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How to share files to friends residing in China?
Hello,
I am looking for a service to share files with friends and clients residing in China, however, it's more challenging than I thought to find a free / cheap storage solution that is not blocked by GFW (assuming it's not practical to get all my receivers to install a VPN) or the upload / download speed is simply too slow unless upgrading to their VIP membership.
I need a couple of GB for storage with decent upload / download speed in and outside of China, without the need to install their software / file manager (i.e not forcing us to install bloatware to upload / download files greater than 500MB etc), and able to create share link.
Basically it should be similar to DropBox / G-Drive but works in China. I would prefer a cloud storage service otherwise setting up OwnCloud on a VPS that works in China can be an option. I tried to spin up OwnCloud on some VPS but their IPs are blocked.
Any inputs are greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Comments
Alibaba cloud?
Are you referring to getting their Elastic Compute and spinning up a owncloud from there? For now I would rather source for a ready solution to save myself the hassle, but Alibaba cloud could be an option although their pricing structure seems complicated.
Nihao Cloud? Used them once for some random stuff, but I don't trust them with sensitive information.
cowtransfer.com works great for me
They are chinese aws. for china centric usage they are best since china blocking or intensionally slowing down non chinese companies
How about Alibaba Cloud Starter + Owncloud/Nextcloud?
https://www.alibabacloud.com/id/starter-packages/general
OneDrive is an option; it's the only big names in the cloud storage industry that hasn't been blocked by GFW.
Speaking of sharing files to friends in China, I once mailed a 4 TB disk full of family photos back to china, because considering the big size, I thought mailing it would actually be faster than transmitting the files online; but the disk ended up being held in the customs for 2 months before being released to the recipient lol
Cloud storage providers must have their data stored in China if they want to provide services for Chinese users. That’s the law and it explains why none of the cloud storage providers well-known to English speaking users is working in China. Your best bet is to get someone can read Chinese and have Chinese payment methods to get a account from one of the Chinese cloud storage providers for you. Or simply just set up a Nextcloud server yourself.
If you want a hassle-free cloud storage to share files among your non tech savvy friends or clients in China, Tencent Weiyun or Jianguoyun will give you the best experience. They are more business oriented and works similar to Dropbox. Decent speed, no ads no bullshit.
https://www.weiyun.com/
https://www.jianguoyun.com/
If you decide to setup a Nextcloud server yourself, don’t just host it with some random providers. Don’t even think about using hourly billing providers like Vultr and Digital Oceans. Their services are frequently abused by Chinese people who run VPN servers. Most likely your the IP address assigned to you are already blocked or prone to be blocked by GFW. You should consider host it on a VPS with CN2 connection to China. The uploading/downloading speed might become absurdly slow on peak hours, if you just use some random providers who doesn’t provide premium bandwidth to China.
Providers with CN2 connection:
https://bandwagonhost.com/
I’ve been using their services for years without any major problems. They are rock solid. Their CN2 VPS packages are not listed on their home page though.
https://www.gigsgigscloud.com/
I just know it exist but don’t have any personal experiences.
I just tried OneDrive but it's not loading in China.
I read their main domain is currently blocked by GFW and they had to use another domain for team collaboration, however, the download link still does not work.
WY loads super slow unless we purchase their VIP membership which cost a bit and I am unsure if it really improves the speed for overseas users to an acceptable rate. Jianguoyun limits the upload / download bandwidth (for free user) and requires users to install and use their client to upload files which are more than 500MB.
https://www.lanzou.com/
webrtc.win
justhost.ru, 200mb unlimited bandwith, use bbr, connection speed to china telecom is good.
So you want free cloud storage that works perfectly for both Chinese users and overseas users? You won't find any then. Weiyun paid plan is your best bet if you don't want to spend more money and time to host it yourself. I've been looking for a similar solutions for years but ended up with self-hosted NextCloud.
It hit me that Onedrive has a Chinese version included in Office 365. It is hosted by a Chinese company thus no connection issues. The price is much higher though but it's still an option.
https://www.microsoft.com/zh-cn/microsoft-365/compare-china-global-versions-microsoft-365
You can use OneDrive or GoogleDrive ,
this tool will help you
https://github.com/reruin/sharelist/blob/master/README-en.md#customized-transit
U can use onedrive or firefox send,man
QQ has (or had) web storage. But I haven't used that recently. When I did they do scan what's in it and sometimes the upload failed. OneDrive should work. Dropbox is blocked.
The best way to go will be teach them how to bypass the GFW.