Facebook is the world’s largest social networking site, but you can not use Facebook in China. Facebook is banned in china together with many other famous websites such as Twitter, Youtube and Google by China’s Great Firewall. The banning of Facebook in China will make it difficult to share your travel experiences and connect with your friends and family. You will have to find ways to unblock it.
Then how to access Facebook in China? Follow our guide below to bypass block and open Facebook and other sites that you want to use in China.
Why Facebook is banned in China
Facebook was banned from 2009 during the riots in Xinjiang, West China. The access of Facebook is believed to be restricted by the Chinese government because Xinjiang separatists were making use of Facebook as communications network. Chinese government hoped to control content, restrict, and delete illegal content created in China. But Facebook refused to cooperate with the Chinese government, which directly led to the banning of Facebook in China since 2009.
How to access Facebook in China
There are two effective ways to use Facebook in China.
1. Using a VPN
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is an encrypted connection to a remote server that let you connect to the web from behind firewalls. VPNs are usually not free but not expensive, they usually cost several bucks per month and offer monthly plan to meet the needs of travelers.
There are many VPN services but a few of the big VPN services are already blocked by the Chinese government and therefore not accessible. But there is no need to worry, there are some VPN providers which specially optimize their software to make it work well in China.
No matter which VPN you would like to use, It is better to download and set up your VPN software before entering China. Installing it outside China can make it much easier to access customer service in case there are any problems. Most VPN services offer services on both computer soft wares and mobile apps on iPhone, iPad, or Android devices. When you set the VPN up, just type in your username and password, it can start working automatically. When your VPN is connected, you can open any of the blocked sites in China including Facebook.
There are lots of VPN providers in the market. I lived in Beijing and have tested about a dozen of VPN services. I strongly recommend the ExpressVPN.(Click this link, you will enjoy 3 months free for 12 months package ) It is the best VPN to unblock Facebook in China. ExpressVPN has fastest speed and is the most reliable connection among all VPN services I have tested. And it offers unlimited band width and promises a 30-day Money Back guarantee.
You can access Facebook by 3 steps:
- Sign up for a VPN service (Such as ExpressVPN or VyprVPN).
- Download VPN APP on your device.
- Log in with your credentials and connect one server, then you can enjoy free and open Internet.
VPN can escape censorship and secures your data transfer at the same time, so no need to worry about your privacy being violated. You can share your photos and thoughts with friends and family over Facebook with it.
2. Using a proxy
A proxy is a website that allows you to open other websites via it. If the proxy is in the United states, when you visit Facebook through it, it is like browsing Facebook in the United States.
Free proxy to access Facebook.
Below are several free proxy websites that work well in China to access Facebook. You can type www.facebook.com in the search box and visit Facebook directly. It is totally free.
- https://zendproxy.com/
- https://hidester.com/proxy/
For each free proxy, you need to try them first, they are free but you will find that they’re not really an excellent way to access Facebook in China because :
- China keeps locating and blocking them.
- They generally do not have well-enough coding to handle technology of social network.
Use a secure proxy
I highly advise you to use paid proxy service, which is secure and more reliable and faster. One works well to open Facebook in China is HideMyAss proxy It provides the largest real-time free working proxies. With just one time registration fee, you will get the entire proxy server list every day. Compared with VPN, the benefit of a proxy is that there is no need to download and install anything on your computer. Each browser could be configured to use a proxy, you can find some instructions here, which tells you how to configure an http proxy server with various browsers.
Note
Some post says Opera browser (developer version) provides a free built-in VPN to help you bypass the Great Firewall and connect FaceBook. I test it myself and it doesn’t work at all in China.
Conclusion
Although the most costly solution, VPN is actually the best way to visit Facebook and other blocked websites in China without concern of security and loss of user experience. Compared with VPN, Proxies are unreliable and not safe. besides, some VPN providers offer free trial or money back guarantee, why don’t you make use of it when travel to China, at least you can enjoy free web for some days. You can check our China VPN reviews to find the best provider to unblock websites in China.