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Information on China Mobile's services
  1. China Mobile's Three Plans
  2. Internet Access
  3. China Mobile SIM Cards
  4. Helpful terms and translations

China Mobile is the largest mobile operator in the world with over 300 million subscribers. It is the dominant mobile service provider, with around 90% of the expatriate market here in Beijing.

Quick Reference
Beijing China Mobile (Chinese): www.bj.chinamobile.com
China Mobile (English): www.chinamobile.com/en/mainland (limited information)
China Mobile (Chinese): www.chinamobile.com

Customer Service (English & Chinese): 10086
Add Minutes (English & Chinese): 13800-138000
China Mobile's Three Plans
China Mobile offers three main plans. Easy-own, or ShenZhouXing, is the most popular plan. It operates on pre-paid charge cards that do not require a contract; there are a number of options to customize your pricing plan. M-Zone, or DongGanDiDai, is a pre-paid service marketed toward the slightly more tech savvy. It supports more advanced internet options, multimedia messages, and a host of other up-sells from China Mobile are available as well. Go Tone, or QuanQiuTong, is the full-service plan that is billed monthly and supports worldwide roaming.

For complete details, check out each service plans page:

Internet access
If you're not already using your mobile phone to browse the internet in China, we can help explain the costs and how to set it up. Casual browsing of the internet will probably only end up costing you between 5RMB - 20RMB a month. You'll be able to access all of Native's great services at no additional charge.

First check to see if your phone supports internet access. Look for these signs:
  • Does your phone have a web browser?
  • In your setup menu, do you have a category referring to web access, data networks, or something similar?
  • Check your phones manual or the packaging that came with the phone, does it mention GPRS anywhere?
  • On phones purchased in China, you may have the red "MO" icon for China Mobile's internet service, Monternet, on your packaging or on your phone's menu.

Many phones purchased in China will come pre-setup to access the internet. If after trying your browser you are unable to make a connection, try these steps:
1. Go to your phone settings or setup menu
2. Find the "Data Networks", "GPRS", or "Cellular Internet" settings
On some phones, these settings are on your web browser's menu
3. Create a "New Connection" or "New Profile"
The name of the profile can be anything (e.g. "China Mobile")
4. For the APN (Access Point Name) enter "CMWAP".
5. Leave the "Username" and "Password" fields blank
6. Try opening up your web browser
If you are still unable to access the internet through your browser, your phone may be unable to detect some of the network settings. Try setting these values manually:
1. Set the Gateway IP to 10.0.0.172
2. Set the Port to 80
3. Set the connection to "Always On" or "Timeout: Off".
Mobile internet is charged by data transferred, not time online, so the connection can remain open at all times.
Some users will need to call China Mobile at 10086 to activate GPRS so they may access the internet.

For the complete details and costs, please view the relevant China Mobile service plan’s page:

Easy-own ShenZhouXing
M-Zone DongGanDiDai
Go Tone QuanQiuTong

Purchasing a SIM card in Beijing
SIM cards can be purchased online, at most China Mobile outlet throughout Beijing, and at SIM card booths at the airport. The price of the card depends on the number you select. SIM cards with no special numerical patterns or lucky numbers will sell for around 60-100RMB, while the best numbers run into the several thousands of US dollars.

Online: Try www.xuanhao.com (Chinese only) if you are looking for a particular number or pattern. If available, the SIM card will be delivered to you in Beijing. Their website allows you to sort by price, plan, and numerical pattern (AABB, ABAB, AAAA...).

Offline: China Mobile outlets are ubiquitous in Beijing. Look for the blue and white signs with "China Mobile". The stores will have several binders of different mobile numbers and their prices, organized by the three plans (Easy-own, M-zone, or Go Tone). Not all numbers in the binder will be available for immediate purchase at the store. If the number is at another store they will have to call and check for availability and then deliver it in about an hour. You should be able to haggle a bit off the listed price.

Protecting your SIM card
New SIM cards will come attached to a card containing the phone number, a password/PIN, and a PUK (Personal Unblocking Key). Don’t lose this card as you may need the information later to use your account online, adjust your service plan, or if your SIM card is lost or stolen.

Your password is the only thing that legally identifies you as the owner of your phone number should you lose your SIM card.

Activating a SIM card
Once you have purchased the SIM card, you will need to promptly activate it by making a call with the SIM card to 13800-138000. Follow the prompts in English or Chinese. SIM cards must be activated before the expiration date on the card or they will be terminated. You must add money to your SIM card within 90 days to maintain validity.

Helpful Terms and Translations
China Mobile
China Mobile The biggest mobile service provider in the world
Easy-Own The basic pre-paid plan from China Mobile
M-Zone China Mobile's pre-paid plan geared towards the young and tech-savvy
Go Tone China Mobile's premium plan
Fetion An instant messaging and file sharing program between PC's and cell phones
General Mobile Phone Terms
GSM Global System for Mobile communication—the most widely used, digital network technology
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access—a competitor of GSM, CDMA delivers higher-capacity by using spread-spectrum. The foundation of 3G.
SIM Subscriber Identification Module-the small chip used by GSM phones to store your phone number, account balance, and other data.
Charge Card Single-use "top up" cards used to add money to pre-paid accounts
SMS Short Message Service-a text message
MMS Multimedia Message Service
Mobile Internet Terms
GPRS General Packet Radio Service - This is the technology that allows your phone to transfer data, say for email and web browsing, over mobile phone networks without interrupting voice communication. Transfer rates range from 9.6kbps to 115kbps
WAP Wireless Application Protocol - a specification for access to the internet on mobile devices. WAP is limited access to the internet through a carrier's gateway.
CMWAP China Mobile's WAP network, also known as Monternet
CMNET China Mobile's direct internet network. Full internet access including laptop connection is available
APN Access Point Name - used with GPRS. China Mobile's two different APNs are CMNET and CMWAP. CMNET is not available for ShenZhouXing Users
Gateway IP Gateway Internet Protocol - the address of the service provider's GPRS gateway. Many phones can automatically detect this using the APN.
Refer to the service plan pages for complete details on rates, savings plans, and mobile internet access:

Easy-own ShenZhouXing
M-Zone DongGanDiDai
Go Tone QuanQiuTong

[Click here if you see garbled or missing characters instead of Chinese]