Yeah, you’ll need a VPN for sure. I used Private Internet Access (PIA) and it worked fine. Just connect to a server outside China, and you should be able to register without too much trouble.
One tip: clear your browser cache before starting. It helps avoid some of the timeouts. After setup, it works great as long as your VPN is active.
One tip: clear your browser cache before starting. It helps avoid some of the timeouts. After setup, it works great as long as your VPN is active.