How To Watch American Netflix in Beijing

Beijing in China is a fascinating place to visit for work or on vacation. Despite the region’s politics, the culture, people, sights, sounds and smells have to be seen to be believed and the food is something else entirely. If you want to watch American Netflix in Beijing, you can but you have some work to do first.

There are more controls on internet access in China than pretty much anywhere in the world. Fortunately, the way you access American Netflix is the same way you can minimize surveillance. If you’re traveling to Beijing for work, that’s probably more important than watching TV. Your employer will probably load a commercial VPN app onto your work computer but what about your personal one? Your phone? Your tablet?

Beijing and VPNs

China, like Russia and a few other countries regard the VPN as the enemy. It helps citizens circumvent surveillance and censorship and provides access to the free internet. As China tries to control everything its citizens see and do, VPNs are not welcome there. That doesn’t mean you cannot use them. It just means you have to be very selective about the VPN you use.

Not all of them will work in China as the country blocks VPNs when they are detected. The provider will either need to work around that with technical measures or buy new IP address ranges when required. It’s the same game of cat and mouse Netflix plays with VPNs but on a national scale.

How VPNS let you watch American Netflix in Beijing

A VPN, Virtual Private Network, is created from the app you install on your device. The app creates an encrypted tunnel where all your internet traffic goes. The other end of the tunnel is at a VPN server somewhere in the world. In this case, the US. All traffic between the VPN app and that VPN server is encrypted and cannot be read by anyone.

Once it hits the VPN server, the traffic is decrypted and sent on its way. Part of the decryption process involves giving your traffic a new IP address. If you select a US VPN server, you get a US IP address. Netflix reads this as you being in the States and shows you the American Netflix catalog.

The following are some of the VPN providers that work in Beijing and will allow you to watch American Netflix. All use 256-bit encryption, include apps that install on most devices and offer a free trial and/or a money back guarantee. They are all no-log VPNs too of course.

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is one of the better known VPN options and has a reputation for speed and reliability. It is one of the few VPN providers that is consistently available in China and works to keep Netflix available wherever possible. The app is easy to use, connects quickly and keeps your data safe with 256-bit encryption.

NordVPN

NordVPN is widely recognized as one of the most secure VPN providers around. When you’re dealing with China, that is important. Not only does NordVPN provide the same level of server as these others, it also uses a double hop where your traffic jumps from one VPN server to another. If you’re working on anything confidential or need to stay hidden from the authorities, this is worth checking out.

VyprVPN

VyprVPN is another VPN provider that allows access to American Netflix in Beijing. It offers the same features, plus another useful one. Chameleon. This hides the fact VpyrVPN is a VPN at all. While not guaranteed to work, it seems reliable so far and has been well reviewed. As the VPN features are comparable to these others, it is worth investigating further.

PureVPN

PureVPN is one of the best VPNs for speed and reliability. With a simple app, fast network, multiple US VPN servers and the ability to connect quickly, it is worth trying. It doesn’t have any neat tricks like NordVPN or VyprVPN but the base service is well worth the money.

CyberGhost

CyberGhost is also worth considering if you’re traveling to China. It has a huge network, offers speed and reliability, a simple to use app, fast connection speeds, 256-bit encryption and competes well with all these others. It doesn’t use double hop or Chameleon but the base service offers good value for money.

China is hostile territory for VPNs and the landscape changes quickly. Before signing up to one of these services it is worth checking that they are still working in the country. The authorities work hard to block them to maintain control so while these work in Beijing now, they may not work in the future.