Calling China from the UK

[starkey73]

Im sorry if this has been asked thousand times before, ive never had to call china before !

I have 3 no,s given to me. Is the code from uk 0086 to china, then do i have to dial the code for bejing ? then the actual no ?

Also how do imake calls to chinese mobile nos, do they have certain codes also ?

all the nos i have start with 7 and have 10 numbers..

If anyone has experience calling China from uk, please give me some info, on whats cheapest and best way to make calls..I know im on 3 network and would be very exspensive..

many thanks

mark

[xuechengfeng]

Skype is the cheapest way I know of to call other countries. Let someone else answer, but I'm pretty sure 0086 is the country code for China and then yes, you would have to dial whatever the specific code is for each city, followed by the number.

[roddy]

It sounds like you've got a mobile number, so you'd dial 0086 (0?) 7... [edit - ignore me, it's UK mobiles that start with 7, not Chinese ones ]

The 0 I'm not sure about - you sometimes need it calling out-of-city mobiles in China I think, you may need it calling into the country, you may not. No city code is necessary when calling mobiles, but if you were calling a Beijing landline it would be 0086 10 ... ...

I know im on 3 network and would be very exspensive..

Don't call from your mobile for a start . . .

Edited July 17, 2008 at 12:41 AM by roddy

[Rincewind]

My parents use a low cost service to call me, costs just 1p/min which is very cheap. The website for the company is http://www.planet-numbers.co.uk/phone_china.jsp and here's the simple instructions:

Instead of just dialing the overseas number, call 0844 605 0181 first. Once connected you'll hear a dial tone. Now dial the full international phone number you wish to reach, starting with 00 as usual.

For example, to call a number in Beijing you would dial 0844 605 0181 then 0086 10 123456.

To end your call, hang up in the usual manner.

[imron]

If you are calling a land-line, the format for dialing an international number is:

International prefix + country code + area code (minus any leading zeros) + number

If you are calling a mobile, the format is:

International prefix + country code + mobile number (minus any leading zeros)

The international prefix in most countries is 00 (however some countries use a different prefix e.g. in Australia we use 0011). This indicates you are making an international call.

The country code for China is 86.

010 - is the area code for Beijing. Note the leading zero which needs to be dropped when you are making an international call, but would need to be included if you were calling from within China.

I'm guessing that the numbers you have are not mobile numbers (all mobile numbers in China begin with a 1 and have 11 digits). They are also probably not Beijing numbers. A Beijing number has 8 digits. If you add the area code, this will be 10 digits (because we drop the leading zero) and will start with a 1, not a 7.

I would also recommend using Skype to make the calls.

[BrandeX]

I've started using http://www.internetcalls.com instead of skype. It's cheaper or free to call PC to phone, and every time you deposit credits (10 pounds iir, was about 13 USD for me) you get 3 months free calls before it starts using the credit.

[starkey73]

Thanks everyone for the info, has really helped.. I did a search on cheap calls, theres loads that claim calls are only so many pence per min..Is there usually any hidden charges using these services ?

Like the ones where you dial their no 1st then your no and it connects you automatically..

I dont have a landline unfortunatly, so calls will have to be from either mobile or pc , which i didnt know you could do that...

As you can tell im completly clueless on this, but im enjoying it all the same !!

Cheers

mark

ps it seems ive been trying to call the wrong no.. It starts with 3..

[roddy]

Is there any chance you could post the numbers you have, perhaps with the last few digits replaces with X's, so we can see what you've actually got. I can't think which numbers would start with 3's . . .

[crystak]

Skype is 1p per minute, I use it all the time and there are no hidden charges! 1p for both landine China and mobiles in China!

With your phone, it's probably £1.5 + per minute you know.. I'm on O2 and their normal tarriff to China is £1.5 per minute although I have something called ITS which is included in my pay monthly contract which reduces that to 90p per minute. Still very expensive and not worth it when there are other ways.

I was reading about some call cards online you can buy, you dial a London number 020 which is included in your contract and is therefore free and then they don't charge you anything extra, you just talk for 1-2 p per minute from the credit from the card you bought.

I haven't tried that service yet but I want to in the future. I found it on Google, not sure if I could find it again though .

[niais]

Hi there, .. 0086 is the dialing code for china and yes can call from mobile here. I used Deep calling card from my orange mobile. It uses free minutes on contract this end and the international bit cost's 1 pence a minute. I call my wife there several time a day so was so pleased when found this system hehehe. Good luck with all....

[joshuawbb]

Though this seems to have been answered, I thought I would stick a bit on the end

As for low-cost calling, phonecards are still pretty good too despite all the new internet services popping up. However as you probably know too, you should be very careful with trusting phone card companies such as the mini internet services, convenience shop cards, etc.

I currently use Post Office phonecards, and I find them to be excellent (they're a well-known company; I find them easier to trust). Without trying to sound like an advertisement, they are truthful and reliable - easy service, good rates, no hidden costs whatsoever, no maintenance charges, and very good call quality.

Furthermore, you can use them on a contract mobile phone with your free minutes. They set up an 020 number (London), which isn't recognised as premium number.

As I said, I am using them too to call China. Rates for China are 2p per minute - they advertise as 2.5p for Chinese mobiles, but even though I call mobiles I've always got 500 mins for my £10, so I guess it's 2p.

I have had no bad experiences with them yet, however they have twice cut my call when it reached the 1 hour 40min mark, so I presume they have time limits.

[rjlarke]

I've tried following the instructions above but I still cant get it to work. The number I'm trying to call is 86-0755-86119766 if anyone could format for me that would be great.