China eSIM With a Phone Number: What You Can Get

China eSIMs with a phone number compared

The eSIMs a visitor can buy before the trip that come with a phone number give you a Hong Kong (+852) or US (+1) number, not a Chinese one. Full prices, checked October 14, 2026:

Option	Number	Format	Texts in mainland China	Full price
CUniq Monthly SIM	Hong Kong (+852)	eSIM or SIM card	Receiving is free	HK$48 per 30 days with 3 GB of mainland and Hong Kong data
3HK DIY Prepaid SIM	Hong Kong (+852)	eSIM or SIM card	Receives texts only after registration; travel SMS HK$3.50 each	China passes from HK$10 for 24 hours with 500 MB
Saily phone number	US (+1), used in the Saily app	eSIM for data, number in the app	Available with a text plan, Saily says	US$1.99 a month for the number, call and text plans from US$0.99, China data from US$4.49
China Mobile Smart Card	Chinese (+86)	SIM card bought in China	10 texts within China included	100 yuan for 7 days to 250 yuan for 30 days
Holafly, Yesim, Jetpac, Trip.com	None	eSIM	None	Data only

Most travel eSIMs for China are data plans. Holafly says its China eSIM “only comes with cellular data” and has no local number for calls or texts. Yesim lists its China plans as data only, Jetpac says its China eSIM has no SMS, and Trip.com’s China eSIM listing excludes voice calls and SMS. Holafly says a dual-SIM phone can use your home SIM for calls and texts and the eSIM for data.

Hong Kong eSIMs with a +852 number

CUniq and 3HK sell eSIMs that come with a Hong Kong (+852) number and work in mainland China. Set them up before you travel: CUniq’s terms say its Monthly SIM can’t be activated in mainland China, and 3HK recommends buying travel passes before you leave.

CUniq Monthly SIM

CUniq, China Unicom’s Hong Kong company, sells the CUniq Monthly SIM as an eSIM or a SIM card. It is a prepaid SIM with no contract and a Hong Kong number, and its data works in both mainland China and Hong Kong.

• Price: plans renew every 30 days, from HK$48 for 3 GB of shared data and 50 minutes of Hong Kong calls up to HK$298 for 100 GB. Online, the first payment for the HK$48 plan is HK$150. It covers the first month, and the rest stays as credit.
• Speed limit: after the plan’s data runs out, speed drops to 128 kbps until the end of the month.
• Calls and texts in mainland China: calls to Hong Kong or mainland numbers cost HK$0.3 a minute, incoming calls cost HK$0.3 a minute, and receiving texts is free.
• Registration: Hong Kong requires prepaid SIMs to be registered in the user’s name. CUniq accepts a foreign passport for online registration.
• Activation: CUniq’s terms say you can activate the Monthly SIM in Hong Kong or in one of its listed roaming areas, such as Macau, Japan, the US and the UK, but not in mainland China.

Until October 31, 2026, CUniq takes 10% to 20% off the first payment for new online customers with the code NEWSIM.

CUniq’s China data eSIMs are a different product. Its Chinese Mainland and Macau eSIM, for example, lists voice and SMS as not available.

3HK DIY Prepaid SIM

3HK sells its DIY Prepaid SIM as an eSIM or a SIM card, with a Hong Kong number, no contract and no admin fee. You add data passes for mainland China. These were 3HK’s prices on October 14, 2026:

Pass	Data	Price
24Hrs Pass - Greater China	500 MB in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, then 128 kbps	HK$10
30-Day Pass - Greater Bay Area	15 GB in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, then 128 kbps	HK$138
30-Day Pass - Greater Bay Area	30 GB in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, then 128 kbps	HK$198
365-Day Pass - Greater Bay Area	40 GB plus 5 GB of “Travel Social Data” in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau	HK$268

The 24-hour pass stays valid for 180 days and starts when you turn on mobile data or make a call. The 30-day and 365-day passes start as soon as you pay, if the SIM is already active.

