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Does Amazon CloudFront work in China?

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Quick answer: Amazon CloudFront is Available in AWS China regions (Beijing and Ningxia), with four mainland edge locations. It is not feature-parity with global CloudFront — ICP filing, CNAME, certificate upload, and several edge features differ. Domestic CDNs such as Alibaba Cloud CDN and Tencent Cloud CDN remain common China-stack alternatives. Availability in China: Available.

Availability in China: Available

Amazon CloudFront in AWS China

Amazon CloudFront is offered in both AWS China regions. Chinaready labels it Available — do not treat mapped domestic CDNs as proof that CloudFront is blocked in mainland China.

AWS China regions

  • Beijing (cn-north-1) — operated by Beijing Sinnet Technology Co., Ltd. (光环新网).
  • Ningxia (cn-northwest-1) — operated by Ningxia Western Cloud Data Technology Co., Ltd. (NWCD / 西云数据).

Mainland edge locations (POPs)

CloudFront has four edge locations in mainland China — Beijing, Shanghai, Zhongwei, and Shenzhen. These POPs connect to the Beijing and Ningxia regions over private dedicated network links for low-latency content delivery.

Differences vs global CloudFront

Compared with global CloudFront, AWS China CloudFront has important limits and operating requirements:

  • ICP filing: Required before use. Do not rely on the default *.cloudfront.cn domain — configure a CNAME (alternate domain name).
  • SSL certificates: ACM is not supported; upload third-party certificates to IAM.
  • IPv6: Not supported.
  • Lambda@Edge / CloudFront Functions: Not available.
  • Cache policies and origin request policies: Not available; use legacy cache settings only.
  • Origin Shield, HTTP/3, gRPC, WebSocket: Not supported.
  • Account isolation: AWS China accounts are fully separate from global AWS accounts and cannot share resources.

When to keep CloudFront vs map to a domestic CDN

Keep AWS China CloudFront when the workload already runs in AWS China and the feature set above is enough. Evaluate domestic options such as Tencent Cloud CDN and Alibaba Cloud CDN when you need broader China CDN features, a non-AWS stack, or want to avoid China CloudFront operating constraints.

Amazon CloudFront alternatives in China

China CDN options often evaluated alongside AWS China CloudFront

Alibaba Cloud CDN

Infrastructure & Edge · Content Delivery Network (CDN) · Direct alternative

Generally available · Global analog limited in China

Alibaba Cloud CDN accelerates content delivery through Alibaba Cloud edge infrastructure.

China context: Mainland China CDN deployments commonly require ICP filing and China-specific acceleration planning.

Tencent Cloud CDN

Infrastructure & Edge · Content Delivery Network (CDN) · Direct alternative

Generally available · Global analog limited in China

Tencent Cloud CDN accelerates content delivery through Tencent Cloud edge infrastructure in mainland China.

China context: Common domestic CDN alternative when teams prefer a Tencent Cloud stack, or when AWS China CloudFront feature limits (ICP CNAME, no ACM, no Lambda@Edge) make a local CDN preferable.

FAQ

Does Amazon CloudFront work in China?

Yes in AWS China. CloudFront is available in the Beijing (cn-north-1) and Ningxia (cn-northwest-1) regions, with mainland edge locations in Beijing, Shanghai, Zhongwei, and Shenzhen. Chinaready labels Amazon CloudFront as Available. Feature parity with global CloudFront still differs — especially ICP/CNAME, certificates, and edge compute.

Who operates AWS China CloudFront regions?

Beijing (cn-north-1) is operated by Beijing Sinnet Technology Co., Ltd. (光环新网). Ningxia (cn-northwest-1) is operated by Ningxia Western Cloud Data Technology Co., Ltd. (NWCD / 西云数据). AWS China accounts are isolated from global AWS accounts.

What are the main limits of CloudFront in AWS China?

ICP filing is required and you must use a CNAME rather than the default *.cloudfront.cn domain. ACM is unavailable (upload certificates to IAM). IPv6, Lambda@Edge, CloudFront Functions, cache/origin-request policies, Origin Shield, HTTP/3, gRPC, and WebSocket are not supported.

What are the best China alternatives to Amazon CloudFront?

Chinaready Landscape currently maps China CDN options for Amazon CloudFront to Alibaba Cloud CDN, Tencent Cloud CDN. Prefer Tencent Cloud CDN or Alibaba Cloud CDN when you want a domestic CDN stack or need capabilities that AWS China CloudFront does not offer. Treat this as a research shortlist rather than a one-to-one endorsement.

Where should teams go after shortlisting CloudFront options?

Use the interactive Chinaready Landscape to compare adjacent Infrastructure & Edge services, then read Chinaready's main site for launch operating guidance covering ICP, compliance, and go-to-market constraints beyond vendor selection. If the CDN path remains unclear, book a call with Chinaready.