Communicating

Telephone & Cell phone in China

1. Most cell phone bought in foreign countries can’t be used in China; some high-end phones are compatible with China SIM card, just confirm with your phone providers. You can buy or rent a cell phone with a SIM card in China;

2. A SIM card can be arranged with a copy of your ID card at any of the cell phone shops in China; and you need to install around RMB 50-100 in the card first. China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom are the three SIM card providers in China. Below are the service number of them:
China Mobile: 10086 (24 hours service)
China Unicom: 10010 (24 hours service)
China Telecom: 10000 ( 24 hours service)

3. With a compatible cell phone and Chinese SIM card, you can use it all around China; but if you want to call internationally, you need to activate the service with your ID card presented, with installments of around RMB 1,000.

4. The rate of the call varies, but normally, local call is about 0.25CNY per minute; the long distance call is about 0.3 CNY per minute; while the international call is up to 2-3 CNY per minute or higher.

5. There are many public telephones along the road, in hotels or at railway stations. Some may require you buy an IC card first, buy the card at the newsstand or post office, then insert the phone booth, and you can make calls directly. While there are many newsstand or shops have telephone, you can pay by cash.

How to Make Phone Calls

Calling Chinese Numbers from Abroad
1. Call a telephone Number
Dial and exit number of your country + 86(country code of China) + Area code + fixed number

2. Call a cell phone
Dial and exit number of your country + 86(country code of China) + cell phone number

Calling within China
Call a fixed number or mobile phone by telephone: Fixed Number: 0 + area code or city code + fixed telephone number, for example, the city code of Guilin is 773, phone number is 1234567, so you need to call 0773 + 1234567
Telephone: Cell phone: 0 + mobile phone number

Call a fixed number or mobile phone from cell phone
Fixed number: 0 + area code of the city you are going to call + fixed telephone number
Mobile phone: Dial the cell phone number directly

Internet

1. If you want to bring your laptop when travel to China, don’t worry about the internet access; 3 star hotels or above provide internet service through a network interface

2. Or you can go to the business center where the internet, fax or printing services are provided.

3. If you plan to rent a room or apartment in China, you can use the Broadband access service is provided by China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile.

4. If you don’t have a computer when in China, just go to some internet cafes, Where you see the Chinese character “网吧 (wangba)”, the fee is around 2-8 CNY per hour.