Phone in China are going to be MUCH MUCH MUCH cheaper than what you paid back home and all the state of the art phone you couldn't afford at home were made here in China so there is a pretty good change you're going to be able to get a nice phone IN China.
If you already spent a fortune on your phone and you want to bring it with you I can also understand.
First things first, if you are going to be able to use your phone in China that following conditions must be met:
- phone must be a GSM phone
- phone must be unlocked
If you phone is a GSM phone and if it's unlocked, a new SIM card will cost 60 RMB, with the cost of phone calls being around 0.3 RMB per minute. China Mobile is the most reliable mobile phone company but make sure you get a sim card that works anywhere in China. They also have sim cards that only work locally in Zhengzhou. Note that some cell phones from overseas networks are actually “Locked” and will only work with that network. Check with your service provider before you come to unlock it (if possible). Phones purchased in China do not have a lock on them and can be used on most GSM networks.
You can get prepaid SIM cards from China Mobile or other carriers. All incoming calls while you travel China are no more then $.19 USD per minute (Only $.07 in Guangdong province), regardless of where they originate. Pay the local rate for local calls and use your cellular phone in China like you do at home. One of the beauties here is that you aren't forced into a contract. Note for this to work your phone has to be a SIM-unlocked GSM900 compatible phone.
Please note: sending and receiving text messages from your Chinese mobile to and from your home country may or may not work. Also, Chinese mobile phone SIM cards do not work in Hong Kong without a roaming plan being first set up (which is quite expensive).
