---
title: Accessing Vercel-hosted sites from mainland China
description: Understand why Vercel-hosted sites may be slow or inaccessible in mainland China, and explore steps to improve performance for users in the region
url: "https://vercel.com/kb/guide/accessing-vercel-hosted-sites-from-mainland-china"
published: 2025-11-03
last_updated: 2026-09-11
authors: Anders Morley-Hagström
install_vercel_plugin: npx plugins add vercel/vercel-plugin
---

Due to China's internet infrastructure and regulatory environment, Vercel-hosted sites may load slowly or fail to load in mainland China. This guide explains the causes and offers practical steps to improve access for users in the region.

## Why access is limited

| Cause                            | What it means for your site                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| No mainland China infrastructure | Vercel has no servers or CDN nodes in mainland China. Requests are served from nearby regions, which adds latency.                                                                                             |
| The Great Firewall               | China's network controls can block or throttle traffic to foreign domains, including Vercel's `.vercel.app` subdomains. Even unblocked traffic routes through international gateways, which slows connections. |
| Regulatory constraints           | Hosting within China requires an ICP license and compliance with local requirements. Vercel doesn't offer in-country hosting or regulatory support.                                                            |

Blocking is applied per domain and can change over time or differ between ISPs. A domain that works today may be throttled or blocked later without notice.

## Recommendations

- **Use a custom domain**: Replace the `.vercel.app` domain with your own custom domain. Custom domains are less likely to be flagged or blocked, though no domain is immune. See [Adding & Configuring a Custom Domain](https://vercel.com/docs/domains/working-with-domains/add-a-domain).
  
- **Self-host key resources**: Reduce reliance on third-party scripts and services that may be blocked in China, such as Google Fonts and external analytics. Self-host fonts, analytics, and other important resources where possible.
  
- **Use a mirror or dual deployment**: Vercel [does not recommend placing a proxy in front](https://vercel.com/docs/security/reverse-proxy) of a deployment. However, some customers have improved access by deploying a static mirror on infrastructure with more reliable routing into China. Others maintain a separate version of their site on local infrastructure within mainland China, which requires an ICP license and compliance with local regulations.
  

The table below compares these approaches:

| Approach                    | Infrastructure changes        | ICP license required | Trade-offs                                                               |
| --------------------------- | ----------------------------- | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Custom domain               | None                          | No                   | Least effort, but blocking can still occur                               |
| Self-hosted resources       | Minimal                       | No                   | Removes dependencies on blocked third-party services                     |
| Static mirror outside China | Second deployment target      | No                   | Better routing, but you maintain two builds                              |
| In-country deployment       | Separate hosting within China | Yes                  | Most reliable access, with the highest compliance and maintenance burden |

## What to expect

Even with these optimizations, Vercel can't guarantee availability or performance within mainland China. Any site hosted outside China may face latency, throttling, or blocking due to factors outside Vercel's control.

Start with a custom domain and self-hosted resources, since they need no infrastructure changes. Consider a mirror or in-country deployment if reliable access in China is a business requirement.