If you have an unlocked GSM, quad band phone, you can take that with you and get someone in China buy a 50 Yuan ($10) SIM card for you from China Mobile you are good to go. If you are with carriers such as T-mobile or AT&T here in the US (others are not GSM) you can get your carrier to unlock your phone so that you can use other SIM cards in it. T-mobile helps you unlock your phone when you simply call them and tell them your purpose, even when you are within the contract period. I don't know about AT&T. I guess they do it as well. 50Yuan card will last you for a very long time calling within China. If you want to call back the US, if you buy your SIM card from China mobile, you can use a prefix code to get very economical calls to the US. The prefix code is 12593. That is, if you want to call a US number, dial 12593-001-(Area code)(Tel#). Without this number prefix, your 50Yuan card will not last more than 10minutes, if you call US.