GlobeQuest
Telecom🇨🇳 Beijing, China

Real-name SIM, broadband, and the internet you should plan around

Getting a SIM takes twenty minutes and a passport, and it should be the first thing you do, because the phone number is the key to the bank account, the payment apps and most of daily life. The harder half is that a substantial part of the Western internet is unreachable from an ordinary Chinese connection, and in Beijing — where many foreign residents work for institutions with international dependencies — this is a live operational question rather than an inconvenience. Ask what your employer provides before you accept the job.

Total cost
Mobile plans are inexpensive for large data allowances; home broadband is cheap and fast, often bundled. Corporate connectivity is normally an employer cost.
Time needed
SIM in under an hour. Broadband one to two weeks, faster if the flat already has a live line.
Validity
Prepaid numbers lapse after extended non-use, and losing the number means re-verifying everything attached to it. Keep it topped up through long absences.
Verified
August 2026
Medium confidence·Anyone living in Beijing. Telecoms is national, served by China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, all headquartered here. Real-name registration against your passport is compulsory.

Before you start

  • Passport, and usually a residence permit or valid visa
  • A Beijing address for broadband installation
  • An unlocked handset
  • A payment method for top-ups, easiest once Alipay or WeChat Pay is live

Step-by-step

  1. 1

    Buy the SIM in your first days

    Any China Mobile, Unicom or Telecom shop issues one against your passport under real-name registration, and prepaid data plans are inexpensive. Do this before the bank, before the flat viewing, before anything.

    In personWho: YouDay 1–2
  2. 2

    Register it to your passport, not your employer

    A number in the company's name takes your bank verification and payment wallets with it when you change jobs. One extra shop visit removes an entire class of exit problem.

    In personWho: You
  3. 3

    Sort out broadband via the building

    Chinese fibre is fast and cheap. Installation depends on what is already wired in and on landlord cooperation; taking over an existing line in the flat is much faster than a new install. Ask at the viewing.

    In personWho: You1–2 weeks
  4. 4

    Test your access to blocked services before you fly

    Decide how you will reach email, password manager, authenticator and banking, set it up while you still have open access, and test it. Larger employers here provide a corporate route for work systems — ask at offer stage rather than after arrival.

    OnlineWho: YouBefore departure
  5. 5

    Move two-factor authentication off a number you might lose

    If a home bank texts codes to your old number and it lapses, you can be locked out of your own money from another country. Keep the old SIM alive cheaply or move to an authenticator app.

    OnlineWho: YouBefore departure
  6. 6

    Install the apps that Beijing actually runs on

    WeChat for everything social and much that is official, Alipay for payments and city services, Amap or Baidu Maps for navigation, DiDi for taxis, Meituan and Ele.me for delivery. Google Maps is not usable in mainland China.

    Mobile appWho: YouWeek 1

Documents you’ll need

  • Passport
  • Residence permit or valid visa
  • Beijing address for broadband
  • Payment method for top-ups

Things most newcomers don’t know

The phone number, not the passport, is what most Chinese services actually check.

Real-name registration binds your Chinese number to your passport, and from there the number becomes the verification anchor for the bank, Alipay, WeChat Pay, hospital booking systems, delivery apps and often your compound's access control. Losing it means redoing the registration and then re-verifying every downstream service one by one. It is the single most load-bearing piece of infrastructure you will acquire here.

Source: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

In Beijing, connectivity is a negotiable part of the package.

Google, Gmail, Meta's services, WhatsApp, X and much Western news and productivity software are not reachable on an ordinary Chinese connection. Beijing has a large population of foreign researchers, journalists, diplomats and multinational staff whose work depends on exactly those systems, so employers here are used to being asked what they provide. Raise it at offer stage; it is a normal question and the answer varies enormously between an embassy, a university and a Chinese tech company.

Source: community-reported

WeChat is the address book, the payment rail and the official channel, all at once.

Government service accounts, your building management, your landlord, your colleagues, your children's school and most Chinese businesses all operate through WeChat. It is not a messaging app you can decline in favour of something else — declining it means being uncontactable by the people who need to reach you. Set it up before arrival if you can, since account verification sometimes needs an existing user to vouch for you.

Source: community-reported

Chinese mapping apps are not a preference — Google Maps genuinely does not work here.

China requires a mandatory coordinate offset on published mapping data, and Google's base data for the mainland is poor and misaligned. Amap and Baidu Maps are accurate, integrate with DiDi and the metro, and include real-time transit. Uber does not operate; DiDi does. Arriving with the assumption that your usual navigation stack will work is how people get lost on day one in a city this size.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Letting the employer register the SIM in the company's name.
  • Arriving without having tested access to your critical accounts.
  • Leaving two-factor authentication on a home number you then let lapse.
  • Signing a broadband contract without checking for an existing line in the flat.
  • Relying on Google Maps in a city where it does not work.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

Make it your personal checklist

Globe Quest turns this into a tracked, AI-personalized plan for Beijing — timed to your move date, with reminders so nothing slips. Free to start.

Sources

Last verified August 2026. Government processes change — always confirm critical details against the official source before acting.

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Work permit, residence permit, and registration in the city that checks
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Tax
IIT, the six-year rule, and the allowance election you make once a year
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