How to Get a VPN in China, Before or After You Arrive

How to get a VPN for China travel

Buy, install and test your VPN at home, on every device you’ll take. Proton VPN calls setting up before you arrive “the single most effective measure you can take”: create an account, download the app, sign in and check that it connects. Astrill, another provider, wrote in April 2026 that VPN provider websites are blocked in China and VPN apps have been removed from local app stores, so downloading a new VPN once you’re inside the country is “extremely difficult”.

Before you fly:

• Install it on every device. Surfshark’s China guide, updated May 2026, says to cover your phone, laptop and tablet.
• Sign in and connect once at home, so you know your login and the app work.
• Keep the Android installer. ExpressVPN’s China page tells Android users to update from an APK file on its website, which is blocked in China.
• Save your provider’s China help page. Our guide to a VPN not working in China links each provider’s page.
• Have a backup. Airalo says its eSIMs with China coverage reach blocked sites on mobile data without a VPN. See eSIM or VPN for China?

To compare providers, see our VPN page. For this month’s reports on each VPN, see which VPN works in China now.

How to download a VPN in China on iPhone

Download it from the App Store before you fly, using an Apple Account from outside China. VPN apps are missing from China’s App Store: Surfshark says the Chinese government “has even gone as far as removing all VPN apps from China’s Apple Store”. Apple’s App Review Guidelines, updated October 16, 2026, say VPN apps must not break local laws, and that developers must give their license information for places that require a VPN license. For China’s rules, see is using a VPN legal in China? NordVPN’s help center says that if your Apple Account is registered in a country with VPN restrictions, you may not find its app.

If a VPN isn’t in your App Store, ExpressVPN and NordVPN publish guides to changing your App Store country or making a second Apple Account in another country. Apple’s own page on changing your Apple Account country or region, published October 5, 2026, says:

• Spend any remaining Apple Account balance first, and cancel subscriptions that block the change.
• If you’re in a Family Sharing group, you might not be able to change your country or region.
• You might need a valid payment method for the new country or region. If you don’t want to enter one, Apple says to wait until you’re physically in the new country before creating a new Apple Account.
• Some content might not be available in the new country, so redownload your apps on every device you’ll use.

Official guides: Change your Apple Account country or region (Apple), How to change your iOS App Store’s location (ExpressVPN) and Creating an Apple ID to download the NordVPN iOS app (NordVPN).

If you’re already in China, Reddit users said in an August 2026 r/chinalife thread that traveling to China doesn’t change your App Store region, so the VPN apps in your home store should still download. Downloading isn’t the same as connecting, though. NordVPN says its iPhone app is fully blocked in China and gives a manual setup instead, which our NordVPN manual setup guide covers. ExpressVPN says that to update its iPhone app, you have to sign in to the Apple Account you first downloaded it with.

How to download a VPN in China on Android

Install the VPN before you fly and save the provider’s APK installer from its own website, because Google Play may not work in China. Proton VPN wrote in 2020, when it put its Android app on GitHub, that China often blocks the Google Play Store. Google’s list of Google Play locations, published September 28, 2026, says users in China can’t buy apps or subscriptions on Google Play.

Most providers offer their Android app outside Google Play:

VPN	Android app without Google Play
ExpressVPN	APK on its Android setup page. ExpressVPN advises against APKs from third-party sources.
NordVPN	APK on nordvpn.com. NordVPN says its Android app is fully blocked in China and gives a manual setup instead.
Surfshark	APK on surfshark.com. The Google Play version sends you to the Play Store to sign in; the APK doesn’t need Google Play.
Proton VPN	APK on GitHub, where the newest release is from October 14, 2026, and in the F-Droid app store.
Mullvad	APK on its website, GitHub or F-Droid. Mullvad says a GitHub APK has to be updated by hand.
Astrill	No plans on Google Play. Astrill sells plans on its own website, and its apps are on its download page.

