[Johnwbh]

A lot of expats and the upper middle class in China and similar countries use them. Most people don't have the expertise to set up their own

[kweks]

VPNs simply don't work in China. The GFW actively detects and disconnects SSH, VPN (OpenSSL, PPTP, socks.. etc)

The only reliable solution has been ShadowSocks; it's what locals and expats alike use. It simply works, and also has public servers.

[xiaomee]

I do not agree with you. I am running my own VPN Server outside of Mainland China and thanks to obfuscation my VPN is working quite well and its very reliable.

[mirimir]

Have you tried iVPN with obfsproxy? Or AirVPN with stunnel? Or VyperVPN? Just curious.

[FabHK]

Are you by chance aware of any simple tutorial for ShadowSocks? Last time I looked at the website it didn't seem straightforward to set up (particularly for non-techies).

Also, one needs an exit server, or not?

[dserodio]

SoftEther VPN (Open Source) works over HTTPS and UDP, that might work for you. https://www.softether.org/