Facebook and Gmail in Shanghai

[Ember]

Anyone know what the access is like at the Disney hotels in Shanghai?

 

[zanzibar138]

Those websites are blocked across the board in China. It doesn't matter where you're staying.

Having said that, I was able to get around it by using a VPN. I've been able to get onto a server in Hong Kong, so that's where the network thinks I am located and it will let me access anything available there. I also tried it to successfully access US Netflix by getting onto a server in Denver! It's all totally legit and has worked a treat. I used Express VPN, which were a little pricier than other services, but they got glowing reviews. There is a free service, but I was a little nervous to try it.

 

[Brian Noble]

Those websites are blocked across the board in China. It doesn't matter where you're staying.

Surprisingly, the hotel I stay at (Courtyard Marriott Xujaihui) had a property-wide VPN set up that tunneled us to Hong Kong earlier this month. However, my stay before that, last November, we had to use client-side VPNs.

Getting through the Great Firewall to blocked sites is something of a moving target. What works this week may or may not work next week. However, I too have had good luck with Express VPN. One nice thing about Express is that they have dozens of servers all over the world, and while some may be blocked others may be accessible.

 

[China Expat]

I use expess vpn on a daily basis in China

 

[lila]

I also recommend Express VPN when in China.

 

[AndyR]

If you use the Facebook app on your phone it's not blocked for some reason. I've been visiting Beijing for over 10years and never had an issue. The website is definitely blocked, but not the app. This is using a US iPhone with a AT&T Global Data plan, 3G, not WiFi.

 

[Feistygirl916]

What's VPN?

 

[Legendofthehawk]

What others have said. I liked PandaPow for our VPN, but there are a lot of other options that you can choose pretty cheaply. I want to say that ours was around 19.99 per month?

Facebook wasn't blocked for me on my phone anywhere in Asia either. We had both an Iphone and Samsung. Not sure if the same worked for gmail. I know we had T-mobile, data was still unlimited and we could make calls to the US as long as we used Wifi?

 

[Legendofthehawk]

What's VPN?

Virtual Private Network.

 

[Feistygirl916]

I'm sorry. I still don't really understand. Is this something that you rent? Have on your phone already?

We are going to Asia in the fall and think we are signing up for the AT&T passport thing for international calling/texting/browsing. Does this mean that I need something in addition to the passport package to get on Facebook?

 

[xmansmom]

We just got back from China and used Express VPN. I couldn't access fb on my phone without using it. They have a free 30 day trial. You have to enter a cc and remember to cancel it before you're charged.

 

[zanzibar138]

I'm sorry. I still don't really understand. Is this something that you rent? Have on your phone already?

We are going to Asia in the fall and think we are signing up for the AT&T passport thing for international calling/texting/browsing. Does this mean that I need something in addition to the passport package to get on Facebook?

Yes it does. It might help you to google Express VPN and have a read through their website.

 

[AndyR]

We just got back from China and used Express VPN. I couldn't access fb on my phone without using it. They have a free 30 day trial. You have to enter a cc and remember to cancel it before you're charged.

Were you using WiFi or 3G Data through a US based carrier's International Plan? You have to have an International Data Plan as well as a International Calling Plan for it to work.

 

[xmansmom]

Were you using WiFi or 3G Data through a US based carrier's International Plan? You have to have an International Data Plan as well as a International Calling Plan for it to work.

WiFi when it actually worked. Being on vacation, I wasn't overly concerned about fb but my family asked me to post pics. The best internet we had was when we stayed at the Toy Story Hotel.

 

[China Expat]

I second express vpn

 

[charmama4]

Can I use my Japanese VPN in China?

We just got back from China and used Express VPN. I couldn't access fb on my phone without using it. They have a free 30 day trial. You have to enter a cc and remember to cancel it before you're charged.

Did you sign up right before you left for China or When you got there?

 

[zanzibar138]

Can I use my Japanese VPN in China?

Did you sign up right before you left for China or When you got there?

I can't see why you wouldn't be able to use a Japanese one. The idea is that the internet think you're in a different country.

I signed up before I left. I wanted to set it all up and make sure it worked. Wouldn't surprise if VPN websites are also blocked in China though, so it's probably worth doing before you go.

 

[xmansmom]

Did you sign up right before you left for China or When you got there?

We signed up and set it up before we went. If you want to send and receive texts be sure to set up wechat or whatever app you use before you go. I downloaded wechat but didn't activate it. I needed to receive a code via text to in order to use it so I couldn't text. Lots of the airports and even some of the hotels required you to get a code via text in order to access the internet so be sure to set it up before you leave.

 

[dida]

you can use bVPN service, it is the best OpenVPN service for GFW of China https://www.bridgevpn.com/cn/smoketunnel/

 

[HalloweenNut]

I'm in China right now (currently going 307km/h on the high-speed bullet train from Xi'an to Shanghai!) and so far haven't been having any issues accessing Facebook on my iPhone. I'm using the app but the website seems to work for me too. I was very surprised to see I had access since I was sure it would be blocked. I'm using my Roam Like Home plan with Rogers from Canada rather than WiF so maybe that's it?

BTW we'll be going to Shanghai Disneyland this Friday for the day. So excited!