Skip to content
  1. Home
  2. Tools
  3. Censorship Monitor
  4. China
  5. ChatGPT

Censorship Monitor · China Last test

Is ChatGPT banned in China?

Yes. ChatGPT’s website is blocked in mainland China, and OpenAI doesn’t offer ChatGPT there, or in Hong Kong and Macau.

Today’s test · chatgpt.com

Blocked

chatgpt.com fails to open on China Unicom and China Mobile, twice, while it opens from other countries.

Last confirmed
Seen in our tests since
29 Sep 2026 (may be older)
How it fails
The connection is refused
Tested on
China Unicom and China Mobile
Test ChatGPT yourself › Everything we test in China

The official status

ChatGPT in China

ChatGPT has never been offered in China. OpenAI’s list of supported countries and territories leaves out mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, while Taiwan is included, and OpenAI blocks its API from unsupported regions.

China’s internet censors block the chatgpt.com website as well. In February 2023 Chinese regulators also told tech firms to stop offering access to ChatGPT.

In July 2024 OpenAI cut off API access from China, and Chinese AI companies offered to move developers onto their own models.

What people use instead

Chinese chatbots such as ByteDance’s Doubao, the country’s most-used AI app, as well as DeepSeek and Alibaba’s Qwen.

Get past a block

How to use ChatGPT in China

A VPN connects you through a server in another country, so a block on ChatGPT in China no longer applies. Where VPNs themselves are blocked, you need one that can disguise its traffic, and you should set it up before you travel.

Only government-approved VPNs are legal in China, and most foreign VPNs are blocked.

NordVPN

Our top pick
  • Obfuscated servers for networks that block VPNs
  • Connects you through a server in another country
  • Encrypts what your internet provider could otherwise see
Get NordVPN ›

30-day money-back guarantee

Surfshark

  • Camouflage Mode makes VPN traffic look like ordinary traffic
  • Unlimited devices on one plan
  • Apps for phones, computers and TVs
Get Surfshark ›

30-day money-back guarantee

Best VPNs for China › Where VPNs are legal ›

We earn a commission if you buy through these links. It never changes what the monitor shows. Our disclosure.

Around the world

Where else is ChatGPT blocked?

No other country we test blocks ChatGPT right now.

ChatGPT itself turns away visitors from Russia.

It opens in 22 of the 23 other countries with a current result.

ChatGPT in every country we test ›

China

What else is blocked in China?

52 of the other 66 sites and apps we test are blocked in China.

All 67 results for China ›

History

Changes for ChatGPT in China

No confirmed changes since monitoring began on 29 Sep 2026. When a block appears or lifts, and a re-check on several machines agrees, it shows up here.

Method

How we test

  • Every day, test machines on China Unicom and China Mobile home connections open chatgpt.com.
  • A failure counts only when it happens twice on the same network, while the site opens from other countries.
  • A change is published only after re-checks a few hours later and again the next day, on several machines per provider, confirm it. It’s dated from the first sighting.
  • Test machines caught getting around blocks, through a VPN or a filter-dodging tool, are set aside.
  • We test the website over home broadband. The app, calls and mobile networks can behave differently.

Full method ›

Questions

ChatGPT in China: questions

Does ChatGPT Work in China?

No. ChatGPT’s website is blocked in mainland China, and OpenAI doesn’t offer ChatGPT there, or in Hong Kong and Macau.

Can I Use ChatGPT in Hong Kong?

Not officially. OpenAI’s list of supported countries and territories includes Taiwan but not mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau.

What Do People in China Use Instead of ChatGPT?

Chinese chatbots. In late December 2025 ByteDance’s Doubao had 155 million weekly users and DeepSeek 81.6 million, according to QuestMobile data reported by Reuters.

Free to use

Cite this result

Quote or republish today’s result with a link to this page: the monitor’s data is under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY 4.0).

Source: vpnAlert Censorship Monitor, https://vpnalert.com/tools/censorship-monitor/china/chatgpt/

Explore the monitor

More answers