How to do a web search in English in China without a VPN

How to do a web search in English in China without a VPN - Three White-and-black Scrabble Tiles on Brown Wooden Surface

I've just got a humble smartphone with no fancy apps on a hotel wifi network in Canton, China.

My search engine of choice seems to be unavailable for some reason. How can I search the web in English without it?

baidu.com (a major Chinese search engine and also encyclopaedia) seems to work, but it's localised to Chinese.

I tried search engining, but the main result I got involved a website that uses baidu, and then the translate service of a certain unavailable search engine.



Best Answer

I usually end up using Bing if it's something I have to search for in English, even though it's really primitive and low quality in every way compared to Google.

If it's something I think I might be able to search in Chinese then I use Baidu. It's best to have a Chinese speaking friend handy though for when I get stuck.

You can use Baidu to search in English, but the interface is always only in Chinese and it's actually not very good at even searching English. (It is often better at searching Chinese than Google though.)

If you do get VPN, don't expect it to "just work" all the time. I had varying problems with VPN in different places in China.




Pictures about "How to do a web search in English in China without a VPN"

How to do a web search in English in China without a VPN - Macbook Air on Grey Wooden Table
How to do a web search in English in China without a VPN - White Facebook Scramble Pieces
How to do a web search in English in China without a VPN - Black Samsung Tablet Display Google Browser on Screen



How can I view Chinese websites in English?

Translate web pages in Chrome
  • On your computer, open Chrome.
  • Go to a web page written in another language.
  • At the top, click Translate.
  • Chrome will translate the web page this once.


  • How do I use Google search in China?

    You can access Google in China by using a VPN, or virtual private network....Here's how to unblock Google in China:
  • Sign up for a VPN that works in China. ...
  • Download and install the VPN app for your device. ...
  • Open the app and sign in with your account username and password. ...
  • Select a server location outside of China.


  • Which English search engine works in China?

    Baidu, Inc.Corporate headquartersHeadquartersBeijing , ChinaArea servedWorldwideKey peopleRobin Li (co-founder & CEO)ProductsSearch engine Baidu Maps Baidu Baike Baidu Wangpan Baidu Tieba13 more rows

    How do I search Chinese websites only?

    Then let's dive right in.
  • Baidu. First up on our list is Baidu, which is by far the king of Chinese search engines. ...
  • Sogou. While no search engine in China comes close to Baidu, Sogou is certainly a Chinese search engine to look out for. ...
  • Shenma. ...
  • Haosou (aka 360) ...
  • Youdao.




  • 4 Ways To Access Sites in China If You’re Already There in 2022 🎯




    More answers regarding how to do a web search in English in China without a VPN

    Answer 2

    From my personal experience (Jun 2016) Yahoo works better than Bing in China, although both indeed work and not blocked as stated by @hippietrail above.

    Bing also has a nice online translator: http://www.bing.com/translator where you can feed the sites like Baidu. This is also available in China.

    Answer 3

    Wikipedia suggests that Bing.com is freely available in China, however this service which tests availability of websites in China sometimes shows me a green and at times a red light (right now red, matching your experience). Interestingly it gives a green light for Google right now, even though that is blocked according to Wiki. The result is similar for other big search engines.

    There is a thread on Quora but the quintessence is to get a VPN. For that also see some older posts on here:

    Alternatively, I found a list of meta search engines and none of them seems to be blocked from what I can tell over here

    The quintessence is, that the Great Firewall does not necessarily consistently block all content, it suffices that it makes use of foreign websites painstaking enough to reconsider them.
    Since you do not have a VPN, my recommendation is to hang in there for hopefully not too long, and keep trying services that you have already given up on at a later time, with sometimes surprisingly positive results. Anecdotally, even Facebook sometimes works for a few moments.

    Answer 4

    I recommend Bing Global. Incidentally I'm a Chinese , I know the pain you are suffering.

    Answer 5

    Try http://SearchEngineChina.com. It allows you to fetch Google Search Results in China. You can also select different languages to display the results.

    Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

    Images: Pixabay, Caio, Pixabay, PhotoMIX Company