Best VPNs for Beijing

BeijingBeijing is the capital of China and one of the four municipalities in China. It is located north-east of Tianjin city on a plain near the mountains and surrounded by hills. The city has been an important political, cultural, and economic center for more than 2,000 years. It is the world’s second-most populous city, with a metro area of almost 25 million people. If you need to visit the city, you’ll find nearly everything you need to do online will be difficult unless you connect to a VPN. We’ll speak more about that after looking at our list of the best VPNs for Beijing.

RankVPN ServiceOur
Score
Server
Locations
Visit
1ExpressVPN9.8160ExpressVPN
2NordVPN9.487NordVPN
3Private Internet Access9.295PIA
4VyprVPN8.670VyprVPN
5PrivadoVPN8.658PrivadoVPN

Why You Need a VPN for Beijing

While this may seem obvious, censorship is vast in the country. In the early 2000s, the Chinese Ministry of Information started censoring the internet because control is the way to stay in power. Curiously, the Great Wall of China is surprisingly similar to the GFC (Great Firewall of China). In other words, it is not one set of rules implemented by Beijing. Instead, the capital drives censorship nationally, but carries it out locally. The GFC automatically blocks anything critical of the government.

In addition to censorship, China has pervasive government monitoring. They literally watch everything you say and do on the internet. As if controlling what you see isn’t good enough, it is not a pleasurable experience to speak out against the government in most cases. Even though connecting to a VPN may be one way to do it, remember they are always watching what you say.

Are VPNs Legal in China?

While the country allows them, their constant and international threats to ban all of them may make you worry if you are headed there. We suggest you download any VPN apps before you go, because you won’t find them in the app stores there. Keep in mind there are several times of the year when the government will crack down hard on VPN usage. Some of these include anniversaries like June 4th (the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests), events like the Hong Kong protests, and others. If you are there during those times, you won’t have an easy time using a VPN.

Can I use a Free VPN In Beijing?

Although many free VPNs are Chinese, you’ll run into issues. That is especially true if the VPN is “approved” by the government. You can guarantee that they will have back doors for any encryption, assuming they had any to begin with. Additionally, Malware, poor server speeds, and data caps are an issue with the free services. The bottom line is yes, you can use a free one, but don’t expect it to protect you or unblock any banned content.

Helpful Tips For Using a VPN While in Beijing

Because of the restrictions in the country, there isn’t a great solution for VPN usage. However, here are a few things you can do that may help. The biggest one is don’t take no for an answer. In other words, if you are having issues connecting, try changing these things. They may or may not work, but you won’t have much to lose by trying them.

  • Change VPN protocols – Sometimes, some protocols are blocked while others aren’t. If you can’t get OpenVPN UDP to work, try Lightway (ExpressVPN only), IKEv2, or others the service offers.
  • Use a different device – This can work at times since mobile traffic and regular traffic may be handled differently.
  • Look at the date – As we mentioned above, timing matters. If it is close to June the 4th, you may not be able to do much.
  • Try different cities – On occasion, you may be able to connect to a different city. Even if it is slow, it is still a success.
  • Try using a different network – Anything you can do to change what you’re doing may mean success for you.
  • Be patient – This one is hard for many of us, especially if you want to use the web. However, even if repeating these steps don’t work, you’ll know at least you are trying.

Best VPNs for Beijing – Full Analysis

Now let’s take a closer look at some of the best VPNs for Beijing.


1. Best VPN for Beijing: ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN Devices

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ExpressVPN Beijing speed test

ExpressVPN offers browser extensions for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browsers in addition to its list of VPN apps. The custom apps support Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. They also offer a MediaStreamer feature. That is relatively rare in the community, but it can be beneficial, depending on your online activities. Coupled with their split tunneling feature, you can easily choose the apps or browsers you want to filter through your VPN connection. Split tunneling is a feature that many providers do not offer, but it can really be helpful.

When it comes to keeping yourself safe, ExpressVPN is one of the best choices you can make. Whether you are looking for secure encryption protocols, privacy protection features, a strict no-logs policy, or other things, you will find them all with this provider. Additionally, if you have ever had an issue creating a secure password, you are in luck. ExpressVPN has a random password generator on their website that will help you do so. It can generate multiple passwords, and you can securely download the generator page if you wish to use it offline.