If you move Surfshark from the Google Play version to the APK, Surfshark says to uninstall the Google Play version first. GreatFire Analyzer, checked on October 19, 2026, rates access to github.com from mainland China as unreliable, so download GitHub files before you go.

Only take an APK from the provider’s own site or the stores it names. Surfshark warns that third-party sites offer “modded” or “cracked” copies of popular apps, which can turn a privacy tool into a security risk.

How to download a VPN in China on a laptop

Download the Windows or Mac app from the provider’s website before you go, because those websites are blocked in mainland China. GreatFire Analyzer lists the websites of ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, Proton VPN and Mullvad as blocked in tests on October 18, 2026. ExpressVPN’s download guide, updated September 3, 2026, puts its Windows, Mac and Linux apps in your account dashboard and at expressvpn.com/latest. Mullvad also posts its Windows and Mac installers on GitHub.

In an r/chinatravel thread started October 9, 2026, an exchange student in China whose university VPN wouldn’t connect wrote that the Microsoft Store showed no VPNs. A laptop can use a phone’s roaming eSIM data through the phone’s hotspot, which Airalo says works if your device and the network support it. Our hotel Wi-Fi guide lists other eSIMs’ hotspot rules. For a university or work VPN like the student’s, see our corporate VPN guide.

How to get a VPN when already in China

Sources describe two routes, neither certain: a roaming eSIM, or a provider’s mirror site or other official download address. Both are harder than setting up at home.

A roaming eSIM

A roaming eSIM that routes data outside mainland China gets your phone past the firewall without a VPN. Airalo says its eSIMs with China coverage do this, so blocked sites open on the eSIM’s mobile data, though not over hotel Wi-Fi.

In an r/chinalife thread started August 26, 2026, a poster whose sister was in China without an eSIM or a VPN asked for help. One reply said Trip.com works in China because it’s a Chinese company, and suggested buying an eSIM there. The poster later wrote that it worked. Our Trip.com eSIM page covers how its China listings route data. If you only need your phone, the eSIM may be enough on its own: see eSIM or VPN for China?

In an r/travelchina thread from March 2026 about an Android tablet with no VPN, replies suggested sharing the phone’s eSIM data with the tablet through the phone’s hotspot. One reply said setting up a VPN is harder once you’re there, especially on Android.

Providers’ mirror sites

Some providers publish other addresses for people who can’t open their main website:

• Astrill. Its FAQ gives astrill-mirror.com and a Tor (.onion) address. GreatFire Analyzer lists both www.astrill.com and astrill-mirror.com as blocked in tests from October 2026.
• Surfshark. Its China help page, updated October 2, 2026, links its WireGuard setup guides on a separate domain, shark-china.com. GreatFire Analyzer last tested shark-china.com on April 12, 2026, when it was reachable from mainland China.
• Mullvad. Its guide for restrictive locations, updated April 22, 2026, says you can create an account through its onion address in Tor Browser and download its apps from GitHub.
• Proton VPN. Its Android app is on GitHub. Proton said in 2020 that China rarely blocks GitHub, but GreatFire Analyzer now rates GitHub access from mainland China as unreliable.
• ExpressVPN and NordVPN. The help pages we read list no China mirror. Not confirmed.

Whether the onion addresses open from China is not confirmed. Surfshark’s China guide also says that if you can’t open your provider’s website, you can email the provider and ask for its manual configuration and a guide.

Users in the Reddit threads above also suggest small VPN apps and paid proxy services, which they call “airports”. We haven’t looked into them and don’t list them here.

How to download Astrill VPN in China

Download Astrill before you fly: GreatFire Analyzer lists both its website and its official mirror as blocked in mainland China in tests from October 2026. Astrill’s FAQ gives astrill-mirror.com and a Tor address for people who can’t open Astrill’s main site. Astrill doesn’t sell plans on Google Play; you buy on its website, and its apps are on its download page. A plan bought through Apple’s App Store works only on iOS, Astrill says. Its April 2026 travel advice is to install, configure and test the VPN before you land. Official page: FAQ. More on our Astrill page.

