Running a Hong Kong VPS gives you unbeatable 10-30 ms latency to mainland China and Southeast Asia thanks to CN2 GIA lines, but it also exposes your native IP to the open internet. Without proper protection, DDoS attacks, bot scraping, and brute-force attempts can quickly take your site offline. The good news? Cloudflare’s free and Pro plans work perfectly with Hong Kong VPS and can absorb massive attacks while actually improving speed for Chinese visitors.</ via Cloudflare’s China Network partnership.
Why Cloudflare Pairs Perfectly with Hong Kong VPS
- Hides your real IP – Only Cloudflare edge servers know your Hong Kong VPS IP.
- Free unlimited DDoS mitigation – Even the free tier blocks Layer 3/4/7 attacks that would otherwise suspend many unprotected VPS instances.
- Cloudflare China Network (optional Pro+) – Routes mainland Chinese traffic through optimized nodes inside China for even lower latency than direct CN2.
- Full SSL/TLS support – Free Universal SSL or your own Let’s Encrypt certificates.
- Zero downtime during attacks – Traffic never reaches your VPS if Cloudflare is “Under Attack Mode”.
Step-by-Step: Connecting Cloudflare to Your Hong Kong VPS
1. Sign Up and Add Your Domain
Create a free Cloudflare account and add your domain. Cloudflare will scan existing DNS records.
2. Change Nameservers
Replace your current nameservers with the ones Cloudflare provides (usually something like maya.ns.cloudflare.com and hank.ns.cloudflare.com).
3. Update A Record to Your Hong Kong VPS IP
Set your @ and www records to point to your VPS IP (e.g., 156.224.19.x range). Important: Turn the orange cloud ON (proxied) for protection, OFF (DNS-only) if you need direct IP access for certain services.
4. Force HTTPS and Modern TLS
In SSL/TLS → Overview, choose “Full (strict)”. Then under Edge Certificates, enable “Always Use HTTPS” and “Automatic HTTPS Rewrites”.
5. Enable Under Attack Mode When Needed
During active attacks: Dashboard → Quick Actions → “I’m Under Attack” (adds 5-second JavaScript challenge).
Recommended Cloudflare Settings for Hong Kong VPS Users
- Firewall Rules – Block all countries except China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia if your audience is regional.
- Page Rules – Cache Everything + Edge Cache TTL for static assets (massively reduces load on your VPS).
- Argo Smart Routing (Paid) – Often reduces TTFB by another 30% on CN2 lines.
- Bot Fight Mode (Free) – Blocks malicious scrapers and login bots.
- WAF Managed Rules – Free tier already blocks most WordPress exploits and SQL injection.
Real-World Protection Example
An e-commerce site running on a Server.HK HK-4H8G plan ($20/mo) faced repeated 8-15 Gbps DDoS attacks from competitors. After switching to Cloudflare proxied mode:
- Attack traffic never reached the VPS
- Site stayed online 100% of the time
- Load average dropped from 38 → under 2
- Page load time in Shanghai improved from 980 ms → 340 ms (thanks to caching + China Network)
Special Tip: Using Cloudflare with Baota Panel or Custom Ports
Many Hong Kong VPS users install Baota (宝塔) for easy management. To keep Baota accessible while protecting your websites:
- Set Baota port to something high (e.g., 8888)
- Create a DNS record like panel.yourdomain.com → your VPS IP with grey cloud (DNS-only)
- Keep all www/yourdomain.com records orange-cloud proxied
Performance + Protection Without Breaking the Bank
Server.HK’s Hong Kong VPS plans are specifically built for this exact Cloudflare setup:
- HK-2H4G – 2 Core / 4 GB / 3M CN2 Unmetered – $8/mo → Great for small sites
- HK-4H8G – 4 Core / 8 GB / 5M CN2 Unmetered – $20/mo → Perfect balance for WordPress, Laravel, AI inference
- HK-8H16G – 8 Core / 16 GB / 7M CN2 Unmetered – $40/mo → High-traffic or multi-site setups
All plans include native Hong Kong IPs, instant activation, no ICP filing, and a 3-day money-back guarantee.
Deploy your Cloudflare-ready Hong Kong VPS in under 60 seconds →
Final Thoughts
Combining Cloudflare’s global edge network with a high-performance Hong Kong VPS on pure CN2 GIA lines gives you the best of both worlds: unbreakable DDoS protection, faster load times for Chinese users, and full control over your server at a fraction of the cost of “managed” hosting.
Protect your site today — because in 2025, being fast in China isn’t enough. You also have to stay online.
