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Browse more guides: China travel | Asia destinations Does Skype Work in China? Connectivity Guide Last updated: April 2026 · 11 min read Short answer first. Skype has been officially blocked in China since November 2017, when Microsoft pulled the app from Chinese app stores to comply with the Cyberspace Administration of China. Some travelers report it loading intermittently with a VPN. I wouldn't bet a business call on it. The setup that actually works for Western tourists in 2026 is a three-part stack: WeChat (because everyone in China uses it), Tencent Meeting or Microsoft Teams via VPN for video calls, and FaceTime, which works through Chinese carrier infrastructure thanks to Apple's iCloud-China joint venture. I've been to mainland China multiple times , Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Xi'an , and currently keep WeChat installed for friends and clients there. The connectivity rules change in small ways every year. The big picture hasn't. TL;DR: Skype in Ch...

Browse more guides: China travel | Asia destinations Beijing China Complete Guide 2026: Forbidden City, Great Wall, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven TL;DR I spent two weeks in Beijing across the 2024 visa policy expansion, and the city I arrived in was not the Beijing I had imagined from old guidebooks. China rolled out a 30-day visa-free policy for 12 countries (later expanded), kept the 144-hour transit visa for 54 nationalities, and the result is that a capital once locked behind paperwork is now reachable on a long weekend. Beijing rewards that access. Within a single metro ride you can move from the Forbidden City's 980 buildings to a Hutong noodle stall to the 2008 Olympic Bird's Nest lit up for the evening. The setup before arrival matters more than the packing list. Foreign cards still fail at most counters, so I linked my Visa to WeChat Pay and Alipay before the flight, both of which now accept international cards under the 2024 international link program. I also ...