China eSIM: Beijing & Shanghai

The evening before a long flight to Beijing or Shanghai is when your phone should be ready. Installing an eSIM needs an internet connection, so do it at home over Wi-Fi and switch the line on after you land. Nothing is lost by installing early: a plan's days start on its first connection in China, not at purchase. China eSIM is a second line that sits beside your own SIM. Your usual SIM and number stay on the phone, while mobile data runs on the eSIM; calls and texts to your number follow your carrier's roaming terms. No plan comes with a Chinese phone number, so a service that insists on a local number will need another route. Three kinds of plan for mainland China: • Data plans: a set allowance for a week or a month. • Unlimited: data for 3 to 30 days that never stops; after a daily high-speed amount, the speed drops for the rest of that day. • Day passes: choose anywhere from 1 to 30…