Cost of living in Liuzhou - Part 6: Phone Plans

Smartphones are an obsession in China, more so than the UK even. They are simultaneously people's means of communicating, doing business and indicating their social status. In part 6 of our cost of living guide, we look at how much you'll be paying to use yours...

You'll be pleased to know that using your smartphone is cheap in China: messaging, making calls, internet packages - all cost less than what you'll be used to paying in the UK. You'll also be pleased to know that the reliability and speed of 3g and 4g internet access here is superior. There are three main mobile phone networks in China: China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom. The three networks have shops all over the city, helpfully distinguishable by their boldly coloured shop fronts, so you'll never be far from some real life customer service if required.

The message I get from almost everyone here is not to bother with China Mobile; although they are a long established company and have a wide range of packages available, their fees are generally higher and the internet access isn't always reliable. As with the UK, choosing which network to use often comes down to who your friends are signed up with, but let's look at what the others offer.

Personally, I use China Unicom, which I like because the name looks like China Unicorn when it's written at the top of my screen. They have a package for 39元 (£4.44) per month which provides 5GB of 4g data and 300 minutes of calls; I've never hit those limits but, if you do go over, you pay 0.15元 (1.7p) per minute for calls and 30元 (£3.41) for 1GB of additional data. The sim card is provided free as long as you put 100元 credit on your phone at the time of purchase. They have other packages available but this one strikes a good balance between cost and usage.

China Telecom is also popular and, although their equivalent package is more expensive at 50元 (£5.69) per month for 5GB data, they offer a wider range of price points so you can choose how much you want to use. If you don't spend a lot of time on the internet, they start at 10元 (£1.14) per month for 300mb or 20元 (£2.28) for 1GB. Their packages go up to 80元 (£9.11) for those who insist on streaming video to their phone and think they'll need a whopping 10GB per month.

As with everything in China, there are myriad options available and shopping around can help with finding an even better deal. And don't get caught short without enough data available, as you'll need it to pay for things with WeChat or Alipay!

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