Is ChatGPT blocked in China?
Yes — ChatGPT is effectively unavailable in China: OpenAI does not serve China (vendor geo-restriction), on top of network filtering. The domain may still respond at a CDN edge — Voidly measures 4% raw network reachability — but that is not the same as the service working.
The situation
China operates one of the world’s most comprehensive network-filtering systems (the "Great Firewall"), and OpenAI also does not officially serve mainland China. So both a network block and a provider restriction are in play.
How to read this verdict
A "blocked" verdict here reflects what our probes actually observe at the network layer inside the region — separate from OpenAI’s own geo-policy. A low accessibility score means most measurements failed to load the service.
Voidly measures network reachability only — whether the service loads from inside the country. That is distinct from a provider declining sign-ups in a region (a policy layer we do not conflate with network blocking).
What people do about it
- Users typically rely on a VPN or other circumvention tooling to reach a supported region.
- Some switch to a locally-available model (e.g. a China-based provider) for day-to-day use.
Related
Measured by Voidly's global probe network, cross-referenced with OONI, Censored Planet, and IODA. Network reachability only; verdicts update continuously. CC BY 4.0.