A Chinese ID card? Huh? Passport works for both China Telecom and China Unicom for sure, I don’t use any China Mobile services any more. I agree with Vincent on the plan – I think I have exactly the same plan 300mb/month data or something and it’s really cheap, I never find myself going over unless I use a lot when I’m on the road and using it a lot. Both the Telecom and Unicom offices I go to have “English” speaking lines, as well. I’d be shocked if a larger China Mobile centre didn’t have 1) an English speaking line and 2) the ability for a foreigner to buy/charge a SIM with a passport available.