Ping to China ran from 25 ms to over 350 ms in our measurements on October 13, 2026, and the carrier mattered as much as the distance. A Hong Kong server reached China Mobile in 32 ms but China Telecom in 329 ms; a Seoul server reached China Telecom in 25 ms but the other two in about 200 ms. Check how a host reaches each Chinese carrier before you rely on it.
- We pinged China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile in Shanghai from probes in 31 cities, and 29 replied. Each city's three results come from the same probe.
- Closest isn't fastest. From Hong Kong, China Telecom took 329 ms; from Singapore, China Telecom and China Unicom took over 320 ms.
- The most even result was Taipei, at 42 to 56 ms to all three carriers. Tokyo was 76 to 112 ms.
- From the US West Coast, pings ran from 137 ms (San Jose to China Telecom) to 206 ms. From Europe, about 185 to 285 ms.
- The reverse direction differs: from China Unicom in Changsha, Silicon Valley took 159 ms but Los Angeles 299 ms.
- These are single off-peak runs from data-center probes. Test your own server with the tools below, at busy times too.
How we measured
On October 13, 2026, from 08:03 to 08:05 China time, we ran pings through Globalping, a free network of community-hosted probes. Each probe sent four pings. This is off-peak in China.
- World to China: one probe in each of 31 cities pinged NextTrace’s test endpoints in Shanghai, one on each carrier: Shanghai Telecom (AS4812), China Unicom’s Shanghai network (AS17621) and Shanghai Mobile (AS24400). The China Unicom and China Mobile runs reused the China Telecom run’s probes, so each city’s three numbers come from the same machine.
- China to the world: probes on China Telecom in Guangzhou, China Unicom in Changsha and China Mobile in Beijing pinged Vultr’s public ping-test servers in 14 cities.
Most probes run in data centers, so a home connection in the same city can differ. The probes in Stockholm and Johannesburg didn’t reply, and the China Telecom probe returned no result for Los Angeles. We keep the raw results.
Ping to China from 29 cities
Average round-trip time from each probe to Shanghai, with packet loss where there was any:
| Probe city | Probe network | China Telecom | China Unicom | China Mobile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | HostPapa (AS36352) | 165 ms (25% loss) | 203 ms | 191 ms |
| San Jose | Oracle (AS31898) | 137 ms | 191 ms | 191 ms |
| Seattle | HostPapa (AS36352) | 170 ms | 180 ms | 206 ms |
| Dallas | HostPapa (AS36352) | 171 ms | 245 ms | 204 ms |
| Chicago | HostHatch (AS63473) | 192 ms | 260 ms | 171 ms |
| New York | DigitalOcean (AS14061) | 215 ms | 243 ms | 250 ms |
| Miami | The Constant Company (AS20473) | 210 ms | 319 ms | 236 ms |
| Toronto | HostBilby (AS401665) | 203 ms | 222 ms | 217 ms |
| Vancouver | Tech Futures Interactive (AS394256) | 174 ms | 156 ms | 211 ms |
| London | Oracle (AS31898) | 285 ms | 195 ms | 252 ms |
| Frankfurt | Oracle (AS31898) | 217 ms | 185 ms | 267 ms |
| Amsterdam | DELUXHOST (AS214677) | 213 ms | 269 ms | 234 ms |
| Paris | SCALEWAY (AS12876) | 205 ms | 206 ms (25% loss) | 257 ms |
| Madrid | Oracle (AS31898) | 274 ms | 233 ms | 203 ms |
| Stockholm | Hollander & Jacobsen (AS215960) | no reply | no reply | no reply |
| Warsaw | OVH (AS16276) | 234 ms | 230 ms | 251 ms |
| Milan | Akamai Connected Cloud (AS63949) | 252 ms (25% loss) | 216 ms | 227 ms (25% loss) |
| Tokyo | Oracle (AS31898) | 112 ms | 76 ms | 85 ms |
| Seoul | HostHatch (AS63473) | 25 ms | 204 ms | 197 ms |
| Singapore | xTom (AS8888) | 324 ms | 336 ms | 83 ms |
| Hong Kong | LeaseWeb (AS133752) | 329 ms | 96 ms | 32 ms |
| Taipei | Data Communication Business Group (AS3462) | 42 ms | 50 ms | 56 ms |
| Bangkok | AIS Fibre (AS133481) | 211 ms | 308 ms | 99 ms |
| Jakarta | Cybertechtonic Pratama (AS131745) | 264 ms | 364 ms | 77 ms |
| Mumbai | Oracle (AS31898) | 259 ms | 293 ms | 248 ms |
| Dubai | M247 (AS9009) | 204 ms | 198 ms | 144 ms |
| Sydney | Oracle (AS31898) | 309 ms | 157 ms | 306 ms |
| Melbourne | Oracle (AS31898) | 285 ms | 166 ms | 255 ms |
| Auckland | Zappie Host (AS61138) | 311 ms | 293 ms | 326 ms |
| São Paulo | Oracle (AS31898) | 312 ms | 353 ms | 329 ms |
| Johannesburg | Maxko for Gaming Development (AS329325) | no reply | no reply | no reply |
What the numbers show
- Distance isn’t the main factor. Hong Kong is next door to mainland China, yet our Hong Kong probe took 329 ms to reach China Telecom, while it reached China Mobile in 32 ms. Singapore took over 320 ms to China Telecom and China Unicom, and 83 ms to China Mobile.
