How to use a VPN in China in 2023
It’s available 24/7 and will help you with issues like this. Or you can, as an alternative, try to use ExpressVPN in China instead. I recently talked about it and mentioned that it’s the most reliable VPN to use in this country, making it a great alternative in case you can’t make this one work for whatever reason.
Does NordVPN Work in China? Let’s Find Out Together!
A free and open internet is something we, in Europe and the US, have and take for granted. When talking about China, this country is known for harsh censorship, with the authorities blocking thousands of websites each day, preventing its residents from using even the most popular ones.
The only solution, so far, is to use a reliable VPN for China but in 2023, finding the one that REALLY works is extremely hard. The Great Firewall of China is updated pretty much daily and its ability to detect VPNs is growing increasingly stronger. But one question remains – does NordVPN work in China?
NordVPN is among the most reliable services in 2023, so it’s interesting to see whether or not this tech giant can bypass the Great Firewall. I’ll tell you that it works, albeit, you need to know a few things about it before using it in China.
Why Should You Use NordVPN in China?
People who live outside of China, Iran, Belarus, Russia, and other censored countries have no idea what it’s like to have the internet controlled entirely by the government. The Chinese authorities block thousands of websites and in 2023, that number is surely going to grow exponentially.
The problem lies in the fact that we’re talking about very popular social media sites and Google services. Thus, you can’t access Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Gmail, Viber, Skype, and other popular apps and VoIP services in China.
Moreover, the country is known for extreme government surveillance and espionage. An example of that would be their Skype TOM app which serves as a substitute for “classic” Skype, through which the authorities can spy on your conversations.
This means the authorities can not only read your text messages but also spy on your video and audio calls, completely ruining your privacy. Freedom of speech is also degraded here, and criticizing the authorities can lead to some serious consequences.
With all of that in mind, it’s easy to see why people are interested in using NordVPN in China. Is NordVPN working in China in 2023? The good news is that it does and it can easily fix all of the problems I just mentioned.
First of all, NordVPN will encrypt your connection and change your original IP address. This will allow you to go online anonymously without the ability to be tracked and spied on. In China, this is essential for avoiding government surveillance and circumventing censorship.
Another thing is that NordVPN is very capable of unblocking restricted sites. It’ll allow you to access platforms like Netflix and BBC iPlayer in China, as well as a lot of social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. It is also one of the best VPNs to unblock ChatGPT.
Thanks to its bank-grade encryption, a kill switch, and a no-logging policy, you can be sure your privacy will never be jeopardized even in a country like this. In fact, I recently did a security analysis where I discussed the safety and security of NordVPN, so please check it out for all the relevant details.
Obfuscated Servers in NordVPN: What You Should Know About Them
As said, NordVPN works in China but before you use it, you need to know more about the way it works.
China’s Great Firewall is known for blocking VPN connections among other sites and platforms. It easily detects that a connection is coming from a VPN server, and immediately blocks the user.
To counteract this effect, NordVPN knows that it must hide the fact that you’re using a VPN and make your connection look like a “normal” connection and not like it’s coming from a VPN server. For this to work, the provider introduced obfuscated servers.
Obfuscated servers are a MUST if you’re in China. These servers utilize OpenVPN TCP for this purpose and connecting to them will mask the fact that you’re using a VPN, allowing you to slide under the radar of the Great Firewall.
Obfuscated servers are a standard feature of NordVPN and in the following guide, I’ll show you how to activate and use them for bypassing censorship. For now, it’s vital to know that, if you want to make NordVPN work in China, you must use obfuscated servers.
These servers will also help you bypass many other firewall restrictions so that you can use the VPN in your school, workplace, or any other environment with limited internet access.
How to Use NordVPN in China
If you’re still wondering if NordVPN is working in China, by now, you should know that the answer is positive. However, let’s see how to use its service in China and enable obfuscated servers that will let you bypass the Great Firewall swiftly.
1. Subscribe to NordVPN and Set It Up
NordVPN isn’t a free VPN, so to use it, you’ll have to subscribe to it. I recommend taking advantage of its big discount on the 2-year plan, which is also its cheapest deal. You can get it using the button below. Click on it and follow the steps to subscribe to the service.
Beware that the provider offers a 30-day refund policy as well, and it comes with no specific conditions. As a result, you can always get a refund if you’re not satisfied as long as you request it in the first 30 days of your purchase.
