facebook in chinaSince events that took place in China like Xinjiang Riots and other small protests in Tibet and Taiwan, the Chinese government blocked all sites which provided videos and photos to be shared among people; which includes Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and many other sites. Though these sites are usually harmless, to the Chinese government it may mean discontent, and eventually revolution.  To China it may mean national peace.  However, it also means restriction of Freedom of Speech, and well, to most it's just a major annoyance.

The people of China aren't exactly in dire need to find a way to access these sites, but to them it does mean connection to the outside world. As an expat living in China, I know how sheltered it can feel here. Social networking and blogging sites, the good ones at least, connect people from different corners of the world. Especially Facebook, the biggest social networking site in the world, can to more good than harm to Chinese society in my opinion.

Aside from all the political propaganda, let's get down to business.  How to I access Facebook in China? There are two ways to make it possible; it can be done either by Proxies or VPNs (Virtual Private Networks).

vpn serverIn my opinion, using VPNs is the best way to access Facebook in China. Using a VPN for Facebook in China is an easy and reliable way to unblock any site in China. VPNs work in a similar way to proxies.  Though proxies are more well known because of their higher availability, VPNs add layers of encryption that proxies can only dream of.  Still acting as a middle-man between you and a blocked site, they change your IP address to the location of the VPN server. This could be in The US, The UK, or even right next door in Hong Kong.

The cool thing about a VPN though, is that it double protects your information on the way to the VPN server, and after it leaves the server as well. That's a bit of an over-simplification, but the point is that it works to hide your IP address before and after reaching the VPN server.  The reason so many proxies have been blocked in China is because of their simple construction when compared to VPNs. You may have heard that VPNs for Facebook in China have been blocked. This is only partly true.

proxy in chinaMobile VPN protocols have been blocked. This means your PPTP and L2TP VPN for iPhone or Android phone won't work. In this case, you haven't got a choice. You need a proxy.

Here's one that works.  www.securitales.com

vpn for facebook in chinaIt's also true that many VPN sites are blocked. Their SSL/OpenVPN still works though, and many of these sites frequently put out new links to help users access their sites. These links can be hard to come by.  Lucky for you, I've got one here.

http://12vpn.com

12VPN is the VPN I use.  It's fast, and cheap.  For 10 different locations in The US, free server switching, unlimited bandwidth, and a super cool support team, it's only $79 dollars a year.  Their SSL/OpenVPN will work on just about any operating system you throw at them.

I could list a bunch of other VPN sites, but most of them are blocked.

  • Hide My Ass – Blocked
  • StrongVPN – Blocked
  • Freedur/Moca – only PPTP available, which is blocked anyway
  • Witopia – Blocked
  • ibVPN  – Blocked in many areas
  • iVPN – Available but it's a crappy VPN anyway

You get the idea.  There's not a lot of choice for a VPN for Facebook in China, but luckily I've got you hooked up with a great one that's still available.

 

home page