• Registration: you must register the SIM in your real name. 3HK accepts visitors’ travel documents. It says an unregistered SIM can’t receive texts in Hong Kong or abroad, or use calls and data in Hong Kong.
• Calls and texts in mainland China: answering a call costs HK$8 a minute, local calls HK$6 a minute and calls to Hong Kong HK$8 a minute. 3HK lists travel SMS at HK$3.50 each.

Our pages on CUniq in China and 3HK in China cover their other China plans and whether blocked apps work on them. For trips to both places, see eSIMs for China and Hong Kong.

Saily: an eSIM with a US phone number

Saily sells a US (+1) number that you use through the Saily app alongside its eSIM data plans, and its China page says calls and texts work in China with it. The number costs US$1.99 a month and needs an identity check in the app after you buy it. Calls and texts need a separate plan, from US$0.99, and call minutes count both incoming and outgoing calls. Saily’s China data plans start at US$4.49. Its China page also says access to the Saily app may be limited in China, and tells you to set up the eSIM before you travel. More on Saily in China.

China eSIM with a +86 phone number

A Chinese (+86) eSIM works only on some phone models, and iPhones bought outside mainland China can’t install one. With those phones, a +86 number comes on a physical SIM card bought in mainland China.

• eSIM: Apple lists the iPhone models that support eSIM in mainland China by model number, such as the iPhone Air model A3518. It says other iPhones, including those bought outside mainland China, can’t install an eSIM from a mainland carrier. China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom support eSIM on the listed models. You activate it in the carrier’s store after an ID check, with a government ID or passport.
• Other phones: China’s tourism ministry says several models, including the iPhone Air, support local eSIM activation, and other models need an international eSIM.
• SIM card: the ministry says visitors can buy one with a passport or a Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card at China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom stores. Many international airports have counters, including Beijing Capital, Shanghai Pudong and Guangzhou Baiyun.

China Mobile’s Beijing branch lists these Smart Card (灵动卡) plans for passport holders, for use from November 2025 to December 2026:

Plan	Data in China	Calls in China	Texts in China	Price
Smart Card 7-day	30 GB	100 minutes	10	100 yuan
Smart Card 10-day	35 GB	150 minutes	10	120 yuan
Smart Card 15-day	50 GB	200 minutes	10	150 yuan
Smart Card 30-day	80 GB	300 minutes	10	250 yuan

Beyond the plan, texts within China cost 0.1 yuan each. International roaming is off by default, and the plans don’t cover Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan. Our guide to a Chinese phone number for foreigners covers where to buy a SIM card and which apps need a +86 number.

Mainland numbers on Hong Kong SIMs

Hong Kong carriers add mainland (+86) numbers to Hong Kong SIMs, but CUniq registers them only with Chinese travel permits or ID, not a foreign passport, and 3HK sells them only to its postpaid customers.

• CUniq: a mainland number costs HK$10 a month on designated monthly plans and the CUniq Monthly SIM. CUniq accepts three documents for its registration: the Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents, the PRC Resident Identity Card and the Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents. Each ID can register up to five China Unicom mainland numbers.
• 3HK: its Chinese Mainland & HK 1-Card-2-Number service adds a China Unicom number for HK$28 a month. It is only for customers who have used 3HK postpaid service for two years or more, and you must show your original Hong Kong Identity Card and Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macau Residents. Receiving texts on either number is free. 3HK’s Chinese Mainland Number Service, at HK$19 a month, is also only for 3HK postpaid customers.
• China Mobile Hong Kong (CMHK): its terms say a mainland number depends on real-name registration that the mainland authorities approve. We could not open CMHK’s service pages, so its price and the IDs it accepts are not confirmed.

China eSIM with phone number and SMS

A China eSIM can receive SMS only if it comes with a phone number. Data-only eSIMs, such as Holafly’s, have no number to receive texts on.