If you’re planning to travel to China soon, make sure you subscribe to NordVPN before you arrive. Otherwise, China blocks even VPN sites, so it’s not guaranteed that you’ll be able to visit NordVPN’s site and subscribe there.
Once the subscription process is complete, it’s time to set up NordVPN. Simply download its apps to your devices and sign in to all of them. The provider gives you 6 simultaneous connections per subscription, so you can protect plenty of devices at the same time.
NordVPN’s app on Windows looks like this after you sign in, and it looks almost the same on iOS, Android, and macOS, with the exception of Linux where it doesn’t have a GUI.
2. Open NordVPN and Enable the Kill Switch
Once you open the app, you first need to make sure the VPN kill switch is enabled. A kill switch will shut down your internet connection if you lose the VPN connection, ensuring you don’t leak your IP address and jeopardize your privacy.
If you want to use NordVPN in China, I STRONGLY recommend enabling it just to make sure you’re not detected by the authorities. Click on the Gear icon to open Settings. Now, select Kill Switch and set Internet Kill Switch to ON.
To make sure you’re 100% safe and secure, select the second option that prevents internet access even when you manually disconnect from a VPN.
3. Connect to an Obfuscated Server and Go Online
With everything set up, you’ll need to connect to one of the obfuscated servers to use NordVPN in China in 2023. Open the server list from the home screen and find obfuscated servers. By clicking once on this option, NordVPN will connect you to the fastest server.
However, if you want a server in a particular country, click on the three horizontal dots next to obfuscated servers and choose the country from the drop-down list. At the moment, the service offers obfuscated servers in 16 countries, so you have plenty to choose from.
Nevertheless, once NordVPN connects to an obfuscated server, you’ll see a small icon next to the server you’re using, as shown in the screenshot above. This “Incognito” icon implies that you’re using an obfuscated server.
So, is NordVPN working in China with this setup? Well, it’s up to you to try it now. Open your browser and try visiting a website that’s been blocked without using NordVPN. If you did everything well, it should work and you should be able to browse the web without issues.
NordVPN Not Working in China: How to Fix It?
Some users reported that NordVPN isn’t working in China and if you’ve ever used a VPN, you know that issues like these can arise. However, it’s not the end of the world, as there are a few variables that can influence the VPN connection that can be fixed easily.
If NordVPN isn’t working in China for you, you should first make sure you completed the steps we presented a minute ago. It’s vital to enable the kill switch and use obfuscated servers. Otherwise, the provider most likely won’t work since other servers aren’t optimized for this purpose.
If you can’t use obfuscated servers for some reason, make sure your protocol isn’t set strictly to NordLynx or OpenVPN UDP. Instead, set your protocol to “Auto (Recommended)” in Settings to let the service decide which protocol to use according to your location and other factors.
Furthermore, the issue can stem from your browser cache. Cookies and cache are stored in your browser and can be used to detect your real location, which can contradict your VPN connection which aims to help you get an IP from another country.
In case this is the issue, clear your browser cache and see if you can go online properly. Another method is to use a different browser, which might also work. If you still can’t use NordVPN in China, try connecting to another obfuscated server in the same or different country.
Or perhaps, use a recommended obfuscated server and let NordVPN decide on the best server to use in China. In many cases, this works without issues, and people can use the VPN normally. Did everything I mentioned fail? Well, feel free to contact its support through live chat.
It’s available 24/7 and will help you with issues like this. Or you can, as an alternative, try to use ExpressVPN in China instead. I recently talked about it and mentioned that it’s the most reliable VPN to use in this country, making it a great alternative in case you can’t make this one work for whatever reason.
Bottom Line
So, after all, does NordVPN work in China in 2023? Well, the answer is a loud and clear YES, as long as you know how to utilize its full potential. No doubt, obfuscated servers do an amazing job of bypassing the Great Firewall and letting you explore the internet even in a censored country like China.
In addition, NordVPN is known to work in many other censored countries, such as Russia, the UAE, and even Iran which also blocks VPN connections efficiently. NordVPN offers blazing-fast speeds, 5,400 worldwide servers, and a certified no-logging policy that guarantees your privacy.
All of this makes NordVPN one of the best VPNs in 2023 that you can get for a pretty affordable price. Yet, despite not being expensive, it still works in China and offers both streaming and torrenting capabilities, allowing for a varied online experience with no limits.
FAQ
Finishing off this guide, let’s address a few important questions related to the subject.
Can I subscribe to NordVPN in China?
