I was in China for a few months last year, and honestly, I didn’t expect the internet situation to be that strict. I knew about the Great Firewall, but even basic stuff like Google Maps or WhatsApp just refused to load. I remember sitting in a café in Chengdu trying to send a voice message, and it kept failing. Took me a few days to figure out a workaround. Has anyone else had this problem when traveling there? How did you manage to stay connected?
I didn’t go through that myself, but a friend of mine spent a summer there and said he had to plan everything ahead — like downloading maps and translation apps before even landing. Apparently, even booking a ride or looking up directions can get tricky if you don’t have access to the usual apps. Makes you realize how much we rely on them day to day.
Yeah, totally been there. I was teaching in Shanghai for a semester, and it was wild how many apps were blocked. I ended up finding some free VPNs that work in China they’re not perfect, but a few of them did the job when I needed to check Gmail or upload stuff for work. The connection speed really depends on the day, though. Sometimes it’s super smooth, other times you just give up and go offline for a while.