- One carrier can be fast and the others slow. Seoul reached China Telecom in 25 ms but China Unicom and China Mobile in about 200 ms. Sydney reached China Unicom in 157 ms and the other two in over 300 ms.
- Taipei was the most even, at 42 to 56 ms to all three. Tokyo came next, at 76 to 112 ms.
- North America: San Jose had the lowest China Telecom result, 137 ms. Most US and Canadian results fell between 156 and 260 ms, with Miami at 319 ms to China Unicom.
- Europe: most results fell between about 185 and 285 ms.
What decides this is how the probe’s network reaches each Chinese carrier: through direct links, premium routes such as CN2, or long detours. Our CN2 GIA guide explains China Telecom’s routes, and NextTrace shows you a route hop by hop.
Ping from China to the world
From probes on each carrier in China to Vultr’s ping-test servers:
| Vultr test server | From China Telecom (Guangzhou) | From China Unicom (Changsha) | From China Mobile (Beijing) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | no reply | 299 ms | 182 ms |
| Silicon Valley | 174 ms | 159 ms | 187 ms |
| New Jersey | 232 ms (50% loss) | 246 ms | 266 ms |
| Toronto | 226 ms | 266 ms | 230 ms |
| London | 259 ms | 224 ms | 185 ms |
| Frankfurt | 199 ms | 289 ms | 278 ms |
| Amsterdam | 253 ms | 212 ms | 228 ms |
| Osaka | 162 ms | 181 ms | 202 ms |
| Seoul | 148 ms | 89 ms | 87 ms |
| Singapore | 337 ms | 200 ms | 224 ms |
| Sydney | 274 ms | 171 ms | 182 ms |
| Mumbai | 220 ms | 262 ms | 179 ms |
| São Paulo | 338 ms | 370 ms | 340 ms |
| Johannesburg | 328 ms | 398 ms | 286 ms |
The direction matters. China Unicom’s probe reached Silicon Valley in 159 ms but Los Angeles in 299 ms. China Telecom reached Frankfurt in 199 ms but Singapore in 337 ms. Routes on the internet aren’t symmetric, as network engineer Richard Steenbergen explained at NANOG 47, so measure both directions for your own server.
How to check your own ping to China
- From your server to China: ping NextTrace’s carrier endpoints, such as
ipv4.sha-4134.endpoint.nxtrace.org(China Telecom, Shanghai),ipv4.sha-4837.endpoint.nxtrace.org(China Unicom) andipv4.sha-9808.endpoint.nxtrace.org(China Mobile). Or runnexttrace -F, which traces to all of them; see our NextTrace guide. - From China to your server: run
nexttrace --from "AS4134" your.server.ip(AS4837 for China Unicom, AS9808 for China Mobile), or use a site with test points in China, such as ITDOG, 17CE or BOCE. - Test at busy times too. A 2019 study of routes into China found loss and slowdowns that followed a daily pattern, from late morning to after midnight China time. An off-peak ping, like ours, shows the best case.
FAQ
What is a good ping to China?
In our measurements, under 100 ms was possible from Taipei and Tokyo, from Seoul to China Telecom, and from Hong Kong, Singapore, Jakarta and Bangkok to China Mobile. From the US West Coast, 137 to 206 ms, and from Europe about 185 to 285 ms.
Why is my ping to China so high?
Usually because of your host's route to that carrier, not the distance. Our Hong Kong probe took 329 ms to reach China Telecom in Shanghai, longer than most probes in Europe. Congestion at busy times in China adds more.
Which country has the lowest ping to China?
In this run, the lowest results were Seoul to China Telecom (25 ms), Hong Kong to China Mobile (32 ms) and Taipei (42 to 56 ms to all three). Each depended on the carrier: Seoul reached China Unicom in 204 ms.
How do I test my ping to China?
From your server, ping NextTrace's carrier endpoints, such as ipv4.sha-4134.endpoint.nxtrace.org for China Telecom in Shanghai, or run nexttrace -F. For the other direction, use a tool with test points in China, such as ITDOG, or nexttrace --from AS4134 with your server's IP.
Is ping from China to the US the same as from the US to China?
Not necessarily. Routes on the internet aren't symmetric. In our runs, China Unicom in Changsha reached a Los Angeles server in 299 ms, while a Los Angeles probe reached China Unicom in Shanghai in 203 ms.
Sources
- Globalping README (jsDelivr on GitHub), accessed Oct 12, 2026
- Globalping probe list (Globalping API), accessed Oct 13, 2026
- Fast trace endpoints, fast_trace/basic.go (NextTrace source code), accessed Oct 12, 2026
- AS4812 registration record, Shanghai Telecom (APNIC), accessed Oct 13, 2026
- AS17621 registration record, China Unicom Shanghai (APNIC), accessed Oct 13, 2026
- AS24400 registration record, Shanghai Mobile (APNIC), accessed Oct 13, 2026
- FAQ, including network test hosts (Vultr), accessed Oct 13, 2026
- A practical guide to (correctly) troubleshooting with traceroute (Richard Steenbergen, NANOG 47, archived copy), October 2009
- Characterizing Transnational Internet Performance and the Great Bottleneck of China (Zhu et al., ACM POMACS), March 2020