[pmlnr]

> I took my passport to a China Unicom shop in Beijing a few weeks ago, to get a SIM for a visiting relative. The process took about 10 minutes.

Tried to do the same in a tourist city (not a tier 1 city), beginning of May, didn't work. I wanted a full SIM, not a data only SIM though, which one did you get?

> No it doesn't. If I print out my payment QR code, you can scan it and pay me even if my phone is off. When I buy vegetables at the market, the vendors have their Alipay and WeChat QR codes displayed on stickers.

So the vendor (receiver) doesn't need connectivity, but you (sender) do, correct? That's the polar opposite of POS.

[tomjohnneill]

For what it's worth (and this was in 2018), I tried to buy a SIM in Changsha, and was told that I had to go to a specific China Unicom shop - apparently only one of them was allowed to register foreigners' details.

[rahimnathwani]

"Tried to do the same in a tourist city (not a tier 1 city), beginning of May, didn't work."

I'm curious - did you go to an official China Unicom store (i.e. owned and operated by China Unicom) or an independent retailer that happens to sell SIM cards?

"I wanted a full SIM, not a data only SIM though, which one did you get?"

A regular SIM with a voice+data plan.

[olalonde]

> Tried to do the same in a tourist city (not a tier 1 city), beginning of May, didn't work. I wanted a full SIM, not a data only SIM though, which one did you get?

You just got unlucky... I bought one recently at China Mobile (Shenzhen). They do ask for passport and it takes about 10 minutes.

[pmlnr]

Both Beijing and Shenzen are Tier 1. And again, a full SIM or a data only SIM?

[olalonde]

Full SIM. I'm fairly sure you got unlucky with that particular shop. I've been living in China for about a decade and never heard such a thing (passport was not even required a while back).