China eSIM for 10 days: three cities, which size covers 11 GB

How much data 10 days in China takes

Ten days, three cities: an order that suits Thai travellers

A frequent skeleton is three days in Beijing, a high-speed train to Xi'an for three, then a flight from Xi'an to Chengdu for the last four. Chengdu brings pandas, Sichuan food and tea in the parks, and if you like nature you can head out from the city to Jiuzhaigou or Leshan. Another line is Shanghai, Hangzhou, then a flight to Guilin. The domestic flight is what makes ten days different from seven, which stays on rails alone.

The domestic flight leg: data matters before you board

Many Chinese airports offer free Wi-Fi but ask for a Chinese mobile number to send a code, which foreign visitors often cannot supply. Check-in, boarding passes and gate checks therefore run on your own data. Save your boarding pass and passport page as images before leaving the last hotel of the previous city.

• If the flight is delayed you will be checking the airline app, which uses little data but needs a stable link.
• Chengdu often has an early-morning panda-base day, with ride-hailing and maps in crowded areas.
• Day trips to mountains or lakes can lose signal, so load maps and entry tickets beforehand.

Which plan shape fits ten days

Our China-only plans have no exact 10-day validity. Fixed plans that cover ten days are 15 days (3 GB) and 30 days (3, 5, 10, 20 and 50 GB). 3 GB is already below the 5 GB light figure. 10 GB is close to the 11 GB estimate but leaves no margin, and 20 GB gives almost double the normal figure, so it is the comfortable choice if you do not want to top up mid-trip.

A daily plan is the other route. Ten days of 2 GB or 3 GB gives 20-30 GB in total against the 11 GB normal figure, though you gain the freedom to size flight days and sightseeing days differently. Compare totals in the table below, since ten daily plans can add up to more than one 30-day 20 GB pack.

Network and apps across three cities

Our China plans come on China Mobile and on China Unicom or China Telecom, and the 20 GB size is offered on both, as named on the plan list. Big cities like Beijing, Xi'an and Chengdu are usually covered by every operator. Trouble tends to be outside town or indoors, so test again when you reach the third city.

Every China plan we sell exits abroad, as the China eSIM guide explains, so Google, LINE and Instagram usually open without a VPN of your own. Still, no app is guaranteed. Test each time you change city. For payments, set up Alipay in Tour Pass mode or WeChat Pay before you fly and keep a balance in the app, because small Sichuan restaurants in Chengdu often take scan-to-pay only and may turn cash down.

Our estimate table gives 5 GB light, 11 GB normal and 22 GB heavy over 10 days. If you plan to skip hotel Wi-Fi entirely and stream video on mobile often, 22 GB slightly exceeds the 20 GB pack. In that case buy two packs or add a daily plan on certain days.