ExpressVPN launched in 2009 and has grown into a premier VPN service. Whether you want to protect your privacy online, enjoy your favorite streaming services while traveling, or watch live sports, ExpressVPN is a great choice. You can rely on their network for fast, stable connections. This is true for VPN users and those who rely on their MediaStreamer feature to extend functionality to game consoles and more. We suggest signing up for our ExpressVPN deal which includes 3 months free when you subscribe for 12 months. The savings, along with a 30-day money-back guarantee make ExpressVPN an excellent choice.

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2. Best VPN for Beijing: NordVPN

NordVPN devices
NordVPN Beijing speed test

If you are a fan of a top-level sports team and happen to be in the city where they play, you already know that the broadcasters will stop you from seeing them online. That is usually because of licensing rights and they call them blackouts. Of course, you can watch them on TV, but some do not have TVs anymore. The solution to the problem is to connect to a VPN by using NordVPN. In this case, you simply need to select a server that is not in the market area. Then, you can watch your favorite team play.

One of the big reasons that users connect to a VPN is to help them stream content from other regions or countries. Using NordVPN will help you do that. Whether you want to watch shows from some of the top US streaming services, check out BBC iPlayer, or perhaps even a service like Stan from Australia, you should not have to miss out on them because of where you are currently. However, you can enjoy the ones we mentioned and more with NordVPN.

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3. Best VPN for Beijing: PIA

Private Internet Access devices
PIA Beijing speed test

Established in 2010, Private Internet Access has an excellent reputation in the community. They support several different privacy foundations and organizations, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fight for the Future, the Internet Society, OpenMedia, Open Rights Group, and many more open source projects. That shows their commitment to protecting the privacy of their members and why so many users love the service. In addition to reasonable pricing, Private Internet Access offers a trustworthy service that you can not go wrong with if you choose it.

An advantage of using a VPN server from Private Internet Access if you are a gamer is to help protect you from Distributive Denial of Service attacks. For those that are not aware, they can quickly cause problems when you are gaming. Since it shuts down access to your favorite games, playing them becomes difficult. Private Internet Access will help stop those types of attacks from happening to you. That way, you can enjoy the games you want to, whether you are playing casually or competitively.

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4. Best VPN for Beijing: VyprVPN

VyprVPN devices
VyprVPN Beijing speed test

When it comes to streaming content, you can bet that VyprVPN has you covered. Because of their top of the line servers, you can get around the encryption overhead. If you’re not aware, overhead can cause issues. When you use a VPN from VyprVPN, however, you can get around it. All you have to do is choose a server in one of the 60 plus countries. No matter what country you want to watch content from, you can do it all.

If you are a gamer, connecting to a VPN server from VyprVPN will help you in several ways. One of the significant ways it will help is to help you get lower prices. For those that are not aware, not all games are the same prices in all countries. That means you can choose one of the 60 countries available and see if the prices are lower for your favorites. Of course, you will need to buy a prepaid card, so the payment methods do not conflict. Then all you have to do is enjoy them.

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5. Best VPN for Beijing: PrivadoVPN

PrivadoVPN devices
Privado Beijing speed test

PrivadoVPN has you covered as far as personal devices go. The premium version of PrivadoVPN offers apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android devices. Additionally, you can find convenient setup guides for Linux, DD-WRT, pfSense, and Asus routers. If you prefer manual setup options for the apps, Privado has guides available to do that. Additionally, they offer coverage for ten simultaneous devices. That is great if you have a bigger family or protect multiple devices on the same account.

When choosing a VPN provider like PrivadoVPN, there are several different areas to focus on. One of the biggest advantages they have to offer is access to international content libraries. Connecting to a VPN server in another country will allow you to watch content from different regions of the world. That is great if you want to check out Netflix Canada, UK, or others’ international libraries. It will also help you access other services like Amazon Prime Video. No matter what region you want to watch, you can do it with PrivadoVPN.

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