Can I use Google Translate in China?

Does Google Translate work in China?

Not on a normal Chinese connection. Google shut down its mainland translation service in early October 2022, and the Great Firewall has blocked both the app and translate.google.com ever since. Open the app on hotel Wi-Fi or a local SIM and it just spins. It is the same story as Google Maps: the whole Google stack is walled off.

For years, Translate was the one Google product that did work in China. That ended in 2022, and nothing has changed since. So the practical job is setting the app up before you land, and carrying a backup app or two that need no VPN at all.

Three ways Google Translate still works in China

Offline packs, the reliable one

Before you fly, open the app and download the Chinese offline pack (plus English if it asks). Typed text and camera translation then work with no connection at all: point the camera at a menu, a sign, a shipping label, and it translates on the device. What dies offline is conversation mode. Spoken two-way translation needs Google’s servers, and those are blocked, so it fails quietly mid-sentence rather than telling you why.

One habit worth copying: after downloading the packs, put your phone in airplane mode and translate something. If it works over lunch at home, it will work in Beijing.

Roaming data or a travel eSIM

Roaming traffic exits through your home carrier’s network, outside the firewall, so Google services usually load as if you never left. Usually. It depends on the eSIM, some route differently than others, and the moment you connect to hotel Wi-Fi you are back behind the wall. Treat roaming as a nice bonus, not the plan.

A VPN, installed before you land

A working VPN restores the full app. The catches: VPN websites and app-store listings are blocked from inside China, so install and test before you fly. Only government-approved VPNs are technically legal, and while enforcement has aimed at sellers rather than tourists, the rules tightened again in 2025. Some international hotel chains also throttle VPN traffic on their Wi-Fi, so a VPN that runs fine on mobile data may crawl in your room.

Does Google Translate work offline in China?

Mostly, and the offline half is the part worth trusting. With the packs downloaded: typed and pasted text works, camera translation works, voice conversation does not. For a traveller that covers menus, taxis, signs and shop labels, which is most of what you need an app for. Add the download to your pre-China checklist next to the visa photos.

Translation apps that work in China without a VPN

• Apple Translate: preinstalled on iPhone and not blocked. Camera translation through Live Text reads Chinese signage well.
• Microsoft (Bing) Translator: not blocked, at least for now. The offline Chinese pack is about 98MB and handles text without a connection.
• Baidu Translate: built for this market. Its camera mode reads handwritten and messy text better than the Western apps, and the English interface is serviceable, if not pretty.
• WeChat’s built-in translate: long-press any message. If you are doing business in China you will be living in WeChat within a day anyway.
• Youdao Translate: another domestic app, with reportedly strong camera recognition and an English-Chinese offline pack.
• DeepL: blocked in mainland China. Skip it unless you are already on a VPN.

What I would actually do

Download Google’s offline packs and one backup app from the list before departure, and sort a travel eSIM if you want your usual apps working on arrival. On the ground, the camera gets you through menus, taxis and street signs without drama. It is fine for a menu or a taxi, but for anything that carries money or legal weight a phone app is no substitute for a professional Chinese translator. Machine translation garbles names, numbers and contract terms precisely where they cost you the most.