Internet access in China

I was just in China in Feb (Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai)

A few issues with internet
- no internet cafes
- only available in your hotel
- high cost upto $10 for only 30 mins
- dial up speed
- social networking sites blocked (Facebook)

I was staying in upscale 4 Star Hotels

In Shanghai everything was blocked (Hotmail, Wikipedia)

Has anyone else had internet issues in China?

No internet cafes? That's interesting - I assumed there would be plenty in those cities, but just heavily monitored.

I hope to be heading to China in a few months, with a laptop, and hope to be able to at least plug in to dial-up in what will surely be my luxurious flat/apartment. It seems the blocking problem can be handled in various ways with software.

I have a pen friend in northern China using a 163.com email account that I have no problems exchanging gmail based email with from outside the country.

I'm in Changchun (near Beijing) and the all e-mail accounts work fine (including gmail). Social networking sites are blocked, but there's ways to get through. There should be internet cafes everywhere... you just have to find them and they may not say it in English. Most cafes (if not all) have WIFI.

No internet?

You obviously were in the WRONG part of town my friend.

I live in another Chinese mega city. Internet cafes are even more common than McDonalds and KFC. Plus there are more free hot-spots (like Starbucks) than back home in Canada. Coffee culture has hit China and even McDonalds here offers free coffee refills AND free internet in the store!!!

1 dollar coffee with refills and free internet?!?!?!?! Nice!

As for blocked stuff......

I have lived here for 7 years. Not only is the internet more reliable, cheaper and WAY faster than I ever had back home, but the blocks are primarily on social networking sites like Facebook and Youtube. That said, I am an active youtube v-logger and use ANY website in China with the use of a VPN software called Skydur. I had to pay a little for it, but nothing at all is blocked and it even runs from a USB stick, so even net bars can be 100% unblocked.

If you can't find decent internet in Shanghai than some one tricked you and you are in a village somewhere.. :)

LOL I'm in Beijing where StarBucks is at every corner and they have free internet! (ice Coffee sux! lol )

I'm here 2 months and my laptop is on 247! so YES internet is very much accesable in CHINA! lol

Only if ur up a Tree of floating down a river or a 2 man town there will be no internet lol

Oh man, and I have just managed to give up the coffee...oh well.

Oh man, and I have just managed to give up the coffee...oh well.

thanks for info, i was with a tour group in china with a set 8 day itinerary so not so much time to wonder around and look for internet cafes, so reliant on hotel internet access.

we only had a problem in the shanghai hotel although people were saying in beijing/xian that they could only get into facebook thru their blackberry.

i guess it depends on where and when you are. we were shortly before the shanghai expo so maybe they were clamping down.

internet access, low pay, and cold schools were the reasons i passed on china for this year, although i really loved it there and would like to go there later

Now that makes more sense... The infamous "tour group" trip. Rest assured, if you are coming to live or teach you will see a MUCH different world than you see in any tour group. Can't stomach them myself....

Hey Anthony,

I've got a quick question for you... Seeing as how you've been in Shanghai for so long, I'm sure you'll have the answer or maybe you can direct me to someone who does.

I leave to Shanghai in about 2 weeks and I'm still debating whether or not I should bring my 1 year-old kitten with me. I plan to get an apartment to myself so she'd be great to have around, but I'm wondering if most apartments allow pets and whether or nor the heat indoors may be too much for her? Also, I'd like to know if they sell similar pet food products there such as Iams or Pedigree.

Please get back to me when you have a chance. Thanks!