Calling China from the UK
If you need to call China from the UK, first take a look at the number you’ve got. We’ll then take a quick look at the cheapest ways to call China.
A Chinese mobile number will start with 13 or 15, and have eleven digits. Assuming you’re calling from the UK, you’re need to dial the international access number 00, followed by China’s country code 86, then the number. So to call 13691234123, you’d actually dial 008613691234123. Bear in mind that calling a Chinese mobile from the UK is going to be even pricier than calling a Chinese landline.
Chinese landline numbers will have a three or four digit area code starting with 0 - ie, 010 is Beijing, 0451 is Harbin, etc, followed by an eight digit number. When calling China internationally the initial 0 is omitted, so to call 010 1234 1234 from the UK you’d need to dial 00861012341234.
As for the best way to make your call to China - that’s going to depend. If you have access to a PC, a PC to phone service such as Skype’s Skypeout may well be a good deal. Alternative services such as Internetcalls.com can be cheaper, but are less well known.
IP calling cards give large discounts, but can be variable in call quality. Don’t invest too much at once - you don’t want to be stuck with huge amounts of credit for a poor service.