Airalo

Airalo's China eSIM runs on the China Unicom network, according to Airalo's own China eSIM plan page — worth knowing if a specific carrier's coverage was recommended to you, or if you want to check Unicom's network map for the regions on your itinerary.

Airalo's own instructions say to install the eSIM "as soon as you'd like — just make sure you have stable internet connection." That means you need working WiFi (or another data connection) at the moment you install the profile. Unlike a physical SIM card, you can't just pop this in after landing with zero connectivity — install it at home on WiFi before you fly, not after you touch down with no data yet.

Every published China plan on the official page is priced by validity, not by a data cap — all tiers are unlimited data: 3 days US$11.50, 5 days US$19.00, 7 days US$27.00, 10 days US$35.00, 15 days US$49.00, 30 days US$69.00 (verified 2026-07-10). Marketing copy elsewhere mentions plans "from ~US$4" — that figure describes a different, metered-data tier YouChina has not been able to independently confirm on the current plan table, so budget from the unlimited tiers above.

None of the published China tiers list voice minutes or SMS — this is a data-only eSIM. It won't give you a China phone number for things like restaurant reservations, courier deliveries, or SMS verification codes. If a service you need (for example, signing up for Alipay or WeChat) requires a phone number, that has to come from somewhere else.