyin.com answers “Yes”. For going live on it as a visitor, see how to go live on Douyin as a foreigner.

Streaming on Kick in China

Whether you can stream on Kick from China is not confirmed. We found no report from anyone who has gone live on Kick there.

GreatFire’s test page for kick.com answers “Yes” to whether the site opens from mainland China. Its last test was on October 13, 2026. But GreatFire says it revised that verdict from “partly disrupted”, and it rates the other kick.com addresses it tests as intermittent. Apple’s China App Store lists both of Kick’s apps, including KICK - Go Live, which Kick calls its mobile streaming app.

How do streamers stream in China?

Streamers reach YouTube, Twitch or TikTok from China over a connection that leaves mainland China first. Sources describe two ways to get one: a travel eSIM or home roaming, and a VPN. Bonded cellular backpacks combine several connections for a steadier stream, but their makers don’t say on their pages whether that gets a stream past the block.

On a travel eSIM or home roaming

A travel eSIM that routes your data outside mainland China gets past the block. Airalo, an eSIM seller, says all its plans with China coverage route your traffic “through secure gateways outside mainland China”, so blocked sites work without a VPN. This only works on the eSIM’s own mobile data: Airalo says you have full access to blocked sites “as long as you are using your eSIM data (and not the hotel Wi-Fi)”.

Not every plan routes data this way. Salil Kanhere, a cybersecurity expert at UNSW, told the Bega District News in July 2026 that a local Chinese SIM or a China-specific eSIM typically remains subject to local filtering. Roaming on your home SIM can get past the block too: Kanhere said roaming data is in many cases routed through the traveller’s home carrier or an overseas gateway.

Compare plans on our eSIM page, read eSIM or VPN for China?, and check your carrier in Can I use my phone in China?

If you stream from a laptop through your phone’s hotspot, check the plan’s hotspot rules. Airalo allows hotspot use if your device and the network support it. Holafly’s China eSIM lets you share 1 GB a day. By our arithmetic, that’s less than an hour of streaming at YouTube’s minimum H.264 bitrate for 720p video (see what upload speed you need).

With a VPN

A VPN runs on any connection, including hotel Wi-Fi, where a travel eSIM’s routing doesn’t apply. But Airalo, which sells eSIMs, says VPNs “can be unreliable, slow down your connection”, and that the firewall constantly attempts to identify and throttle them. Eric Liu, a US-based censorship analyst, told ABC News in June 2026 that a new round of VPN crackdowns began in April, and that telecom carriers in parts of China were asked to block all VPN services.

A VPN also lengthens the route to the platform. Proton VPN, a VPN provider, says a VPN adds to the distance your data travels because of the extra trip to the VPN server. Mullvad, another provider, says China blocks all its servers in Asia and suggests servers in the US instead.

To see which VPNs connect from China now, read which VPN works in China now. If yours stops, see VPN not working in China. For hotel networks, see VPN for hotel Wi-Fi in China.

With a bonded cellular backpack

A bonded cellular backpack combines several mobile connections into one stream. TVU sells one for IRL streaming, the TVU One IRL backpack, which it says is “built for high-performing streamers”. LiveU sells bonding encoders too. Their own pages describe how bonding works:

• Bonding. TVU says cellular bonding combines multiple connections, such as 3G, 4G and 5G, Wi-Fi and Ethernet, “in order to create a high bandwidth signal”, so the stream doesn’t rely on one connection that may be weak or drop out. The TVU One IRL backpack has six built-in 5G modems and can combine up to 12 connections.
• The vendor’s cloud. LiveU says RTMP, the format its Solo encoder uses to deliver streams to platforms such as YouTube, Twitch and Facebook, doesn’t support bonding. So the Solo sends the bonded stream to LiveU’s cloud, which converts it into RTMP and passes it on. LiveU says this adds some latency. TVU says the One sends video to TVU Producer, its cloud platform, for distribution.
• Data plans. LiveU’s Traveler data plan for its Solo PRO Connect kit lists China, Hong Kong and Macau among the countries it supports.

Neither vendor says on these pages how its SIMs route data in mainland China, or whether its cloud can be reached on Chinese networks. Ask the vendor before you rely on one there.

Can you IRL stream in China?

Yes. IShowSpeed livestreamed for hours at each stop of a 2025 tour of eight Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing and Shenzhen, according to Science and Technology Daily, a Chinese state newspaper. Our page on how IShowSpeed streamed in China covers what’s reported about his setup.

Streaming on the move uses mobile data, so the connection options are the same as above. On bullet trains, see China high-speed train Wi-Fi for what the train Wi-Fi and mobile signal are like. Chinese rules also limit where hosts can film: see rules for live streaming in China.

What upload speed you need

You need enough upload speed to carry your stream’s bitrate, which YouTube and Twitch publish for each resolution. YouTube says to choose a quality that gives a reliable stream on your connection, and recommends running a speed test of your upload bitrate.

