There are certain restrictions on the internet in China as the government blocks many websites that are deemed “inappropriate”. Commonly referred to as “the Great Firewall”, China’s online censorship system blocks the access to the most popular websites in other parts of the world: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Google+, Blogger and even Dropbox.
It is crucial to overcome this obstacle, especially for selfie-obsessed tourists, especially so for the younger generation. If they can’t upload their travel photos to the social networks instantly, then they might as well not take them.
There are simple ways to bypass the Great Firewall to use the social media, and they don’t necessarily involve hacker-level skills.
1. Use VPN apps
VPN (Virtual Private Network) is the most effective way to unblock all restrictions on the internet. VPN enables you to access internet data as if your smart devices were directly connected to a private network, such as a network in another country, and thus bypass the restrictions.
There are quite a number of VPN apps on the market. Some of them are free, but most of them are chargeable. Total VPN is the top ranking one by some of the app review websites. I have tried Cloud VPN, a free app available on Google Play. It works quite well.
Free VPN apps sometimes come with a trial period, so you are advised to get a few as your backup.
Remember you need to download these apps before you go to China, because they are very likely to be banned in the country as well.
2. Push your posts through third-party apps
VPN apps don’t always work well because of the innate limitations of those apps. Those effective ones may come with a high cost, which many people are not willing to pay just for a leisure trip. So here is another way: Use third-party apps to push your posts to the banned social media platforms.
For instance, you can use WeChat, a hugely popular social app developed by the Chinese tech giant Tencent, to push your posts to Facebook and Twitter.
Set up a WeChat account before your trip. It’s very straightforward and takes just a couple of minutes. Under WeChat “Settings”, go to “General”,
and then “Features”,
you can link our Facebook account to WeChat there.
On WeChat’s “Discovery” tab, click on “Moments”. Upload the photos you want to share with your Facebook friends there. You can also write something in the text box.
Light up the Facebook and Twitter icons below the photos, then your posts and photos on WeChat will be shared across Facebook and Twitter. You’ll be asked to set up Twitter account when you click on the Twitter icon. This step has to be completed before you arrive in China.
Alternatively, you can set up a profile on IFTTT. You can also download the IFTTT app to do it.
You will first need to set up an account on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. Once done, browse the recipes on IFTTT and link your Facebook, Twitter or other social profile to Weibo. After enabling these recipes, you will be able to posts your updates to Facebook and Twitter through Weibo while you are in China.
The Tip Box 