Websites Blocked in China 2026: The Complete List

By ChinaPal AI Team · Updated August 2026

Traveling to China? Here's every major website and app that's blocked by the Great Firewall — and more importantly, what you can use instead.

Bottom line: You don't need a VPN for everything. ChinaPal AI is a translator that works in China without any VPN.

Search & Email

Service	Status	Alternative
Google Search	Blocked	Bing (works!), Baidu, DuckDuckGo (intermittent)
Gmail	Blocked	Outlook, Yahoo Mail (both work)
Google Maps	Blocked	Apple Maps, Amap (高德地图)
Google Translate	Blocked	ChinaPal AI (no VPN needed), Baidu Translate
Google Drive	Blocked	OneDrive, Dropbox (sometimes works)

Social Media

Service	Status	Alternative
Facebook	Blocked	WeChat (微信), Weibo (微博)
Instagram	Blocked	Xiaohongshu / RED (小红书)
X (Twitter)	Blocked	Weibo (微博)
YouTube	Blocked	Bilibili (哔哩哔哩), Youku (优酷)
TikTok	Blocked	Douyin (抖音) — Chinese version
Reddit	Blocked	Zhihu (知乎), Baidu Tieba
Discord	Blocked	WeChat groups, QQ
Telegram	Blocked	WeChat
WhatsApp	Mostly blocked	WeChat (essential in China)
Slack	Intermittent	WeChat Work, Lark/Feishu
LinkedIn	Shut down in China	Maimai (脉脉)
Snapchat	Blocked	—
Pinterest	Intermittent	Xiaohongshu (小红书)

Productivity & Tools

Service	Status	Alternative
Google Docs/Sheets	Blocked	Microsoft 365 online, Feishu/Lark
Dropbox	Intermittent	OneDrive, Baidu Wangpan
Notion	Intermittent	Feishu Docs, Yuque (语雀)
GitHub	Mostly works	Gitee (码云) as backup
Slack	Intermittent	WeChat Work
Zoom	Works	Tencent Meeting (腾讯会议)
Skype	Blocked	WeChat video call

Streaming & Entertainment

Service	Status	Alternative
Netflix	Blocked	iQIYI (爱奇艺), Tencent Video, Youku
Spotify	Blocked	QQ Music, NetEase Cloud Music
Twitch	Blocked	Huya (虎牙), Douyu (斗鱼)
Disney+	Blocked	—
HBO Max	Blocked	—

News & Information

Service	Status
BBC	Blocked
CNN	Intermittent
New York Times	Blocked
Reuters	Intermittent
Bloomberg	Intermittent
Wikipedia	Intermittent (Chinese version blocked)

What Actually Works in China (Without VPN)

Good news — not everything is blocked. These all work reliably:

Apple services: iMessage, FaceTime, Apple Maps, iCloud (mostly)
Microsoft: Bing, Outlook, Office 365, Teams
Yahoo (mail works)
Skype was blocked in 2017
Zoom (works for international calls)
Steam (gaming, mostly works)
Airbnb, Booking.com, Agoda (booking sites mostly work)
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Essential Apps to Download BEFORE You Arrive

WeChat — messaging, payments, everything
Alipay — mobile payments (link foreign Visa/Mastercard)
Didi — ride-hailing (Chinese Uber)
ChinaPal AI — bookmark aihubai.cn/translate.html for translation
Apple Maps or download offline maps in advance
A VPN as backup (don't rely on it fully — many get blocked)

VPN: The Honest Truth

Many VPNs don't work reliably in China. The Great Firewall actively detects and blocks VPN traffic. Free VPNs are especially unreliable and may compromise your data. Paid options like Astrill, ExpressVPN, and LetsVPN work intermittently, but there's no guarantee.

Our recommendation: Download a VPN before arriving (you can't download them once in China), but don't rely on it for critical needs like translation. Use tools built to work without a VPN as your primary option.

ChinaPal AI — Translation that works in China. Try it free · $4.99 Trip Pass