Dazzer, thats a good point. You may be right!

With China Unicomm, I think you can add a few hundred rmb and then get international calling. Pretty sure you can't get the deposit back, as it's just stored value, but I've never asked for it back, so not sure

According to this link, there might even be an affordable calling package.

www.mychinaunicom.com/int-call.jsp

I'd ask the main Unicomm store near remin and qingnian lu for deposit amount and per minute costs. Make sure to bring your passport.

secret: with china unicom, dial 10170700 then the international number for cheaper calls, works every time. there's a code for china mobile as well...

Also, you can use Skype to call computer to landline/mobile at cheap rates. That's what I use to call my grandmother :)

UPDATE: So I haven't found any international calling cards, but I did have a Kunming local call China Mobile for me and they told me I can either pay a 200 RMB deposit and get given a number to call with a discounted rate, or I can call this number 1017001, which will allow me to connect to Canada for 15cents a minute. When I called it, it said "Sorry, this cant be reached at this time, try again later" or something to that degree.

So I tried the number listed above by kingofthekerb (10170700), but the phone immediately said "call ended" without reaching a machine or having a dialtone.

At this time, Im having problems with my skype account, so I may be out of options, but tonight Ill download Viber and see if that will open up any doors for me.

Thanks again for all the replies. Its really appreciated!

Just tell the ones in Canada to download wechat and use that instead.

Her grandma is not into using a computer or smartphone. She can only use a landline phone.

Indeed than this does not work.

happy girl
If you're a nite owl, you might consider doing after mid nite (closer to 2am) Skype calls.

Depending on your ISP - Skype access can be sketchy and appear as though it's either blocked or just not connecting. Traffic usually dies down after mid nite - so you might have more success at that time.

FYI - my download speeds during the day typically hover around 1-4k and then rocket up to 1-4mbps (1000x times faster) after mid nite (still not close to our alleged 60-80mbps service).

I have no problem making Skype calls up to 10:00 a.m. in the morning. As for Internet service, I have the 200M service and did actually record a speed of 177M at 4:00 a.m., but as soon as I connect VPN it drops to about 4M