Video	YouTube minimum (H.264)	YouTube recommended (H.264)	Twitch recommended
720p, 30 fps	3 Mbps	8 Mbps	3,000 kbps
720p, 60 fps	3 Mbps	8 Mbps	4,500 kbps
1080p, 30 fps	5 Mbps	14 Mbps	4,500 kbps
1080p, 60 fps	6 Mbps	17 Mbps	6,000 kbps

YouTube lists lower rates for the AV1 and H.265 codecs, such as 6 Mbps recommended for 720p and 10 Mbps for 1080p at 30 fps. Both platforms recommend a constant bitrate (CBR) and a keyframe every 2 seconds. Twitch says it’s always better to have a stable stream than to push for a higher quality that might drop frames. It says network problems between you and Twitch cause lag, buffering and disconnections.

On mobile data, each 1 Mbps of video uses about 0.45 GB an hour, by our arithmetic. At 3 Mbps that’s about 1.4 GB an hour, and at 8 Mbps about 3.6 GB. Audio adds little: YouTube recommends 128 Kbps for stereo, and Twitch 96 kbps.

How to go live on Douyin as a foreigner

We couldn’t confirm that a foreign visitor can go live on Douyin. Douyin’s user agreement, updated in February 2026, says you must register and complete real-name verification, as national laws require, before you start a live stream, post videos or send messages. China’s live streaming rules also require platforms to verify the identity of people who stream.

Two Chinese reports from January 2025 say foreign passports don’t pass that verification:

• Southern Metropolis Daily, January 2025: its reporter found that Douyin’s sign-up page offers foreign phone numbers, but said that doesn’t mean foreigners can complete real-name verification. It cited a user’s post saying the only one of five verification options open to foreigners is China’s permanent residence card for foreigners, and that foreign passports aren’t accepted.
• Lizhi News, January 2025: a person close to ByteDance and Douyin said reports that Douyin had opened registration to international users were untrue, and that Douyin verifies real identities at sign-up as Chinese law requires. The report added that overseas users with other countries’ passports can’t pass real-name verification normally.

A June 2026 guide from China Survival Kit, which sells a China travel toolkit, also says foreign passports are generally not accepted for Douyin’s real-name verification. Douyin isn’t in Apple’s US, UK or Australian App Stores. It’s listed in the mainland China and Hong Kong stores.

Rules for live streaming in China

China’s rules for live streaming put duties on platforms and on the people who stream. The main ones, from official texts:

• Live streaming services, 2016. Rules from the Cyberspace Administration of China, in force since December 1, 2016, cover providing and using live streaming services in China. Platforms must verify the real identity of people who stream. Streaming news requires a licence for internet news services, and nobody may use a live stream to endanger national security or disrupt social order (our translation).
• Online hosts, 2022. A code of conduct for online hosts, issued in June 2022 by the National Radio and Television Administration and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, covers people who live stream on online platforms. Hosts must register under their real names, and hosts covering medicine, finance, law or education need professional qualifications. The code lists 31 banned behaviors, including filming or broadcasting in places that involve national or public security, or where it would disrupt normal social order, disturb other people’s lives or invade their privacy (our translation).
• Foreign journalists, 2008. China’s regulations for foreign journalists, in force since October 17, 2008, require a journalist visa and the consent of the people and organizations they interview. Police will order a foreigner who reports news in China without a resident journalist card or a short-term journalist visa to stop, the regulations say (our translation). They don’t mention live streaming.
• Restricted areas and drones. The UK government’s travel advice says foreigners can be detained, fined or deported if found in restricted military areas without authorization, and that drones are strictly regulated. It suggests asking the Civil Aviation Administration of China about drone rules before travel.

Using a VPN has its own rules. The UK government’s travel advice says China’s cybersecurity laws require online products and services, such as VPNs, to be licensed by the Chinese government. Read is using a VPN legal in China? before you go. This page is not legal advice.

Checklist before you fly

1. Set up your accounts. Verify your YouTube channel and turn on live streaming. YouTube says your first mobile live stream may need a 24-hour wait. Check that you meet TikTok’s LIVE rules.
2. Install the apps at home. Twitch and TikTok aren’t in Apple’s China App Store. Douyin isn’t in the US, UK or Australian App Stores.
3. Check how your eSIM or roaming plan routes data. Airalo says its plans with China coverage route traffic outside mainland China, while Kanhere said a China-specific eSIM typically remains subject to local filtering. If you’ll stream from a laptop, check the hotspot allowance. Compare plans on our eSIM page.
4. If you plan to use a VPN, read which VPN works in China now and is using a VPN legal in China? first.
5. If you’ll use a bonded backpack, ask the vendor whether its data plan and cloud work in mainland China.
6. Read the rules on where you can film, in rules for live streaming in China.
7. When you land, test before you go live. Run a speed test on the connection you’ll stream from, and pick a bitrate from the bitrate table that it can carry. YouTube also says to test before you start your live stream.