• CUniq Monthly SIM: receiving texts is free in Hong Kong, mainland China and other areas.
• 3HK DIY Prepaid SIM: register it first, because 3HK says an unregistered SIM can’t receive texts in Hong Kong or abroad. 3HK lists travel SMS at HK$3.50 each.
• Saily: SMS works in China with a Saily number and a text plan, Saily says.
• Chinese SIM card: China Mobile’s Smart Card includes 10 texts within China.

Verification codes are a separate problem. China’s tourism ministry says public Wi-Fi usually sends its login code to a Chinese SIM card, and foreign SIM cards can’t receive it. Our guide to China airport Wi-Fi covers other ways to log in, and the Chinese phone number guide lists which apps accept foreign numbers.

China eSIM with phone number and VPN

On a Chinese SIM card with a +86 number, blocked apps need a VPN. China’s tourism ministry says Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are not directly accessible in China and need a VPN. It advises installing one before you arrive.

Hong Kong eSIMs are less clear:

• 3HK: its Chinese Mainland & Macau 3-Day Pass page says no VPN is needed to use WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, as in Hong Kong. Only 3HK postpaid customers can buy that pass.
• CUniq: the Monthly SIM page doesn’t say whether blocked apps work.

Our 3HK and CUniq pages collect the reports on their routing, and eSIM or VPN for China compares the two approaches.

China eSIM with phone number for free

None of the options on this page is free: each charges for the number, the data or both. Websites that hand out free +86 numbers for verification codes match what China’s Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law bans in Article 14: platforms that receive and provide SMS or voice verification codes in bulk. The law tells carriers and internet companies to detect and block these platforms and report them to the police.

Receiving texts is free on some plans. CUniq’s Monthly SIM and 3HK’s mainland number service don’t charge for incoming SMS.

Virtual Chinese phone numbers: why they break the rules

Rented +86 numbers and code-receiving websites are both banned under China’s Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law, in force since December 1, 2022:

• Renting or buying numbers. No one may buy, sell, rent out or lend phone cards, IoT cards, telecom lines, SMS ports or internet accounts, or help someone pass a real-name check (Article 31). Police confiscate any income and fine 1 to 10 times that amount, or up to 200,000 yuan if there was no income or it was under 20,000 yuan. Serious cases add up to 15 days’ detention (Article 44).
• Code-receiving platforms. Making, selling, providing or using platforms that receive and provide SMS or voice verification codes in bulk is banned (Article 14).
• Linked accounts. When the police or telecom regulators ask, internet companies must re-check accounts registered with phone cards tied to criminal cases or flagged for fraud. They can restrict, suspend or close those accounts and ban re-registration (Article 22).

Legal virtual numbers don’t give you a Chinese number to use in China:

• CTExcel, China Telecom’s mobile brand in the UK, sells a Chinese virtual secondary number for £3 a month. CTExcel says it works only in the UK and receives calls and texts from China. Your CTExcel SIM must have been active for more than 30 days, and you upload a Chinese ID card or passport for the real-name check.
• Saily’s number is a US (+1) number, not a Chinese one, and needs an identity check in the Saily app.

China’s real-name rule for phone numbers

Every phone number in China must be registered to its user’s real identity. The rule comes from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s (MIIT) Provisions on the Registration of Real Identity Information of Telephone Users (Order No. 25), in force since September 1, 2013:

• Carriers must ask for a valid ID when you sign up for a mobile line, including a mobile data card, and record the details on it (Articles 3, 6 and 9).
• A foreign passport is one of the accepted IDs (Article 7).
• Carriers must refuse anyone who won’t show ID, uses someone else’s ID or uses a forged one (Article 10).

The Anti-Telecom and Online Fraud Law requires carriers to enforce real-name registration in full, and limits how many phone cards one person can hold (Articles 9 and 10). Hong Kong carriers apply the rule to the mainland numbers they sell. CUniq says the mainland authorities have the final say on each registration and that it can’t guarantee approval.

Hong Kong has its own rule for +852 numbers. Under the Telecommunications (Registration of SIM Cards) Regulation, prepaid SIMs used in Hong Kong must be registered from March 1, 2022.