Leaving in China without a VPN is possible only if you are travelling for a short period and with an eSim (in this way the Chinese firewall won't affect you), but for longer stays you will find out that having a traditional local sim with a local number is super useful, but then you won't be able to access most western apps like Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp etc...
So, if you are looking for a cheap and reliable vpn for China in 2025, here's my guide! 🙂