Upvote:1
No. You should be ok with a phone card. You do not need internet access to use a calling card. But it does require you to have a telephone with an associated phone number. You can even use a pay phone (if you can find one). If you have a mobile phone, you can buy a sim card with an international calling plan.
What that said, Skype will be ok to use in China. Google talk might be blocked. Alternatively, you can use WeChat or Whatsapp to make calls over the internet.