VPNs in China are like trying to catch smoke. One week you think you got a good one, next week its dead or heavily throttled. People throw around paid VPNs like they're the holy grail but honestly, it's a game of luck and timing. No VPN, paid or free, can promise long term reliability there. You want uptime data? I've seen some VPNs hold up for a few months, then bam, blocked or throttled so bad it's useless. Proven? Nah. Just luck and testing. If you're serious about it, you gotta keep backup options ready. No single VPN is gonna stay alive forever in China's tunnel vision. And don't buy into the hype that some VPNs are "solid" long term. If it was, everyone would use that one, and it'd be blocked quick too. The real trick? Keep testing, rotate often, and don't put all your eggs in one basket.