websites blocked in china

A List of Websites Blocked in China in 2022

Great Firewall Updates - May 2019

Do VPNS still work in China?

Yes, they still work. VPNs still allow users to bypass the Great Firewall of China and access censored content. Just keep in mind that China is constantly upgrading their firewall, so there’s no telling what might happen in the future.

Which VPN to use in China?

Check my frequently updated guide on the Best VPNs for China for updates

Is Google Blocked? 

Yes, as blocked as it can possibly be.

Is Vimeo Blocked in China? Can you watch Vimeo in China?

Yes, it absolutely is. You cannot access any Western video-sharing sites in China. The Great Firewall forbids it.

Is Discord Blocked in China?

It cannot be used without a VPN. So, yes.

Is Instagram blocked in China?

Is Dropbox blocked in China?

Dropbox is blocked, but I believe that Microsoft's service, OneDrive, is still accessible.

Does Google Maps work in China?

No. There are Chinese-based apps which serve the same purpose, but don’t count on using any Google services without a VPN.

Is Snapchat blocked in China?

Yes, of course it is. Every Western social networking platform is blocked, including WhatsApp, Periscope, Line, Kakao Talk and Telegram. Don’t forget the Google Play Store is blocked also, so unless you have a VPN on your phone, you won’t be able to download or updates apps on your Android.

Is Skype blocked in China?

No, it continues to work as it has a Chinese partner. Surprising, right? Shiguangpu Information Technology is responsible for Skype operations in the mainland.

Is Wikipedia Blocked?

Yes, as of April of 2019 all versions of Wikipedia are blocked. Their lack of compliance with Chinese standards has promoted their obstruction.

VPN apps on Apple APP store are not blocked

But you can’t download them while you are in the mainland. If you have an operational VPN on your phone, you can download them.

Reminder: It is difficult to access VPN websites while in China, so do yourself a favor and sign up for a VPN service before coming to China. It will make your life much easier. Check my Guide, The Best VPN for China for details.


In this post, I’m going to discuss which major websites are inaccessible and internet censorship in China.

5. Pornhub Blocked

I wondered for a long time why a country with a whoring epidemic should really take issue with the availability of adult materials on the internet. You can walk down the street in any city and find a place where sexual services are provided, if you know where to look.

You can also walk into sex shops and buy vibrators, blow-up dolls, and lethal doses of male virility drugs, but for some reason videos of unrestrained sexual expression on the internet seems just a little bit too extreme for their tastes.

In reality, porn censorship in China simply has to do with keeping up appearances. Porn is a convenient excuse for restricting every area of the internet that they find disagreeable.

If anyone questions this, the authorities can easily start moralizing, talking about how dirty smut will desecrate the culture. But if anyone has any perspective on “morality” as it relates to Chinese society, this is actually hysterical.

Also blocked: All the other porn sites the censors have discovered. Some they haven't.

Let’s be real here: it isn’t possible for China to block every porn site. For every one they find, two more pop up. So they’re really just playing an expensive game of whack-a-mole, wasting a ton of resources in the name of keeping up appearances.

Websites blocked in China

4. Twitter Blocked

As we can tell from the above examples, anything that enables the populace to rapidly exchange ideas and information without the state’s moderation will be banned. But there is also a protectionist element.

Weibo is meant to be China’s premiere microblogging service. Given the choice, I believe many Chinese would prefer joining the global community on Twitters platform, and some do. In fact, some say that China’s twitter (Weibo) is now pretty much dead, due to a lack of effective privacy measures and the popularity of the WeChat mobile app. Twitter is blocked in China.

websites blocked in china

3. Google Blocked

And it’s not just Google the search engine, but all of the services connected to Google are blocked in the mainland, while all still available in Hong Kong. Why, you may ask? One reason is to prevent Google from infringing on Baidu’s market share, which is China’s major search engine. Another reason is there were some failed negotiations when it came to censoring certain search results, as well as discontent regarding the CCP’s inability to secure the data of dissident users.

Other companies like Microsoft and Yahoo have only been allowed to provide service to the Chinese public because they allowed the CCP a backdoor to pry into user information. Google wasn’t having that. In many ways it reflects some of the similar disputes between Apple and the U.S. Federal government, demanding a back door for iOS.

Also blocked: Gmail, Google calendar, Google Drive, Google Docs, Scribd, Xing, Android, Google News, Wikipedia, Wikileaks, and other apps on Google Play.

Blocked in China

2. YouTube

YouTube is a subsidiary of Google, but the specific reasons the site has remained blocked since 2009 are not clear. Of course, from everything we’ve already read here, we can guess why. China has their own video sharing sites, with their own advertising services, and there might’ve been content posted on the site that censors might have found disagreeable. Actually, there most definitely would have been something they disliked.

Also blocked: Vimeo, Dailymotion. Nico Video

It’s another example of how preventing outside competition might make people China worse off, because they’re unable to receive service from a company that may potentially be better. Keeping all the money in the country seems wise until you see how it fills the pockets of inept businesspeople who don’t always have their customers’ best interests at heart.

Blocked in China

1. Facebook

Another user-generated content site that has gotten the block-a-roo. This is the one expats whine about being unable to access the most, though it’s probably for the best if we can’t obsess over it every second. If people were aware of how often their personal information gets harvested on the site, they might not be so enthusiastic about access to begin with. But I digress.

It was originally blocked in 2009 along with Twitter around the time of the protests in Xinjiang. It was said that users were using the platform to organize protests. But it seems another critical reason that these kinds of sites are blocked is that the Chinese government doesn’t want unflattering news to be aired out among the international community. 

Also blocked: Google+, Hootsuite, Blogspot, Blogger, WordPress.com

Remember, blocked does not mean banned. If you still want to access content behind the great Chinese firewall, there are few different methods you can employ using a VPN.

Not sure if a site that you care about is no longer accessible from China? You can visit http://www.blockedinchina.net/ to check.

Another site for checking if sites are available in China or not is the Greatfire Analyzer.


High-Ranking Sites

Here is a list of all the blocked sites in China by category. I got all of the information from Wikipedia, and I believe this information is accurate. 

Web Hosting and Archiving

  • Google Sites
  • Google App Spot
  • check
    Archive.org

VPN Websites and Storage

  • Strong VPN
  • PureVPN
  • VPN Coupons
  • check
    ElephantVPN
  • check
    Latern
  • check
    Mega

Spiritual and Social

  • Falun Dafa
  • Minghui
  • Google Plus
  • check
    Instagram
  • check
    XING
  • check
    Plurk
  • check
    Twister
  • check
    Badoo
  • check
    Tumblr
  • check
    Disqus
  • check
    Facebook
  • check
    Twitter
  • check
    Gab.ai

Sharing

  • The Pirate Bay
  • Dailymotion
  • Dropbox
  • check
    Vimeo
  • check
    Nico Video
  • Reddit
  • check
    Scribd
  • check
    Ustream.tv
  • check
    Flickr
  • check
    Periscope
  • check
    Pixiv
  • check
    YouTube

Search

  • Google
  • Google Encrypted
  • Google API
  • check
    Google Japan
  • check
    Start Page
  • check
    DuckDuckGo
  • check
    Sluggn

Some recommended VPNs to help access the content above:

The Best VPN for China in 2022
Who is this guide for? Anyone in China This guide is for anyone who is visiting, already living, or is[...]