Does NordVPN Work In China? (Updated for 2024)
China is one of the most heavily regulated countries in the world in terms of online surfing. Each and every citizen here is subject to surveillance by the government. This fact has led to an increased demand in VPN services such as NordVPN in this country. Citizens simply demand some sort of privacy.
While we often associate the use of a VPN with criminal activity, that is far from the truth. Especially in China, the use of a VPN service simply relates to having privacy for the sake of privacy. Few individuals in the West would gladly admit that they are happy about how the government has such vast insight into online activity. The climate is far worse in China.
The policing from the Chinese government is not limited to harmful sites. In fact, sites that we deem absolutely innocent in the West have been blocked by the government in China. We will discuss how NordVPN can unblock these sites, and effectively give Chinese individuals the full access to the Internet.
NordVPN is deemed as one of the most efficient services in doing so. Yet, with the Great Chinese Firewall in play, many wonder: Does NordVPN still work in China? In this article, we will investigate how you can use NordVPN in China.
What Do NordVPN Say?
The best way to determine whether NordVPN works in China or not is to see what they say themselves. On their website, NordVPN outlines exactly why it is so hard for VPN services to work in China. The Great Chinese Firewall blocks a lot of traffic in and out of the country, meaning it might be hard to communicate flexibly outside of the borders.
In order to solve this, VPN services must offer servers that allow Chinese citizens to acquire an IP address associated with a different country, such that their current IP address does not lead to a blocking of content. However, many VPN services still struggle, as they for instance cannot have the servers inside of the Chinese borders.
It should be pointed out that NordVPN is located in Panama, where no data retention is required. Therefore, if the Chinese government ever were to enquire data, there would not even be data to be displayed. That ensures full privacy for the Chinese citizens using NordVPN for the activity online.
While it is quite technical, NordVPN exploits so called obfuscated servers in order to bypass the strict government restrictions on the Internet. NordVPN naturally does not share much about how exactly this process works in practice, but this would likely be too technical for the average VPN users anyways. The point still stands that NordVPN works in China.
After all, one of the missions of NordVPN is to provide full Internet access for everyone. Furthermore, the privacy included with the use of NordVPN is essential. It helps little having access to a VPN that can bypass the government restrictions, but then shares your traffic stats. NordVPN is a trusted service that has a no logging policy, keeping you safe.
How Do You Use NordVPN In China?
NordVPN offer four cheap subscriptions. The longer you subscribe for, the greater the monthly discount gets. After you have chosen your preferred alternative, you will have to download the program onto your device. Both the download, installation, and registration flies by quickly, and it is easy to get by.
Once you are in the user interface, you can easily connect to your desired country. If you for instance would like to access most general websites that are blocked in China, like Instagram or Whatsapp, connecting to a server in the U.S. is a great idea. All you need to do is locate the U.S. on the innovative map and then click on this country.
Note that the above mentioned method usually works, but in some cases, this might not be enough. However, getting connected is still pretty easy, and all you need to do is connect to the aforementioned obfuscated servers. NordVPN offer several tutorials on how to set these up, and there is no need to sweat, as it is actually quite easy.
It is also worth to mention that the same process applies to other devices, such as mobile phones and tablets. With NordVPN, you can connect to up to 6 devices at the same time. That means you can protect all of your own devices, or possibly protect the whole family when on vacation in China.
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What Should I Do If NordVPN Does Not Work?
While NordVPN is pretty proof in terms of working in China, even the best services might have a hiccups, downtime, and server failure. Normally, simple steps will suffice, but there are also more technical steps that could be efficient in getting NordVPN to work in China. We have listed some of these below.
1. Restart or Reconnect With The VPN
Sometimes all you need to do is disconnect from your server, give it a few seconds, and reconnect to a different server. Some IP addresses from VPNs have a history of getting banned for suspicious use. While NordVPN rarely falls into this category, it can even happen to the best services in the market.
You could also consider restarting the program, or simply disconnecting and reconnecting to the Wi-Fi. While VPN technology might seem complicated to most people, the solution is not necessarily to change all the settings and configurations behind the software.
2. Delete Browser Cache
It is common to get caught up in the IP address “hysteria”. While it is certainly the most common cause for VPN failure, it is not always the case. For instance, if you use NordVPN in China to connect to a U.S. server and gain access to American Netflix, your browser cache could might as well be the issue here.
