I’ve been going back and forth between the Philippines and mainland China for the past few years. NordVPN is what I’m currently using โ $14.99/month, three months in. Here’s what led me there.
What happened with LetsVPN
LetsVPN built its whole brand on one thing: “ๆฐธ่ฟ่ฝ่ฟไธ็VPN” โ a VPN that always works. That was the homepage headline.
Then in early 2026 it went down. Not for a day or two. Close to two months. Their own statement said the technical team was trying to fix it around the clock and couldn’t. Service came back briefly, then the CEO announced they were exiting the China market.
The official reason: sustained firewall pressure that made reliable operation impossible. They refunded users and shut down.
A lot of people had their entire China internet setup built around LetsVPN โ and when it stopped working, they had nothing. No backup. Already in the country, where getting a replacement sorted is a lot harder than doing it from home.
What VPNs in China actually look like
No VPN guarantees 100% uptime in China. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
Before NordVPN, I went through a stretch of using smaller, cheaper options. Some worked fine for a while. Then one evening in Chengdu โ I was trying to send some files to a client, nothing urgent but it needed to go out โ suddenly nothing connected. Switch servers. Nothing. Try a different protocol. Timeout. Timeout. Timeout.
The screenshot above is from one of those sessions. Every node showing timeout. Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, the lot. I gave up around midnight and sent an apologetic voice note instead.
With smaller VPNs, the problem isn’t that they never work. It’s that they drop without warning and you have no idea when they’re coming back. Or if they are.
LetsVPN was exactly this, just at a scale where it made the news.
Install your VPN before you enter China. Once you’re in the country, downloading VPN apps from the App Store or Google Play is unreliable โ some are blocked outright, some download but won’t connect. Do it at home or at the departure airport. Don’t leave it until you’re on the other side.
More on why VPNs are necessary in the first place: Do you need a VPN in China?
VPN comparison for China travelers
Three names come up consistently: NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Astrill.
| NordVPN | ExpressVPN | Astrill VPN | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $14.99 | $15.99 | $30 |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days | 30 days | โ |
| Payment methods | Credit/debit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, crypto | Credit/debit card, PayPal, Bitcoin | Credit/debit card, PayPal, crypto |
| China reliability | Good โ consistent in my testing | Generally reliable | Strong reputation among long-term China residents |
| Best for | Short-term visitors, travelers | Travelers | Long-term residents, power users |
NordVPN is the one I’ve tested personally, for three months, in mainland China. It’s the only one I can actually vouch for.
ExpressVPN has a decent reputation and comes up a lot on travel forums. I haven’t used it in China for any extended stretch, so I’ll leave it at that.
Astrill is twice the price and then some. People who live in China long-term and need something that holds through crackdown periods swear by it. For a two-week visit, hard to justify.
For most travelers โ a week, a month, doesn’t matter โ NordVPN covers what you actually need. Google, Gmail, Instagram, WhatsApp, your bank, international news.
Why I switched to NordVPN
I go back and forth between the Philippines and mainland China fairly often. A month here, a month there. A working VPN isn’t optional for me โ it’s how I keep work moving.
LetsVPN was my setup for a while. Simple, did the job. When it went down in early 2026, I started looking properly for the first time. NordVPN kept coming up in recommendations โ Reddit, a few forums I follow โ so I picked up a monthly plan at $14.99 and started testing.
Three months later, it’s been stable. Different cities, different networks, hotel Wi-Fi, China Mobile data. The Hong Kong server is where I usually land โ it’s consistently the lowest latency for me, which makes sense geographically. I’m in Guangzhou a lot.
The screenshot is my current setup: Hong Kong node, showing secure, active. Not glamorous. Just working.
Speeds drop sometimes, usually evenings. I’ve had to reconnect maybe five or six times over three months. That’s manageable. The smaller options I was using before would just go black โ no warning, no reconnect, nothing.
How to get NordVPN before you travel
You don’t need a Chinese phone number, Chinese bank card, or Chinese App Store account. None of that.
Payment works with: credit or debit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or crypto via CoinGate.
Steps:
- Go to NordVPN โ Basic plan is fine for most travelers
- Pay and complete the purchase
- Activate your Nord Account when prompted
- Download the app on your phone and laptop
- Connect once before you fly, just to confirm it works
Activation is four steps: Complete purchase โ Activate account โ Download apps โ Install and set up. Maybe five minutes.
For a short trip, the monthly plan at $14.99 is the most flexible. 30-day money-back guarantee if it doesn’t work out.
If you’re a student, teacher, healthcare worker, first responder, or military โ there’s a 15% discount on 1-year and 2-year plans, plus 3 extra months free on the 2-year option.
Which plan?
NordVPN has three tiers: Basic, Complete, Prime.
Basic is enough for traveling in China. VPN access, Google, Instagram, WhatsApp, email, banking. That’s it, that’s what you’re paying for.
Complete and Prime add identity monitoring, malware protection, ad blocking, a password manager, and 1TB cloud storage. Useful bundle if you’re living in China for a stretch. Overkill for a two-week trip.
Monthly: Basic $14.99 / Complete $19.99 / Prime $29.99. 30-day guarantee on all three.
Get a China eSIM to go with it
Your VPN needs an actual internet connection to do anything. Obvious, but people miss this.
Foreign SIM cards often get weak signal in China, or run on limited roaming. If the underlying connection is bad, the VPN fails and you spend twenty minutes assuming the VPN is the problem when it isn’t.
Get a China eSIM activated before you land. Data starts working immediately when you arrive โ no SIM swap, no phone shop at the airport, no waiting. VPN runs on top of that without issues.
For what to get: Best eSIM for China Travel
If you want a physical SIM option instead: China SIM Card Guide for Foreigners
Get both sorted before you fly. Either one alone and you’re one problem away from a bad evening.
A few questions people ask
Is NordVPN legal in China?
Gray area, technically. In practice, enforcement against foreign tourists is essentially nonexistent โ this is extremely common and nobody is getting pulled aside at immigration over it. Not legal advice, but that’s the reality.
Can I download it from inside China?
Don’t count on it. NordVPN’s site is blocked, App Store availability is inconsistent. Download before you get on the plane.
iPhone or Android?
Yes, both. iOS, Android, macOS, Windows โ all have dedicated apps.
What if it stops working mid-trip?
Switch servers first. Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan tend to hold up better from the mainland. If a bunch of servers fail at once, it’s usually a crackdown moment โ wait a few hours. There’s also an obfuscated server option in settings that helps when things tighten up.
Do I need one for a short trip?
Google, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube โ all blocked. If you want any of that, yes. More here.
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