Chengdu eSIM
In Chengdu you connect to China Unicom or China Mobile, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 41 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- China Unicom and China Mobile
- Typical speed in China
- 41 Mbps typical, 10 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- yes, non standalone
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Chengdu
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $5.89 | $5.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $2.96 | $8.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $2.38 | $11.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $1.89 | $18.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $1.49 | $29.89 | |
| 50 GB | Never expires | $1.36 | $67.89 |
How China compares across Asia
- Regional typical speed
- 42.95 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, China Unicom, China Mobile
- 5G
- Yes, non standalone
- Next fastest nearby
- Cambodia, 42 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Indonesia, 38 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 4: Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Xian
Landing at Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (TFU)
- Airport
- TFU / ZUTF
- Distance
- 51 km from the centre of Chengdu
- Also serves
- Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU)
Getting into Chengdu
- Chengdu Metro Line 19 (TFU). Runs through tunnels, where a signal drops
- Chengdu Metro Line 10 (CTU)
- Shuangliu Airport railway station to Chengdu East and Chengdu South (CTU)
- Night Bus 1 from Shuangliu airport to Chunxi Road (CTU)
Underground and on the metro
Chengdu Metro runs 17 lines. It opened in 2010. The operator does not publish whether the tunnels carry a mobile signal, so we do not claim either way.
Worth knowing about Chengdu
- Chengdu's two airports keep confusingly similar codes: Shuangliu kept CTU and sits 16 km from downtown, while the newer Tianfu is TFU and sits 51 km southeast, so check which one your ticket names.
- Metro Line 19 is an express line built to link the two Chengdu airports to each other as well as to the city.
- Tianfu opened only in June 2021, so older maps, apps and offline guides may still route you to Shuangliu.
- Chengdu's government says foreign bank cards carrying Visa, Mastercard, American Express or UnionPay logos can pay for rides on the city's metro, trams and buses.
- Before tapping in Chengdu you must activate the small-amount password-free payment feature on the card, and the card must be chip enabled and contactless. No password is asked for at the gate.
- From 28 July 2025 overseas UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard and American Express cards can tap at Chengdu Metro fare gates, and can also buy single-journey tickets and day passes at ticket vending machines.
- China Daily reported in August 2025 that all 423 Chengdu Metro stations carry real-time translation devices supporting more than ten languages, alongside bilingual Chinese and English signs and announcements.
- China's Regulations on the Registration of Real Identity Information of Telephone Users took effect on 1 September 2013, requiring new mobile users to register real identity information.
- Metro Line 18 is the Tianfu airport line, designed for 160 km/h and running at 140 km/h, and was planned to link Chengdu South Railway Station to the airport in 35 minutes.
- Line 18 reached Tianfu International Airport North on 18 December 2020, six months before the airport itself opened.
- Line 19 phase 2, which added the express link toward Tianfu airport, only opened on 28 November 2023, so the two-airport metro connection is recent.
- Chengdu Metro counts 447 stations and 721.3 km of route, with the 36-station Chengdu Tram Line 2 counted separately from the metro network.
- Tianfu airport ran no international flights until 26 March 2023, when it took over most international and cargo routes from Shuangliu.
- At Tianfu, Terminal 1 handles mostly international flights and Terminal 2 handles domestic, so an international arrival connecting onward may change terminal.
- At Shuangliu, Metro Line 10 boards outside Exit 04 on the T1 arrivals level and on B2 at T2, heading into the city to Wuhouci. Last trains toward the city leave T2 at 23:12 and T1 at 23:15.
- Metro Line 30 starts at Shuangliu Airport Terminal 2 East and runs across the city to Longquanyi Railway Station South, from 06:10 to 23:10.
- Shuangliu Airport railway station, on B2 at T2, sits on the Chengdu to Leshan intercity line and the Chengdu to Guiyang high speed line, with direct trains to Leshan and Emeishan. It opens from 06:20 to 22:50.
- After the metro stops, Night Bus 1 links Shuangliu with Chunxi Road from 21:00 to 04:30, every 40 to 70 minutes, and an hourly night bus runs between Shuangliu and Tianfu from midnight to 05:00.
- Shuangliu taxis wait about 50 m south of Door 6 on the T1 arrivals level and at the pedestrian crossing on the T2 arrivals level.