Zenlayer Hong Kong BGP Cloud Server Review: Native IP, NTT Return Routes for China Telecom/Unicom/Mobile, Performance Testing, and Hourly Billing

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Zenlayer is a global network infrastructure provider (and upstream provider for overseas nodes used by Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, and UCloud), operating data centers and network points of presence across multiple regions worldwide. Its services are primarily designed for enterprises, developers, and cross-border businesses, including cloud computing, bare metal servers, and network acceleration solutions.

This review focuses on the Zenlayer Hong Kong BGP cloud server plan z2a.usr.c1m1, an entry-level general-purpose instance. While the configuration is modest, it benefits from Zenlayer’s Hong Kong network and multi-carrier connectivity, making it suitable for lightweight applications, websites, small projects, and network testing.

The review covers latency testing, China Telecom/Unicom/Mobile routing analysis, return route analysis, hardware benchmarks, IP quality, and connectivity performance from mainland China.

NodeQuality Report: https://nodequality.com/r/TFsCfFhpCTCvKoHIg2Sqm1fB1K5mOzUj

1. Zenlayer Hong Kong Cloud Server Plans

Zenlayer Hong Kong cloud servers are billed on an hourly basis, support flexible scaling, and provide multiple CPU and memory configurations.

Tested configuration:

Based on the hourly pricing, the monthly cost remains within the low single-digit dollar range, making it one of the most affordable entry-level options in Zenlayer’s Hong Kong lineup.

Zenlayer also offers higher-specification plans across multiple instance families and configurations.

2. IP Quality and Native IP Verification

First, let’s examine the IP information.

Test IP:

103.49.60.11

Detection results:

• Location: Hong Kong, China
• ASN: AS62610
• ASN Owner: Zenlayer Inc.
• IP Type: Datacenter IP
• IP Classification: Native IP

Multiple databases identify both the registration location and actual usage location as Hong Kong.

Specifically:

• ping0.cc identifies it as a Zenlayer Hong Kong node.
• ipip.la classifies it as a Hong Kong native IP.
• pingip.cn also recognizes it as a Hong Kong native IP.

Risk assessment results:

• ping0.cc risk score: approximately 33% (neutral).
• ipip.la fraud score: 0/100.
• Check.Place reports low-risk status across multiple databases.

Overall, this is a native Hong Kong datacenter IP rather than a residential broadcast IP, making it suitable for workloads that require a genuine Hong Kong IP presence.

3. Ping Latency Testing

A total of 119 monitoring nodes from China and overseas participated in the testing.

Mainland China Results

China Telecom:

• Fastest: Xiamen, Fujian – 164ms
• Slowest: Xi’an, Shaanxi – 337ms

China Unicom:

• Fastest: Shanghai – 39ms
• Slowest: Shihezi, Xinjiang – 311ms

China Mobile:

• Fastest: Dongguan, Guangdong – 63ms
• Slowest: Chengdu, Sichuan – 419ms

The Hong Kong node performs best for users located in East China and South China.

Examples:

• Shanghai Unicom: 39ms
• Dongguan Mobile: 63ms
• Chongqing Mobile: 86ms

Latency is noticeably higher in some northern and western regions due to longer cross-regional network paths.

Overseas Results

Sample nodes:

• Los Angeles: 162ms
• Seattle: 183ms

Zenlayer Hong Kong provides stable international connectivity with expected latency to North America and Europe.

4. China Telecom, Unicom, and Mobile Forward Routing Analysis

China Telecom Forward Route

China Telecom → AS4134 → NTT AS2914 → Zenlayer

Main path:

China Telecom AS4134 → Telecom international gateway in San Jose → NTT global backbone AS2914 → NTT Hong Kong → Zenlayer Hong Kong.

Key hops:

202.97.51.186
AS4134 China Telecom

Then:

129.250.x.x
AS2914 NTT

Finally:

103.49.60.11
AS62610 Zenlayer

The route uses China Telecom’s international exit and NTT’s global backbone before reaching Zenlayer in Hong Kong.

In short:

China Telecom International + NTT Backbone.

China Unicom Forward Route

China Unicom AS4837
→ Osaka, Japan
→ NTT AS2914
→ Hong Kong Zenlayer

Main route:

219.158.x.x
AS4837

Then enters NTT Osaka:

129.250.6.100
AS2914

Followed by:

129.250.2.x
NTT Hong Kong

Finally reaching:

AS4229
AS21859
AS62610

The route clearly follows:

China Unicom 4837 International Exit + NTT Backbone + Zenlayer Hong Kong.

Compared with many standard Hong Kong routes, NTT generally provides strong international stability.

China Mobile Forward Route

China Mobile AS9808
→ CMI
→ PCCW
→ Zenlayer

Main hops:

223.111.x.x
AS9808

Then:

223.120.x.x
AS58453

Which is China Mobile International (CMI).

Afterwards:

AS3491 PCCW

Before reaching Zenlayer Hong Kong.

The route can be summarized as:

CMI + PCCW + Zenlayer Hong Kong.

Overall, none of the three carriers use premium China-optimized routes such as CN2 GIA or AS9929, but all rely on major international backbone providers.

5. Return Route Analysis

Based on Check.Place network testing, the return routing is as follows.

China Telecom Return Route

NTT → China Telecom 163 Backbone

Path:

Hong Kong
↓
NTT AS2914
↓
China Telecom AS4134
↓
163 Backbone

Beijing Telecom:

AS21859
→ AS4229
→ AS2914
→ AS4134
→ AS4847

Shanghai Telecom:

AS21859
→ AS4229
→ AS2914
→ AS4134
→ AS4812

The return route mainly passes through NTT before entering China Telecom’s 163 backbone.

