What works in China (updated monthly)
Of 57 services, 30 did not load from China, 11 loaded, 5 gave mixed results and 11 had too few tests. Google, Gmail, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, X, ChatGPT and Gemini did not load. Zoom, Slack, Bing, LinkedIn, Booking.com, Netflix and PayPal websites did.
Based on OONI measurements from probes inside mainland China, 8 September 2026 to 8 October 2026. Data fetched 8 October 2026. Next update: monthly.
Search and email
| Service | Result | Loaded / tests | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search www.google.com | Blocked | 0 / 42 (0%) | |
| Gmail gmail.com | Blocked | 0 / 31 (0%) | |
| Google Maps maps.google.com | No data | 0 / 0 | Fewer than 5 OONI tests in the period for this hostname. No data is not the same as works. |
| Google Drive drive.google.com | Blocked | 0 / 37 (0%) | |
| Bing www.bing.com | Loads | 39 / 39 (100%) | The website responding does not show that the app or service works. |
| DuckDuckGo duckduckgo.com | Blocked | 3 / 62 (5%) |
Social and video
| Service | Result | Loaded / tests | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube youtube.com | Blocked | 0 / 6 (0%) | |
| Instagram instagram.com | Blocked | 0 / 5 (0%) | |
| Facebook www.facebook.com | Blocked | 18 / 675 (3%) | |
| X (Twitter) x.com | Blocked | 16 / 289 (6%) | |
| Reddit reddit.com | Blocked | 0 / 5 (0%) | |
| TikTok (international) tiktok.com | Blocked | 0 / 30 (0%) | |
| LinkedIn www.linkedin.com | Loads | 223 / 230 (97%) | The website responding does not show that the app or service works. |
| Pinterest pinterest.com | Blocked | 0 / 29 (0%) |
Messaging
News and reference
| Service | Result | Loaded / tests | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia wikipedia.org | Blocked | 0 / 5 (0%) | |
| New York Times nytimes.com | Blocked | 0 / 7 (0%) | |
| BBC bbc.com | Blocked | 0 / 10 (0%) | |
| The Guardian www.theguardian.com | Blocked | 2 / 64 (3%) | |
| CNN edition.cnn.com | Loads | 86 / 92 (93%) | The website responding does not show that the app or service works. |
| Reuters reuters.com | Blocked | 0 / 5 (0%) |
AI and work
| Service | Result | Loaded / tests | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT chatgpt.com | Blocked | 1 / 48 (2%) | |
| Claude claude.ai | Loads | 40 / 42 (95%) | The website responding does not show that the app or service works. |
| Gemini gemini.google.com | Blocked | 0 / 46 (0%) | |
| GitHub github.com | Mixed results | 45 / 95 (47%) | |
| Zoom zoom.us | Loads | 37 / 37 (100%) | The website responding does not show that the app or service works. |
| Slack slack.com | Loads | 38 / 38 (100%) | The website responding does not show that the app or service works. |
| Dropbox dropbox.com | Blocked | 0 / 32 (0%) |
Streaming
Travel
| Service | Result | Loaded / tests | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booking.com www.booking.com | Loads | 26 / 26 (100%) | The website responding does not show that the app or service works. |
| Airbnb www.airbnb.com | Mixed results | 23 / 26 (88%) | |
| Uber www.uber.com | Loads | 29 / 31 (94%) | The website responding does not show that the app or service works. |
| Tripadvisor tripadvisor.com | No data | 0 / 0 | Fewer than 5 OONI tests in the period for this hostname. No data is not the same as works. |
| Trip.com trip.com | No data | 0 / 0 | Fewer than 5 OONI tests in the period for this hostname. No data is not the same as works. |
| Didi (international site) www.didiglobal.com | No data | 0 / 0 | Fewer than 5 OONI tests in the period for this hostname. No data is not the same as works. |
Banks and payments
| Service | Result | Loaded / tests | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal www.paypal.com | Loads | 31 / 32 (97%) | The website responding does not show that the app or service works. |
| Wise wise.com | No data | 0 / 0 | Fewer than 5 OONI tests in the period for this hostname. No data is not the same as works. |
| Visa visa.com | No data | 0 / 0 | Fewer than 5 OONI tests in the period for this hostname. No data is not the same as works. |
| Mastercard mastercard.com | No data | 0 / 0 | Fewer than 5 OONI tests in the period for this hostname. No data is not the same as works. |
| Alipay alipay.com | No data | 0 / 0 | Fewer than 5 OONI tests in the period for this hostname. No data is not the same as works. |
eSIM stores
| Service | Result | Loaded / tests | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airalo (eSIM store) airalo.com | Blocked | 0 / 6 (0%) | |
| Holafly (eSIM store) holafly.com | No data | 0 / 0 | Fewer than 5 OONI tests in the period for this hostname. No data is not the same as works. |
| Simbye (eSIM store) simbye.com | No data | 0 / 0 | Fewer than 5 OONI tests in the period for this hostname. No data is not the same as works. |
| Airhub (eSIM store) airhubapp.com | Blocked | 0 / 6 (0%) | |
| Nomad eSIM (store) nomadesim.com | No data | 0 / 3 (0%) | Fewer than 5 OONI tests in the period for this hostname. No data is not the same as works. |
VPN websites
| Service | Result | Loaded / tests | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN nordvpn.com | Mixed results | 27 / 81 (33%) | |
| ExpressVPN www.expressvpn.com | Blocked | 1 / 68 (1%) | |
| ProtonVPN protonvpn.com | Mixed results | 27 / 75 (36%) | |
| Surfshark surfshark.com | Blocked | 1 / 86 (1%) | |
| Mullvad mullvad.net | Mixed results | 28 / 74 (38%) | |
| Windscribe windscribe.com | Blocked | 3 / 26 (12%) | |
| Amnezia amnezia.org | Loads | 124 / 127 (98%) | The website responding does not show that the app or service works. |
Method
- Source. The OONI aggregation API at api.ooni.io, probes in China (probe_cc=CN), test web_connectivity, 8 September 2026 to 8 October 2026. OONI is a non-profit project and its volunteers run the tests. We fetch and summarise them. Click any count to open the raw OONI data for that row.
- One hostname per row. The API counts one hostname at a time. If the bare domain has fewer than 5 tests we try the common variant (for example www) and show the one used. Other hostnames of the same company may behave differently.
- Counts. OONI sorts each test into loaded, anomaly, confirmed block or failure. We add the last three into "not loaded".
- Our label. Blocked: at least 5 tests and at least 70% not loaded. Loads: at least 5 tests and at least 90% loaded. Mixed results: anything between. No data: fewer than 5 tests. This rule is ours, not OONI's.
- Limits. A test shows whether a website loaded, not whether an app, login or payment works. An anomaly can be a false positive, and a failure can be a problem on the volunteer's own network. Probes are not spread evenly across China. No data is not the same as works. The date window rolls forward each month, so rows can change.
Your phone's data path can change what you see. An eSIM that routes data outside China, such as Simbye's (routed through Singapore), is not on the Chinese network. See eSIM for China and VPN for China.
How to cite this
Nomad China (2026). What works in China: OONI measurements, 8 September 2026 to 8 October 2026. https://nomadchina.net/data/what-works-in-china/ Data: CC BY 4.0. Underlying measurements: OONI, CC BY 4.0.
Spotted something wrong, or tested from inside China? Email [email protected] with the date, city and network.
Related: What is blocked in China (the September 2026 write-up with the full explanation). One page per app: WhatsApp, Instagram, Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, Zoom.