China is a country with a specific attitude to its citizens’ online behaviour. If some countries are mostly democratic in their policy towards their citizens’ virtual lives, China being ruled by Communist Party has a different point of view concerning this issue. A lot of web resources are dangerous for the main principles of China’s ideology and, as a result, the Communist Party of China (aka CPC) has produced a set of projects and has adapted a number of legislation in order to prevent any kind of undesirable information leaks, in such a way building the Great Firewall of China.
Though Chinese censorship is very strict, the Internet users have found a way out from this complicated situation. The name of this solution is VPN which proves that whatever powerful GFW is, still it is not ideal. A reliable VPN service will provide you with the high level of privacy and security saving you from the state surveillance and its interference in your virtual life. A VPN provider usually covers your identity so that it’s almost impossible to trace you back. Besides, this service allows you access to the blocked websites and while performing all these functions do not slow down your Internet speed.
But note that for the meantime not every VPN service is suitable for China. Therefore it’s very important to find the one which will guarantee you a safe and fast Internet trip when staying in this oriental country. Here is the list of 5 best VPN for China.
Best VPN Services for China
1. Express VPN
Website: www.expressvpn.com
Review: www.best-vpn.net/expressvpn-review/
Express VPN is one of the best VPN services in the world, and it has shown some of the best results in getting through the Chinese firewall. It has the fastest speed that has been specially optimized for the Chinese network. Whereas many VPNs falter in the quality of service, Express does not. It has servers in more than 87 countries around the world, allowing access to more of the world’s Internet than most companies can offer. In China, it offers specialized “stealth” servers in Hong Kong to provide customers with the service of the highest level. These servers keep no logs, so that no one will know what websites you visit and what you do there, as they completely mask your internet presence from those who wish to see it. You are allowed three separate VPN connections at the same time, which is perfect for businessmen who use multiple devices, or travelers. All of the major operating systems are supported, as well as most major electronic devices, what means more accessibility for users (you can read more about this in our Express VPN review). If you try Express VPN and find that it does not work according to your specific needs and demands, you can use their 30 day money back guarantee to get your money back hassle-free.
2. Astrill VPN
Website: www.astrill.com
Although Astrill isn’t as powerful as Express VPN is, it is a good option for those who are temporary staying in China, or are citizens of this country. Astrill defeats ISP deep packet inspection and prevents geo-targeting and location identification. This VPN for China offers a wide range of protocols to choose from – OpenWeb, OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, Cisco IPSec, StealthVPN, SSTP and IKEv2. Besides, it has a VPN Leak Test available, passing which you can check the security of the service and the protection level of your Internet activity. Astrill is compatible with the most popular devices and operating systems, though it allows no more than 2 simultaneous connections.
Astrill has a server in Hong Kong and other 112 servers in 48 countries of the world. It also doesn’t keep any logs making the Internet trip of its users completely private and secure. Every customer has 7 days of a free trial and a whole week of money-back guarantee.
3. VyprVPN
Website: www.goldenfrog.com/vyprvpn
Review: www.best-vpn.net/vyprvpn-review/
VyprVPN has already caved out a unique place in customers’ mind due to its own servers and server network, which makes it one of the fastest VPN providers on the market today. This is important when dealing with the Chinese network especially. VyprVPN maintains over 700 servers in more than 50 different countries. These servers are powerful, and can handle even the most serious tasks the solution of which a user needs. It is easy to switch between servers, gaining better and smarter access. With the unlimited server switching feature you can switch between servers as often as you like. In order to mask your online identity completely, VyprVPN uses more than 200,000 different IP addresses, which are used to swap your IP address out, making your physical location and the ability to track you online impossible.
The revolutionary Chameleon technology is the perfect tool for VPN in China, where there are many attempts of breaking VPN’s ability to hide your IP. Chameleon is specifically designed to destroy any program which tries to block or throttle your VPN connection. Say “no” to any kinds of restrictions becoming a VyprVPN subscriber. In case you’ve got interested in this VPN for China, you can also look through our VyprVPN review and find out more useful information about it.
4. AirVPN
Website: airvpn.org
Air VPN is based in Italy, but offers service around the world, and caters to China as well. This VPN provider is one of the top VPN services for security and cutting through censorship and website blocking, which makes it especially appealing for the Chinese user. It keeps absolutely no logs of any of your wanderings on the Internet, so that the government cannot use any of it against you for your citizenship ranking. AirVPN will provide you a new IP address that cannot link back to you.
You will be also given access to the Diffie-Hellman key exchange, which will rekey the encryption every hour. You can also change the time of rekeying, depending on your own needs and desires. The encryption process is powered by AES 256 CBC data channel, 4096 bit RSA keys size, and HMAC SHA1 Control Channel. These protocols will ensure that your data is securely encrypted with no holes in protection. Even if there is a danger of any information leaks because if sudden connection drops, AirVPN has a Kill Switch to cope with this problem.
AirVPN has also got a server located in Hong Kong and it allows running VPN through Tor, what is really good from the security view-point. To further entice its customers, AirVPN offers no limit of speed or bandwidth, making all of your Internet business much more efficient.
5. Pure VPN
Website: www.purevpn.com
Review: www.best-vpn.net/purevpn-review/
Pure VPN is popular in many countries, and has built up a system which can withstand the brutal limitations that the Chinese government has been placing on its citizens. It can be easily downloaded online from any major operating system, and can be used on almost any well-known device. They also write their own coding, which means that they can fill any hole, limitation, or improvement quickly and effectively without having to worry about using a third party. When censorships or operating systems are upgraded, Pure VPN can quickly catch up to the new demands these changes will make on VPNs.
More than 500 Pure VPN servers are located in over 140 countries, and these aren’t the final figures as Pure VPN is expanding its server coverage all the time. Subscribers can use these servers to access the Internet and websites in any corner of the world, at the same time remaining in their own home country. This is important for those in China, who do not have the same access to the Internet. Such protocols as OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, IKEv2 and SSTP are used to secure the websites and you from invasion, tracking, and malware that may be lurking. Bandwidth as well as speed is also unlimited. You can learn more about Pure VPN features in our PureVPN review and decide whether this China VPN matches your needs or not.
What is so special about China VPN?
When looking for China VPN, it’s necessary to pay your attention to the characteristics which are important namely for this location with its peculiarities. Being a country with a strict censorship China doesn’t allow its citizens access to all the web sources they would like to use, and follows every their step, making the Internet trip completely non-private. A VPN service seems to be the only way out in this situation. But some VPN providers will just minimize the problems mentioned above while others will help you get rid of them. So in order to find a second type of VPN, always take into account the following issues.
A hefty security system
A reliable security is usually provided by the strong AES 256 data encryption, 4096 bit RSA keys size and HMAC SHA1 Control Channel. It’s also good to have “stealth” servers like Express VPN can offer or Chameleon technology of VyprVPN, because this will guarantee you a reliable shielding of your real IP from the peering eyes and breaking through the GFW. An option of a kill switch and own DNS servers can also come in handy in case of any unpredictable connection drops. In this case, VPN Leak Test is a nice option a VPN can offer.
No log policy
Any VPN for China should lead no log policy. A log is a small set of information, a leak of which can lead to the negative consequences. Therefore it’s always better to know that your VPN service doesn’t keep any logs and they are inaccessible for any third parties.
Server coverage
Watch out the locations of the servers a VPN can offer and their number. This especially concerns travelers. The more servers a provider has, the more blocked websites you can access to.