Access to the Guardian website in China appeared to have been restored on Thursday afternoon, after users reported it partially blocked the previous day.

The website greatfire.org, which tracks censorship, said the Guardian had first become inaccessible on Tuesday and multiple attempts to access the site from various browsers, devices and locations in China had failed, though some users said they had managed to reach it. The Guardian mobile and iPad apps appeared unaffected by the problems.

The service appeared to be back to normal on Thursday. Chinese authorities prevent access to numerous overseas websites and services – including internet giants such as Facebook and Twitter – but do not comment on individual cases, still less give reasons for their decisions.

Foreign media have also been subject to restrictions. Bloomberg and the New York Times have been blocked since 2012, when they published reports on the wealth of relatives of senior leaders, while the Chinese-language sites of Reuters and the Wall Street Journal became inaccessible in November, but were unblocked a month later.

Asked about the inaccessibility of the Guardian at a regular news briefing on Wednesday, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: "I don't understand the situation. You can inquire with China's relevant department.”