Speed Up Python Package Installs: Switch pip to Fast Chinese Mirrors

When developing in Python, the default pip repositories located abroad often cause slow download speeds or time‑outs.

Switching pip to a domestic mirror can dramatically improve installation performance.

Recommended Chinese Mirrors

Aliyun: https://mirrors.aliyun.com/pypi/simple/

Douban: https://pypi.douban.com/simple/

Tsinghua University: https://pypi.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/simple/

University of Science and Technology of China: http://pypi.mirrors.ustc.edu.cn/simple/

How to Change the Source?

1. Temporary Mirror Change

Use the -i option with the desired mirror URL when installing a package.

pip3 install numpy -i https://pypi.douban.com/simple/

The command installs the package from the specified mirror.

E:\....>pip3 install numpy -i https://pypi.douban.com/simple/
Looking in indexes: https://pypi.douban.com/simple/
Collecting numpy
  Downloading https://pypi.doubanio.com/packages/.../numpy-1.16.4-cp37-cp37m-win32.whl (10.0 MB)
    100% |████████████████████████████████| 10.0 MB 2.9 MB/s
Installing collected packages: numpy
Successfully installed numpy-1.16.4

2. Permanent Configuration (Windows)

Open %APPDATA%, create a folder named pip if it does not exist, and inside it create pip.ini with the following content (example uses Douban mirror):

[global]
timeout = 6000
index-url = https://pypi.douban.com/simple/
trusted-host = pypi.douban.com

After saving, pip will always use the configured mirror.

Testing the configuration shows that running pip3 install numpy now pulls packages from the Douban mirror:

E:\....>pip3 install numpy
Looking in indexes: https://pypi.douban.com/simple/
Collecting numpy
  Using cached https://pypi.doubanio.com/packages/.../numpy-1.16.4-cp37-cp37m-win32.whl
Installing collected packages: numpy
Successfully installed numpy-1.16.4

3. Permanent Configuration (Linux/macOS)

Create or edit the file ~/.pip/pip.conf and add the same configuration lines as above.