How to download ExpressVPN in China

Download ExpressVPN before you go: GreatFire Analyzer lists its website as blocked in mainland China in a test on October 18, 2026, and the ExpressVPN help pages we read list no China mirror. Its download guide, updated September 3, 2026, gives these routes:

• Windows, Mac and Linux: from your account dashboard, or from expressvpn.com/latest.
• Android: Google Play or the Galaxy Store, or the APK if you can’t reach them.
• iPhone: the App Store. If ExpressVPN isn’t listed, ExpressVPN says to change your App Store’s location to a country where it’s available.

ExpressVPN’s China page, dated February 4, 2026, says keeping the app up to date is critical to connecting in China, and links an APK installer for updating on Android. Official pages: How to download and install the ExpressVPN app and Connecting to ExpressVPN in China. More on our ExpressVPN page.

How to get a free VPN in China

One option is Proton VPN’s free plan, though whether it connects in China is not confirmed. Its free-plan page says the Stealth protocol, the anti-censorship option its China guide recommends, is available to all users. For this month’s Proton VPN reports, see which VPN works in China now.

Other free VPNs are a poor bet. Surfshark, which sells a paid VPN, says free VPNs are unlikely to work in China unless they’re approved by the Chinese government, and that approved ones won’t give you privacy or open blocked news sites and social media. For the rules on unapproved VPNs, read is using a VPN legal in China?

Free VPN apps also carry documented risks:

• Weak security. A 2017 study of 283 Android VPN apps on Google Play, by researchers at CSIRO, ICSI, UC Berkeley and the University of New South Wales, found that many free VPN apps weren’t secure. Most leaked traffic, nearly one in five used no encryption at all, and some injected code into web pages for tracking and advertising.
• Hidden owners. The Tech Transparency Project reported in 2025 that more than 20 of the top 100 free VPN apps in Apple’s US App Store in 2024 showed evidence of Chinese ownership. It said Chinese companies can be forced to share user data with the Chinese government.

How to get a VPN router in China

Set up a router that runs your VPN provider’s router software before you travel. Astrill’s FAQ says it sells routers with Astrill pre-installed and ships them to every country, but its router page, checked October 19, 2026, lists no routers for sale. That page describes installing Astrill’s router applet on your own router, which must run ASUS Merlin or DD-WRT firmware, and says only the OpenVPN and RouterPro protocols work on it. Astrill’s protocols page says OpenVPN “is often blocked in China”. Whether RouterPro works there is not confirmed.

ExpressVPN’s China page lists its own router, Aircove, and links a beta version of its AircoveOS software among its steps for connecting from China.

Reddit reports on routers are mixed. In an r/chinalife thread started October 14, 2026, a long-term resident asked about running Astrill on a router. One reply said they had tried it a few times and that it will never be stable, and suggested installing the VPN on each device instead. In an r/chinalife thread started October 11, 2026, another user said Astrill works poorly on phones but well on a router.

How to get a VPN in China: what Reddit users say

These 2026 Reddit threads include first-hand reports from people who arrived without a VPN. Each comment is one person on one network, so treat them as hints, not tests.

• How to vpn windows when already in china (r/chinatravel, started October 9): an exchange student whose university VPN wouldn’t connect found no VPNs in the Microsoft Store.
• How to download a VPN within China? My sister is stuck (r/chinalife, started August 26): buying a Trip.com eSIM worked. Another reply suggested turning on roaming on the home SIM.
• Already in China. Have a android pad. No vpn. Is it useless? (r/travelchina, started March 10): replies suggested sharing the phone’s eSIM data through its hotspot.
• Buy a CPE router or a regular router that supports Astrill? (r/chinalife, started October 14): one reply said a router setup will never be stable.