Technical Fiasco During my Trip to Beijing

Technical Fiasco During my Trip to Beijing
Sep 11, 2023 06:13
SCOTTWALTER Points: Join Date: Sep 11, 2023 Status: offline	I recently traveled to China for a 2-week vacation, visiting Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an. Overall it was an amazing trip filled with incredible sights like the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terracotta Warriors and more. The food was fantastic and the people were generally very friendly. However, one challenge I faced while in China was that many websites and apps I rely on are blocked there by the government, including Google, Facebook, Instagram and even some news sites. This made it difficult at times to access information, stay connected with friends back home, and share photos from my trip online. Fortunately, I had set up a reliable VPN on my phone and laptop before leaving. This allowed me to circumvent the firewall and access blocked sites and apps while in China. It was not a perfect solution - connectivity was sometimes slow and spotty, and use of VPNs is frowned upon by authorities there. But it did allow me to do the basics like check email, maps, translation apps and some social media. Overall I had an amazing visit to China and was glad I could maintain access to some internet services with my VPN during the trip. It did require some adjustments but the extra effort was worth it to see China's incredible sites and culture. Just be prepared for limitations on internet access when visiting.

Sep 11, 2023 06:13

SCOTTWALTER
Points:
Join Date: Sep 11, 2023
Status: offline

I recently traveled to China for a 2-week vacation, visiting Beijing, Shanghai and Xi'an. Overall it was an amazing trip filled with incredible sights like the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terracotta Warriors and more. The food was fantastic and the people were generally very friendly.

However, one challenge I faced while in China was that many websites and apps I rely on are blocked there by the government, including Google, Facebook, Instagram and even some news sites. This made it difficult at times to access information, stay connected with friends back home, and share photos from my trip online.

Fortunately, I had set up a reliable VPN on my phone and laptop before leaving. This allowed me to circumvent the firewall and access blocked sites and apps while in China. It was not a perfect solution - connectivity was sometimes slow and spotty, and use of VPNs is frowned upon by authorities there. But it did allow me to do the basics like check email, maps, translation apps and some social media.

Overall I had an amazing visit to China and was glad I could maintain access to some internet services with my VPN during the trip. It did require some adjustments but the extra effort was worth it to see China's incredible sites and culture. Just be prepared for limitations on internet access when visiting.

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