Your VPN server location determines three things: latency (how responsive everything feels), throughput (how fast things download), and which content libraries you access (Netflix US vs Netflix Singapore). Here is how the three most common locations compare for China users.
Singapore
Latency from major Chinese cities: 40-80ms
Throughput: 60-100 Mbps typical
Content access: Netflix Singapore, YouTube (any), most streaming services
Singapore is the default choice for China VPN servers. It has the lowest latency from southern and eastern China (Guangzhou, Dongguan, Shanghai, Hangzhou). The internet infrastructure between China and Singapore is well-developed with multiple peering routes.
Best for: Users in Guangdong, Fujian, Shanghai, Zhejiang. Video calls, streaming, real-time applications.
Tokyo
Latency from major Chinese cities: 60-120ms
Throughput: 50-80 Mbps typical
Content access: Netflix Japan, YouTube, most streaming services
Tokyo provides good performance for northern China (Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian). China Unicom's international routing to Japan is generally better than China Mobile's, so Unicom users may see better Tokyo performance.
Best for: Users in northern China, particularly on China Unicom.
San Francisco / Los Angeles
Latency from major Chinese cities: 150-200ms
Throughput: 30-60 Mbps typical
Content access: Netflix US (largest library), YouTube, all US services
US West Coast servers have the highest latency but provide access to US content libraries. Surprisingly, China Telecom users sometimes see better speeds to San Francisco than Singapore due to CN2's Pacific routing.
Best for: Users who need US content libraries or US IP addresses specifically. Not ideal for video calls due to latency.
Recommendation
For most China expats, Singapore is the best default choice. Lowest latency, good throughput, acceptable content library access. If you specifically need US content or a US IP address, add a US server as a secondary option.
Latency matters for: Video calls (Zoom, Meet), real-time collaboration (Google Docs), gaming. If these are your primary use cases, minimize latency by choosing the closest server.