Most likely no, as the Great Firewall blocks VPN sites as well. However, if you live in China and you’re not a tourist, there’s still a way to get VPNs. My recommendation is to travel to Hong Kong, an uncensored region of China that still has a good degree of online freedom.
VPNs work in this part, so when you’re there, you can freely visit NordVPN’s site, get a subscription, install it on your devices, and get back to the Mainland. Alternatively, you can visit some of the tourist hotels, connect to their network, and download NordVPN.
These hotels offer an uncensored WiFi network to accommodate tourists from all over the world. This will allow you to freely get NordVPN and enjoy it later on when you’re back home.
Is using NordVPN in China legal?
Yes, it is legal, despite all the VPN blocks in China. The authorities actually forbid VPNs mainly for corporations and companies, while individuals can use them freely. Some people reported that the police asked them to delete VPN apps from their phones during random police searches.
However, this is a rare practice and most likely won’t affect you. If it does, you won’t face any legal issues if you comply with the law and do what you’re told. So far, we don’t know of any users ending up in jail for using a VPN, although creating your own VPN and selling it is against the law.
Will NordVPN work in China if I’m not using obfuscated servers?
That isn’t guaranteed. Obfuscated servers are optimized for bypassing firewall restrictions, so they’ll work in at least 90% of the cases. Outside of obfuscated servers, NordVPN mainly uses its NordLynx protocol, which has no ability to bypass censorship efficiently.
As such, not using obfuscated servers will most likely result in being blocked and not being able to use NordVPN in China.
How to use a VPN in China in 2023
The Great Firewall of China restricts users from accessing the free and open internet. People can use a VPN (a virtual private network) to browse more freely, but few actually work in China, making the best VPN for China hard to find. However, if you plan to travel there, then NordVPN is a great choice. This post will cover why you should use VPNs in China, whether you can get in trouble for using one, and how to use them.
Jan 08, 2023
Время чтения: 10 мин.
- Why you need a VPN in China
- What is the Great Firewall of China?
- How does censorship work?
- Are VPNs legal in China?
- Will a free VPN work in China?
- How to use NordVPN while staying in China
- Why is my China VPN not working?
- The internet was meant to be free
Why you need a VPN in China
In China, the internet is controlled by the government. The Great Firewall regulates inbound and outbound Internet traffic between China and the rest of the world. Users are blocked from many popular websites and social networks, and some keywords are filtered from search engines.
You’ll need a reliable VPN for China to get unfettered internet access. It will help you access blocked content, communicate with loved ones in other countries, and protect your internet traffic from snoopers and government surveillance.
What is the Great Firewall of China?
This term is used to describe the legal and technological censorship tools used by the Chinese government to restrict internet access in the country. Officially, it is called the Golden Shield project. Since the government owns all internet service providers (ISPs), it can monitor and control what information people in China access online.
How does censorship work?
The government uses several different tactics to restrict users’ access to certain websites and online platforms. The most straightforward one is IP blocking. All Chinese ISPs block the IP addresses of undesirable websites. In addition to this, they use various DNS tampering methods. These include DNS poisoning and intentionally misconfigured DNS servers so that they return false IP addresses to the users.
The government also uses keyword filtering to track other online content, like search engines, forums, and messaging apps. They scan internet traffic for undesirable keywords and block users and websites that don’t adhere to the rules. Part of it is automatic, but a large internet police force also constantly monitors the internet, banning controversial content.
How to check if a website is blocked in China
The most popular webpages in the world, used by millions of users every day, are blocked by the government in China. These include sites like Wikipedia, and apps like Google Suite, and Instagram. As a result you may lose access to your favorite tools, your communications with friends and loved ones, and even certain global news sources. Using a trustworthy VPN in China is your best bet to avoid these blockages.
Here are some of the major sites and apps that are blocked in China.
- BBC
- CNN
- Facebook (and Messenger)
- Gmail
- Google Apps (e.g., Calendar, Docs, Hangouts, Maps, etc.)
- Wikipedia
- OneDrive
- Spotify
- Wall Street Journal
- New York Times
- YouTube
- Snapchat
- Twitch
- Slack
- ChatGPT
Are VPNs legal in China?
Yes, using a VPN is legal in China. Even though China has severe restrictions on VPN usage and blocks many VPN providers, consumers can legally use VPNs that still work in China.
Officially, the Chinese government has banned the use of VPNs not approved by the government: VPNs must provide the government backdoor access to be approved, which renders them unsecure.
