CMHK 1-card-2-number

Update 4/10/15: this post has been updated to reflect my thoughts after a month of usage in mainland China and another in Hong Kong. Update 3/1/22: the card was discontinued in 2016.

I wanted a Chinese phone number for various reasons whilst on exchange in Hong Kong. China Mobile Hong Kong sells a 4G/3G 1-Card-2-Number SIM that works in Hong Kong and China. It’s significantly more expensive than your regular SIM for phone calls and texts, but who does that nowadays anyway?

CMHK also sells a normal 4G/3G Data & Voice Prepaid SIM with competitive rates.

Common to both SIMs is their unlimited data package for use within Hong Kong. It’s $30/10 days, and capped at 384 kbps. I love it, having used 2 GB in the first month alone.

There is bonus credit for larger recharges. For $200, you get $250. For $300, you get $400.

Some notes about 1-Card-2-Number:

• 1 GB of data for use in both Hong Kong and China for 30 days costs $118, 200 MB for $38, 2 GB for $198
• You can’t track your data usage, though when it’s gone, data is turned off and you receive an SMS notification
• Generally, when you roam in another country (China), all traffic goes through your home country (Hong Kong). As Hong Kong isn’t subject to censorship, this tunnelling allows access to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram in China
• To get 3G/4G in mainland China, you’ll need a newer phone that supports China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA and TD-LTE standards¹
• You’ll need to turn on international data roaming on your phone to use data in mainland China
• CMHK has a ‘store’ at Hong Kong Airport (called a ‘roaming service centre’ at level 7 landside departures) where you can buy SIMs
• I personally found China Unicom has better coverage than China Mobile in mainland China