How to Access Bing from China in 2024 - Fast and Safe Hack

The search engine Bing is one of the last holdouts from the Western internet that is generally still accessible in China. Bing never came close to Google's popularity in the US, but it has a small foothold in China. Microsoft chose to comply with China's censorship laws to maintain its presence in the Chinese market.

However, in January 2019, Bing experienced an outage across China that left many users panicking. There were fears that Bing had joined the list of forbidden sites, despite it being back in service the next day.

Rather than worrying about losing the last tie to Western media in China, there's a simple fix for users looking to ensure that they can always access Bing. A VPN will help you bypass strict censorship while also making your connection safer.

Not all VPNs can bypass the Great Firewall of China, but ExpressVPN stands up to the task.

Editor's Note: Transparency is one of our core values at vpnMentor, so you should know we are in the same ownership group as ExpressVPN. However, this does not affect our review process.

Why You Need a VPN to Access Bing in China

Unlike Google, China doesn't necessarily block Bing from users within the country. That doesn't prevent the site from occasionally being blocked.  Microsoft wouldn't confirm what caused the outage, but despite service returning a day later, many users were understandably concerned.

A good VPN can ensure that your access to a free and unrestricted internet remains open, even if China chooses to block Bing again in the future. They do this by allowing you to connect to a server in a foreign country. This action will mask your IP address, concealing your real location from your ISP (Internet Service Provider).

When you route your traffic through a VPN, it will also encrypt your data as it moves through a secure channel between your device and the VPN server. This way, you're also protected from hackers and government surveillance. 

So why can't you just use any VPN to unblock websites in China? As the Chinese government increased internet blacklisting, it began targetting VPNs in addition to Western sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Whatsapp. There are a few methods China employs to prevent users from accessing VPNs. They track and block known IP addresses, or they use deep packet inspection.

If you want to learn more about the Great Firewall of China, you can check out our guide to the best VPNs for China that actually work.

ExpressVPN is one of the best options to enhance your security and to bypass the Great Firewall. To get around China's blocks, the service uses obfuscated servers, which are specially configured to get around a restricted internet. Even so, you MUST download ExpressVPN before you arrive in China.

Now, we'll give you a step by step guide to using ExpressVPN in China.

How to Use a VPN in China

1. Download and install ExpressVPN on your device. Once you're in China, open the app and look at your Specialty Servers.

2. Go to Settings in the top left corner. There will be a list on the left side of your screen that includes Advanced. This will open the option to turn on Obfuscated Servers. Click the switch to turn them on. It will also turn blue when it's activated.

3. Return to the Servers page. Now you'll see Obfuscated Servers listed under Specialty Servers. You're most likely to get optimal service if you choose a server that's closer to China. Singapore or Hong Kong are good options, but any foreign server will unblock blacklisted websites.

If you want to return to regular servers at a later time, you can easily switch off Obfuscated Servers by going back to your advanced settings.

Summary

Bing may be one of the few Western websites that's still allowed by the Chinese government, but as we saw in January, that can change at any time. To keep your access open and to further protect your connection, it's a good idea to use a VPN whenever you surf the web in China.

Not every VPN works in China, but ExpressVPN uses obfuscated servers to get around the VPN blocks the government has put in place. However, no service is 100% foolproof. If you have any trouble using the internet with ExpressVPN in China, their customer service will help you get connected.

Having a VPN to protect your connection grants you the ability to freely and effortlessly access the internet, even when in China.

Further Reading

Here's a full list of websites that are blocked by the Great Firewall of China. You can also use our tool to check if a site is accessible in China.

For more special deals on ExpressVPN, check out our exclusive coupon codes.

To learn more about VPNs and why you should always use one, we've written an extensive guide to VPNs for newbies.