How Foreign Visitors Can Get a SIM Card or eSIM in China
A travel eSIM provides data on arrival, while a local physical SIM also provides a Chinese mobile number. Whether you need local SMS verification codes is the most important factor when choosing between them.
Mobile Data or a Chinese Phone Number
For a short trip when you only need maps, translation, payments and contact with family, international roaming or a travel eSIM will usually get your phone online faster after arrival. If you need to register for local services, receive Chinese text messages, contact delivery riders and drivers, or stay in China longer, a local physical SIM is more suitable. Most travel eSIMs provide data only: they do not give you a Chinese mobile number and cannot replace your original number for receiving bank verification codes.
Data only and a short stay: international roaming or a travel eSIM.
A Chinese number and local text messages: get a physical SIM at a mobile operator's service center.
Only one physical card slot: check whether the phone supports eSIM and dual-SIM standby.
Need to keep receiving texts from an overseas bank: do not deactivate the original number, and enable international roaming in advance.
Long-term residence: compare plan, renewal, suspension and cancellation rules, not only the first month's price.
Official Eligibility for a Local SIM
The 2025 Guide to Working and Living in China for Foreign Businesspeople, issued by the Ministry of Commerce and other authorities, states that foreign nationals may take a passport or Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card to a service center of a telecommunications operator such as China Telecom, China Mobile or China Unicom to apply for a SIM card and activate mobile service. Plans usually combine calls and data; the operator and local outlet provide the specific terms.
This official guidance does not guarantee that every small authorized dealer can process a foreign passport, nor does it mean that plans sold at airports, directly operated branches and online are identical. Prefer a directly operated service center with clear operator branding. If you arrive late or are going to a smaller city, check its opening hours and whether it accepts foreign identity documents.
Check Your Phone and Accounts Before Departure
Confirm that the phone is carrier-unlocked and supports the 4G/5G bands commonly used in China.
In the system settings, check whether it supports eSIM and dual SIM, and choose which line will handle data and text messages.
Back up contacts and two-factor authentication methods from the old SIM in a secure place.
Note the roaming charges for the original number and make sure it can receive necessary verification codes in China.
Download the official app of the operator or eSIM provider and sign in before departure.
Prepare your original passport and a usable payment method; do not bring only a photograph of the passport when applying for a local SIM.
How to Install a Travel eSIM
Before buying, check the coverage area, validity period, total data, any speed cap, hotspot support and when the validity period starts. Many products activate upon installation or their first network connection, but the rules vary. It is best to install the eSIM over a stable connection before departure, while leaving data roaming and line switching until after arrival. A QR code may not work for a second installation once used, so save the order details and a way to reach human support.
Add a new eSIM on the phone, then scan the QR code or use the activation code as instructed by the provider.
Name the lines so that you do not confuse the original SIM with the travel eSIM.
Keep the original number for texts and calls, and set the travel eSIM as the mobile-data line.
Follow the product instructions on whether to enable data roaming for that line.
After arriving in China, turn automatic network selection off and back on, or restart the phone to complete initial registration.
Open an accessible webpage to test the connection, then check your maps, payment and messaging apps.
How to Get a Local SIM at a Service Center
Tell the staff how long you will stay, the main cities you will visit, how much data you use each month, and whether you need domestic calls or international text messages. After registering in your real name with your passport, confirm the number, plan price, included data, out-of-plan charges, top-up methods, contract term and cancellation conditions item by item. Do not accept bundled broadband, an additional SIM or long-term automatic renewal without understanding the plan.
Before leaving, confirm that the phone shows the operator's signal.
Test mobile data, outgoing calls, incoming texts and outgoing texts separately.
Ask the staff to write down your Chinese mobile number and the customer-service number.
Confirm how to check the balance, remaining data and plan expiry date.
Confirm how to suspend or cancel the service after leaving China and whether you must return to the original place of application.
When You Have a Signal but No Data or Verification Codes
Troubleshoot in this order: whether the correct data line is selected, whether mobile data and data roaming are enabled as required by the product, whether the plan has activated, whether the data allowance is exhausted, and whether the operator supplied the APN automatically. If Chinese websites open but a particular overseas service does not, mobile data itself may be working and the issue may be service accessibility; repeatedly changing the APN will not help.
If a verification code does not arrive, distinguish among a Chinese local text, a roaming text to your original number and a bank-app push notification. A travel eSIM without a Chinese number cannot receive texts sent to a local number. If a physical SIM receives ordinary texts but a particular app does not send a code, the app may reject that number, the account may be under risk controls, or the sender may have a problem. Keep the service-center receipt and contact the relevant service; do not buy an unverified number offered for receiving codes.
Coverage and Plans Vary by Area
The three operators have different coverage in cities, mountain areas, underground spaces and remote regions, and the phone's supported bands also affect the actual signal. Visitor plans from the same brand may differ between an airport, a directly operated city branch and an online channel. If your itinerary includes a long road trip, mountain areas or border regions, check coverage for the specific route; the words “nationwide data” do not guarantee a stable connection everywhere.
Official Basis and Verification Date
The basis for foreign nationals using a passport to obtain a SIM card at a telecommunications operator's service center is the 2025 working and living guide issued by the Ministry of Commerce and other authorities; this guide was verified through 2026-8-4. For specific plans, real-name registration steps, eSIM compatibility, network coverage and cancellation requirements, rely on the information published that day by China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and the selected travel eSIM provider, as well as the service center's written explanation.