Can I just roam with my home carrier in China?

Many roaming plans are “home-routed”: data reaches the internet through your own carrier's network, outside mainland filtering. That explains press and firsthand reports of Google and WhatsApp working without a VPN. Roaming can also use a local internet exit, and carriers can change the route by plan or service. Ask your carrier about your plan; these reports suggest it will work but cannot guarantee it.

AT&T's and Verizon's China pages give prices and coverage without saying whether blocked apps work. We could not read T-Mobile's, EE's or Vodafone's China pages directly. An eSIM vendor's blog claims T-Mobile roaming “doesn't bypass these blocks”, but it sells an alternative and provides no test data.

Check the cost before choosing roaming. The carriers' own pages list AT&T International Day Pass at US$12 a day (US$6 per additional line, charged only on days used) and Verizon TravelPass at US$12 a day in China. T-Mobile, EE and Vodafone rates and speed limits vary by plan. Read the current page for yours; blog prices may be out of date.

Do the arithmetic for your trip: days you would actually use data × the daily rate, against a travel eSIM priced by data volume. For most two-week trips the roaming total is several times an eSIM. Roaming does keep your home number live for calls and SMS codes, which is why the usual pattern is: home line on with data roaming off (check what receiving SMS and calls costs on roaming), travel eSIM for data.

If you do roam, check the carrier's China entry before you fly, set a data cap, and expect throttling after any bundled allowance is used.