How to Bypass DockerHub Slowdowns in China: Fast Mirror Sources & Permanent Registry Setup

Introduction

Due to various network policies, accessing DockerHub from within China is very slow, so users typically replace the registry mirror to accelerate downloads.

Since June 2024 many common mirrors have become unavailable; this article collects the mirrors that are still usable (as of 2025‑03‑16) and provides detailed temporary and permanent switch procedures, with regular testing and updates.

Available Mirrors

Information is gathered from the internet and not guaranteed to remain valid; it is recommended to configure multiple mirrors.

docker.m.daocloud.io

docker.imgdb.de

docker-0.unsee.tech

docker.hlmirror.com

docker.1ms.run

func.ink

lispy.org

docker.xiaogenban1993.com

All the above mirrors were verified by pulling the hello-world image.

Temporary Switch Method

Use the following format (do not add the https:// prefix): sudo docker pull <mirror>/<image> Example:

sudo docker pull docker.m.daocloud.io/hello-world

Successful pull is shown below:

Note: This method requires specifying the mirror each time you pull an image.

Permanent Switch Method (Recommended)

The core idea is to modify Docker's daemon.json configuration file and write the mirror addresses into it.

Create the directory if it does not exist: sudo mkdir -p /etc/docker Write the mirrors to /etc/docker/daemon.json (example JSON):

{
    "registry-mirrors": [
        "https://docker.m.daocloud.io",
        "https://docker.imgdb.de",
        "https://docker-0.unsee.tech",
        "https://docker.hlmirror.com",
        "https://docker.1ms.run",
        "https://func.ink",
        "https://lispy.org",
        "https://docker.xiaogenban1993.com"
    ]
}

Restart Docker service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload && sudo systemctl restart docker

Verify by pulling an image again: sudo docker pull hello-world Successful pull is shown below:

Common Issues

After switching mirrors, pulling works but docker search may fail because the mirrors only accelerate pull operations and do not support the search API. The only current workaround is using a VPN.

Additional Tips

Testing a mirror can be done by pulling the hello-world image; success indicates the mirror is reachable, though lack of success does not always mean the mirror is unusable for other images.

Other basic images such as alpine or busybox can also be used for testing.