Will my BJ cell phone work in Hong Kong?

[valikor]

I have a normal, cheap, Chinese phone / SIM card... if more details are required, let me know.

I'll be traveling to Hong Kong/Macau for the New year and want to know if I can use my phone to call/text Beijing numbers...

thanks!

[abcdefg]

The short answer to your question is "no" unless you have some kind of special international calling plan.

I cannot use my mainland shouji in HK or Aomen.

[roddy]

should do, but you'll need to activate 港澳漫游 or something - call the customer service line and ask them to do it. There'll be a small monthly charge, which they hope you'll forget about, and obviously it'll be pricier than normal.

[gougou]

There'll be a small monthly charge

Are you sure? For my 神州行 card, I activated it ages ago, and I don't recall there being a fee. Also in the monthly message about the money being deducted, there's only the national roaming (cheaper calls in other provinces) and the WAP services that should be there.

You can call the customer hotline or go to the store to activate it, and you'll need some PIN or something (I always forget which is which, so I just bring the entire box). It is indeed a lot more expensive, I think an SMS was one kuai?

[roddy]

Of course I'm not sure Like many of my posts, it was constructed from half-remembered things I read on the Internet, hearsay, and best guesses.

I'm pretty sure I've read there is - but it could depend on your carriers, sim card type, etc, and it could have changed since then.

[gougou]

it was constructed from half-remembered things I read on the Internet

Ah. Knowledge on the internet. One of the few closed systems known to mankind...

@valikor: On rereading your post, I strongly advise against enabling roaming. Chinese New Year is THE best time to be without a working phone - unless you enjoy getting the same congratulatory message five times in one evening.

[abcdefg]

I learn something new here every day.