So, we’ve all been using it.
I know you have. You know I have.
The he-who-cannot-be-named of the internet world: the VPN.
When I first came to China about ten years ago, that was when I properly learned about this thing called a VPN. Before that, I had barely thought about it. Most people around the world do not have to worry about VPNs in their daily life. Even as a heavy internet user, I had probably only used one a few times in my entire life.
Then I arrived in China, opened my usual apps, tried to message people, tried to check things online, and slowly realized:
“Oh. Right. The internet is a little different here.”
So, what actually is a VPN?
Think of it like sending a gift through the mail.
You have a gift you want to send to a friend. You wrap the gift, write your friend’s name and address on the box, and hand it to the mailman.
Normally, that works fine.
But now imagine the mailman looks at the address and says:
“Hmm. I don’t like this destination.”
Maybe he refuses to send it. Maybe he delays it. Maybe the package just disappears somewhere along the way.
That is roughly what happens in the Chinese internet. When you open a website or use an app, your device sends traffic to a destination. In a normal situation, your internet provider can see where that traffic is trying to go. Not necessarily the full contents of everything, because many websites already use encryption, but they can often still see the destination.
Now imagine you wrap the gift one more time.
This time, instead of writing your real friend’s address on the outside, you write the address of another trusted friend — someone the mailman is willing to deliver to.
The mailman sees the outside package and delivers it there.
Then your trusted friend opens the outer wrapping, sees the real destination inside, and forwards the original gift to the person you actually wanted to reach.
That, in simple terms, is what a VPN does.
Your internet traffic is sent first to a VPN server. To the local network, it mostly looks like you are connecting to that VPN server. Then the VPN server sends your traffic onward to the real website or app you wanted to use.
So instead of your connection going directly like this:
You → Website
it goes more like this:
You → VPN server → Website
And when the website replies, the reply comes back through the same path:
Website → VPN server → You
That is the basic idea (plus there is encryption and all the high-tech stuff).
Of course, a VPN is not magic, and it doesn’t magically improve everything. For example, if your Wi-Fi is terrible, then there is almost always no way a VPN can help. Because that basically means your mailman delivers mail on foot, rather than in a vehicle. There is no way a gift-wrap can affect the speed of delivery.
Anyway, for foreigners living in China, it’s a must-have.
I love China. I really do. It is where I have lived, worked, eaten amazing food, met great people, and built a life. But I also need to call my mom every now and then. Because I love her too.
I respect that every country has its own rules, but man, I’ve really gotta call my mom! She can get cranky!
Anyway, hopefully, one day, we do not have to think about this so much.
Because honestly?
I hate having to use a VPN 🥲