You probably already know China heavily censors the internet. For example, there is strong censorship, many hundreds of websites are blocked, and there is only minimal accessibility to Western online sites or services.
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The so-called Great Firewall of China prevents users from accessing a wide variety of sites, applications, and social media in both directions; however, you can bypass these restrictions by using specific Virtual Private Networks.
If this extreme censorship were not bad enough, they even block many VPN providers; nevertheless, there are a handful, which still manages to circumvent these restrictions.
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For a large number of users who wish to access data or services from both sides for fun or work, they ask the question. “Does NordVPN work in China?”
Fortunately, we have all the answers to this, and we try to explain how they manage to pull off this feat.
Why Won’t all VPN’s Work in China?
We know the Great Firewall of China blocks everything Westerners find useful or enjoyable.
Everyday services used for work can be blocked, so it can be frustrating if you have an online business or want to keep in touch with family or friends.
Previously it was easier for a VPN to work in China; however, in 2017, China began following its new cybersecurity law.
Internet companies, and VPN providers, among others, were obliged to register with the Chinese government by law. Failing this meant that they were unable to operate. It also means they have to hand over data if there is an ongoing investigation.
VPN providers who refuse to follow the new legislation are affected by deep packet inspection. Therefore more VPN’s are blocked in China, or they struggle to keep their VPN services available.
China has become very good at detecting and blocking OpenVPN traffic, which happens to be the number one protocol for VPN apps in use. While China VPN numbers drop every year, NordVPN still offers a reliable way to avoid detection.
Before we show how NordVPN works in China, you can forget the notion of free VPN’s to do the same thing.
How Can Nord VPN Work in China?
NordVPN works hard to keep out of sight of the Chinese government. They take this to such an extent that none of their 5,400+ available servers is located in mainland China.
While this would indicate that NordVPN doesn’t work so good in China. It is far from reality because NordVPN isn’t among the sanctioned and compromised VPN’s. It keeps a reasonable distance so they can keep users safe and hidden out of sight.
Many users forget how things work to access blocked content; if you are in China, and want to access it from outside, then you need to connect to a server that is outside the country.
Any server you can connect to inside China won’t help you bypass deep packet filtering, and in fact, may show you that the VPN provider is obeying invasive cybersecurity laws, and your data can be viewed anyway.
NordVPN uses obfuscated servers to hide the OpenVPN traffic they are passing through. These types of servers make OpenVPN traffic look like regular HTTPS traffic.
Making sure that connections work with NordVPN obfuscated servers, can take some work, so here we will show you how to do it.
Using NordVPN in China
Before diving in, it is worth noting these obfuscating servers will only work with OpenVPN apps running on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android.
It isn’t available on iOS, and you would have to configure OpenVPN or L2TP settings manually.
One other thing to note is you can’t download Nord VPN in China, so you need it preinstalled before going into the country. You can do this while using the 30-day money-back guarantee and not spending anything.
- Start the NordVPN app: On the left, you can see ‘Specialty Headings,’ you need this shortly
- Open Advanced Settings: Open settings menu and scroll to ‘Advanced’
- Enable ‘Obfuscated Servers’: Located toward the bottom of the page
- Select ‘Servers’: Located in the top menu bar. In specialty servers, you should only see ‘Obfuscated’ as the option, and available locations are different
- Select any of the 450+ servers for your connection to be obfuscated
- NordVPN app should update with connection details
Turning off this feature just takes heading back to settings and disabling the feature
NordVPN works in China! Get our 70% Off Special Deal
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Why NordVPN is Good for Use in China
These specialty servers are one of NordVPN’s most significant advantages for censored regions and make it one of the best VPN’s for China. However, you can find NordVPN won’t connect on some occasions.
The easy fix is to select another server location, which may be closer to your location. Servers are in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and other areas.
It offers the same for other censored regions like UAE, Iran, Qatar, and Russia. Therefore, it is one of the best VPN’s for bypassing severe restrictions in many locations.
If NordVPN failed to connect for other reasons, it is possible to contact the customer support 24/7 with live chat, so you won’t find yourself stuck.
Users can use one connection in China, and other family members can use others to 6 simultaneous connections on one account.
NordVPN offers over 5,000 servers worldwide, so it is much more than merely a good VPN for China. Because it bypasses China’s restrictions, and many others, it keeps user data nice and secure.
To test all the features, users can sign up and make use of the 30-day money-back guarantee. While it isn’t the fastest, it is a money-back guarantee, you do get a full refund, and it gives you a month’s free use of the best VPN for security.