This is a standard international route rather than CN2 GIA.

China Unicom Return Route

NTT / Arelion → AS4837

Beijing Unicom:

Hong Kong
↓
NTT AS2914
↓
AS4837
↓
Beijing Unicom

Shanghai Unicom:

Hong Kong
↓
Arelion AS1299
↓
AS4837
↓
Shanghai Unicom

Depending on the destination region, traffic may travel through either NTT or Arelion before entering the AS4837 backbone.

China Mobile Return Route

PCCW → CMI

Path:

Zenlayer Hong Kong
↓
PCCW AS3491
↓
CMI AS58453
↓
China Mobile AS9808

Example:

AS21859
→ AS4229
→ AS3491
→ AS58453
→ AS9808

The return route uses PCCW before entering China Mobile International.

Return Route Summary

Zenlayer Hong Kong does not use China-optimized premium routes such as CN2 GIA or AS9929. However, NTT, PCCW, and Arelion are all major international carriers known for stable global connectivity.

6. Hardware Performance Testing

Test machine specifications:

• CPU: AMD EPYC Rome Processor
• Cores: 1 Core / 1 Thread
• Memory: 1GB
• Disk: 20GB
• Virtualization: Hyper-V

CPU Benchmark

CPU:
AMD EPYC Rome Processor

Sysbench:
Single Thread: 1560.97

Geekbench 5:
Single Core: 950
Multi Core: 952

AMD EPYC Rome remains a commonly deployed cloud processor with solid single-core performance.

This configuration is suitable for:

• Personal blogs
• Small websites
• API services
• Proxy applications
• Development and testing environments

Memory Performance

Memory:
956 MB

Read:
45472.3 MB/s

Write:
20749.0 MB/s

Latency:
162 ns

Although the instance only includes 1GB RAM, memory performance is strong within Zenlayer’s virtualization environment.

Running lightweight services such as Nginx, WordPress, or small Docker containers should not present any issues.

Disk Performance

Disk Size:

20GB

Fio Results:

Random Read:

RND4K:
507 IOPS

Random Write:

RND4K:
547 IOPS

Sequential Read/Write:

SEQ1M:
Approximately 102–109 MB/s

Storage performance is relatively modest.

This instance is positioned more as a network-focused cloud server rather than a high-performance storage platform.

For databases or storage-intensive workloads, a higher-tier instance is recommended.

7. Streaming and IP Unlock Testing

Detected regions:

• Hong Kong
• United States (YouTube)

Overall streaming compatibility is very good.

Additional observations:

• No proxy flag
• No Tor flag
• No VPN flag
• Low-risk reputation

This makes the IP suitable for users who require a native Hong Kong IP environment.

8. Mainland China Speed Test Results

Some China Telecom and China Mobile nodes returned ERROR during testing.

Results may vary depending on routing policies, test environments, and cross-border network conditions.

Overall observations:

• Excellent performance within Hong Kong.
• Normal international connectivity.
• Significant differences among Chinese carriers.

9. Global Packet Loss Testing

According to ping.pe testing, international connectivity is stable.

Examples:

United States:

• Los Angeles: 141–159ms
• Seattle: approximately 133ms

Tokyo:

Approximately 52ms

Singapore:

Approximately 32ms

Europe:

Most nodes range between 180ms and 210ms.

Most overseas nodes recorded:

• 0% packet loss

This indicates strong international connectivity.

Some mainland China nodes experienced higher packet loss, including:

• Tencent Cloud Chengdu
• Tencent Cloud Chongqing
• Alibaba Cloud Shanghai

This is likely related to carrier policies and cross-border routing conditions.

10. Overall Evaluation

The biggest strengths of the Zenlayer Hong Kong BGP Cloud Server z2a.usr.c1m1 are its global network resources, solid international routing, and high-quality IP reputation.

Advantages:

✅ Native Hong Kong IP
✅ AS62610 Zenlayer Network
✅ Access to multiple international backbones
✅ NTT, PCCW, and Arelion connectivity
✅ Stable overseas performance
✅ Strong streaming unlock capability
✅ Flexible scaling support

Disadvantages:

❌ No CN2 GIA or other China-optimized premium routes
❌ Higher latency in some mainland China regions
❌ Entry-level CPU and memory resources
❌ Average storage performance

Recommended For

• Users requiring a Hong Kong IP
• Cross-border businesses
• International application deployment
• E-commerce and overseas websites
• API services
• Development and testing environments

Less suitable for:

• Mainland China websites requiring low latency nationwide
• Users specifically seeking CN2 GIA connectivity
• Large database workloads

Conclusion

Zenlayer Hong Kong BGP Cloud Server is not designed as a China-optimized Hong Kong VPS. Instead, it is an internationally focused cloud platform backed by Zenlayer’s global network infrastructure.

Based on testing, the node provides a native Hong Kong IP and uses the following return routes:

• China Telecom: NTT → 163 Backbone
• China Unicom: NTT/Arelion → AS4837
• China Mobile: PCCW → CMI

International connectivity is stable, and overseas performance is particularly strong.

If your priorities include a Hong Kong location, native IP resources, global connectivity, and flexible scaling, Zenlayer Hong Kong Cloud Server is worth considering. If your primary audience is located in mainland China, a Hong Kong VPS with CN2 GIA, AS9929, or other China-optimized routes may be a better choice.