Oftentimes we accept cookies from sites without realizing it. When accepting cookies from Netflix for instance, one gets personalized content suggested to them. However, it also raises suspicion when you visit Netflix worldwide in one night. Therefore, deleting the browser cache might be a sensible step.
3. Contact Customer Service
In certain instances, we simply do not have the capacity to bypass the Great Chinese Firewall with our own knowledge of the VPN technology. An example of this would be the obfuscated servers. These are not familiar to most, and tutorials or customer service help might be beneficial here. Thankfully, NordVPN offers 24/7 customer service.
This way, you can get the appropriate answers and directions from experts within the VPN field immediately. If you are not able troubleshoot connection issues for NordVPN in China yourself, it is almost guaranteed that customer service can offer some good insights as to how you may be able to achieve it.
4. Use Alternative VPNs
In the rare case that NordVPN does not work in China, and you want to give up on the service, you can claim your money back within 30 days and invest it in a different VPN service. Here, it is highly recommended to choose a service such as ExpressVPN. It carries many of the same characteristics as NordVPN.
For instance, ExpressVPN is known to bypass the governments restrictions in China. As mentioned, the Great Chinese Firewall is your biggest obstacle when surfing within the borders of this South East Asian country. However, ExpressVPN has proved over and over again how they can surpass this blockade.
Furthermore, it is worth to mention that ExpressVPN is rather known for providing high quality servers and fast connection speeds. For many individuals in China, gaining access to foreign streaming content is a priority, and ExpressVPN delivers this in a high quality manner. However, privacy is of course the most important, and this is where ExpressVPN trumps most.
The service operates from the British Virgin Islands, which is a country without any requirements of retaining data. That means ExpressVPN does not log your activity, and following they cannot pass it on to governments or Internet Service Providers, nor can they sell it off to any other third parties – as they simply do not possess the data.
What Sites Are Blocked In China?
Thousands of websites and online services have been blocked in China over the recent years, and your favorite alternatives for communication, news, video games, and so on are never safe. The blocking of the content is seen as a form of population control, and the government blocks some of the most popular sites in the whole world.
Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google, and Wikipedia are all commonly used by most people. They are simply engrained in our day-to-day activities, and few individuals could imagine a day without them. However, that is how the life of Chinese citizens is, as all of the above mentioned sites are in fact blocked in their country.
Alongside these, many other popular sites are also blocked, and it would seem as if the Chinese government specifically tries to aim for social media and news/informational sites. This exemplifies how the blocking of sites has a political motive. Thankfully, NordVPN works in China, and it can help you gain access to all the content you would like online.
All you need to do is simply connect to a country where these sites are indeed available. A great example would again be the U.S. If you connect to an American server, and then visit the aforementioned sites, you will get to visit them just as if you were a resident of the U.S. But how does that actually sit with the Chinese government?
Is It Legal To Use NordVPN In China?
It is only natural to ask yourself whether the use of NordVPN is legal or not in China. While it is legal to use in Western countries, the immense efforts from the Chinese government should hint at how they might not be too fond of the VPN services. VPN services are technically legal, but only when the Chinese government gets insight – deeming it worthless.
However, that is only on the company side of things. For users, there have not been established any clear laws on the matter. It would seem if that as long as you do not do anything that would be illegal outside the use of the VPN, that this usage in and of itself is legal, although highly questionable with the current political climate.
It is worth to mention that tourists have had their phones controlled with surveillance applications, and some have had border patrol command them to delete VPN applications. These reports stem from the Xianjiang region, and it is not necessarily applicable for the country as a whole.
One can definitely use NordVPN while in China, whether you are a citizen or a visitor, without any great risks. Yet, there should be some caution involved, and this might change in the future. For now however, it is safe to use NordVPN in China.
Use NordVPN In China
Regardless of whether you are a citizen or a visitor, the restrictions on the Internet in China might seem extremely tough. Popular sites such as Facebook, Google, and Wikipedia, among many others, are blocked for individuals here. This means that basic access to popular communications and news/informational channels have been blocked.
While it can seem tough to bypass the Great Chinese Firewall and gain access to these sites, NordVPN is one of the VPN services in the current market that has established a reputation for getting past the restrictions. By the use of advanced obfuscated servers, NordVPN gives individuals in China access to the whole Internet with only a few clicks.
If you are ever in question of how to get NordVPN to work in China, their 24/7 customer support will be happy to assist you. There is also a great amount of resources, such as tutorials on their website. If you wish to escape government surveillance and finally get your privacy, or simply access popular websites, NordVPN works perfectly in China.
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