However, this law applies to companies and corporations rather than individuals. Chinese citizens found creating or selling unapproved VPNs have received fines and prison sentences anywhere from three days to more than five years, but these are applied inconsistently.
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What about visitors who bring VPNs for China? Right now, it looks like you can use a VPN software while you’re visiting the country. However, that doesn’t mean you won’t run into any trouble if you have one. During random phone searches, the police may ask visitors to delete VPN apps on their phones. Some people entering the northwestern Xinjiang region have reported that authorities have installed surveillance apps on their phones.
In short, using a VPN in China is legal, but users should exercise a basic level of caution.
To learn more about VPN restrictions in various countries, check out this article about where VPNs are illegal.
Need a safe VPN for China?
Use NordVPN for security wherever you go.
Will a free VPN work in China?
VPN providers must use various technologies and encryption protocols to bypass the restrictions China has put into place. Free VPNs usually do not offer any of these features, and it’s highly unlikely they ever will. Their basic encryption methods and connection protocols are easy to detect and therefore are no match for the large forces of China’s internet police.
Another problem with free VPN providers is that they are unreliable. Their connections often drop, leaving you exposed online. The best VPNs include a kill-switch feature, that keeps you undetectable even if your connection drops. They usually don’t offer any customer support, so no one will help you if you face any issues. And even if you manage to establish a stable connection, your data won’t be safely encrypted, and the internet speed will be slow.
In short – you get what you pay for. The best VPNs for China require a subscription to a reputable paid service. Though there are free NordVPN alternatives, they probably won’t get the job done.
How to use NordVPN while staying in China
Not all VPNs can get through the Great Firewall of China, and NordVPN is no exception. Online censorship can change in an instant, but it’s always worth trying to use NordVPN through the app.
Luckily, NordVPN is extremely easy to use. If you’re currently in China, it can’t hurt to see if the app works anyway. Here’s how you do it:
- Choose a NordVPN subscription plan and create your account.
- Download and install our VPN app for your device.
- Connect to NordVPN.
NordVPN has more than 5,500 servers in 59 countries, so you can choose a server closest to your actual location to get the best speed. It provides top-notch encryption to protect users from online dangers and privacy issues. NordVPN is the recommended VPN of major tech experts across the globe and is a top pick for millions of people.
However, you might try to access NordVPN services and find that the app cannot be used. Luckily, there are other ways you can access NordVPN’s privacy protection, but they involve manually setting up the VPN connection.
Follow these guides to find out how you can continue to access NordVPN’s private servers.
If the app is available to use, you can also enable the Threat Protection feature, which blocks websites known for hosting malware and annoying ads.
NordVPN also has the Kill Switch feature, designed to block internet access if your VPN connection accidentally drops. This means that you’re not risking exposing yourself online and browsing unprotected.
NOTE: NordVPN also provides up to 6 simultaneous connections, meaning that you can easily secure multiple devices while in China. Connect your phone and laptop or protect your whole family.
Why is my China VPN not working?
The Chinese government works hard to prevent the usage of VPNs, so don’t be surprised if one day you won’t be able to connect to your favorite server. In China, VPN traffic can be detected by the Great Firewall, which will block the server you’re connected to. China’s firewall is like a living organism — always evolving and searching for new ways to restrict the free internet.
NordVPN is constantly working to circumvent restrictions in China and provide users with the best service. However, if you’re experiencing connectivity issues, here are a few quick tips that might help:
- Make sure the VPN protocol in the NordVPN app is set to NordLynx. Navigate to “Settings” and look for the VPN protocol. Then, select it and change it to NordLynx.
- If the problem persists, jump between servers. There’s a chance that a server you’ve been using was blocked, so you can try to find another one working in China.
The internet was meant to be free
We at NordVPN believe that private internet access, free of any surveillance or censorship, is important. If you’re traveling to China or know someone who lives there or is visiting, spread the news about NordVPN. Everyone deserves to have unrestricted and secure access to the internet, and this can only be achieved through a reliable VPN.
Access the sites you love while traveling in China
Stay safe with the world’s leading VPN
Daniel Markuson
Daniel — энтузиаст в области цифровой конфиденциальности и эксперт по интернет-безопасности. Как редактор блога в NordVPN, Daniel предоставляет большое количество новостей, историй и советов, помогающих людям сохранять свою конфиденциальность и безопасность.