What is a VPN in China?
In simple terms, it is an online service that can hide your IP address and location, as well as encrypt your Internet data and traffic. This will protect you from surveillance by the government, Internet service provider or cybercriminals.

But what does VPN mean?
The abbreviation stands for Virtual Private Network. It allows you to set up a private network (which will not be physical — hence the word "virtual") on top of the public (in this case, the Internet).

Corporate VPNs vs. personal VPNs
To better understand what a VPN is, you need to learn how to distinguish between corporate and personal VPNs.

In a nutshell, a personal VPN is a service offered by VPN Services — third-party companies that offer VPN functionality to any user on the Internet. The purpose of personal VPNs is to help you, the average Internet user, safely browse sites and circumvent any restrictions that you encounter.

On the other hand, a corporate VPN (also called a remote access VPN) is a VPN connection that large businesses set up on their own. Corporate VPNs have basically one goal — to provide employees, owners, and stakeholders with secure remote access to company data.