Customs and entry rules

What happens at the border

Arriving in China involves two separate processes at major airports: immigration (passport control) and customs. They are sequential and physically separate. Immigration is where the officer stamps your passport, records your fingerprints, and photographs you. Customs is where you declare goods — or pass through the green channel if nothing requires declaration.

At major airports the process is largely digital: a customs declaration form is completed via a WeChat mini-programme, an airline app, or a dedicated QR code at the terminal. A printed barcode is presented to the customs officer. Bring your hotel address, flight details, and contact phone number. If you have nothing to declare, the green channel (nothing to declare) is the straightforward route; the red channel is for declared goods and is usually inspected.

Personal effects

Standard personal effects — clothing, footwear, personal electronics (laptop, camera, phone), books, and reasonable quantities of toiletries and souvenirs — pass through without declaration or duty. There is no duty-free exemption for most goods if you are staying for less than 48 hours; for stays over 48 hours, goods not exceeding ¥5,000 in total value are duty-free on first entry per year.

High-value items like camera equipment, laptops, and professional gear are technically subject to registration on entry if you plan to re-export them (to avoid import duty claims). In practice this is not enforced for personal laptops and cameras, but if you carry professional video or photography equipment in quantity, pre-registering it at customs on entry is sensible.

Currency

You may bring up to the equivalent of USD $5,000 in cash (or any other currency) without declaring. Above that threshold, declare the amount on the customs form. The declaration is routine and does not trigger automatic seizure — it creates a record that must match when you exit. Outbound: foreigners leaving China may take up to ¥20,000 in RMB cash out of the country [VERIFY: current limit — May 2026]. Bank transfers and card-based payments are not subject to these rules.

Tobacco and alcohol

The personal duty-free allowance is 400 cigarettes (or 100 cigars or 500g of loose tobacco), and 1.5 litres of alcoholic beverages over 12% ABV. Above these quantities, declare and pay applicable duty. The duty rates are not punitive for occasional excess, but undeclared quantities above the threshold create a legal issue if detected.

Prohibited items: inbound

Some items are prohibited entirely; others are restricted and require declaration or permits:

**Prohibited without exception:** - Recreational drugs and unprescribed controlled medications (opioids, stimulants, sedatives — see the medication guide for specifics). - Unregistered firearms, ammunition, and replicas capable of firing projectiles. - Counterfeit currency and financial instruments. - Materials deemed 'detrimental to political, economic, cultural and moral interests' of China — this covers anti-government publications, overtly political materials related to Taiwan independence, Tibet, or Xinjiang, and similar content. The provision is vague; enforcement is selective but real. - Child sexual abuse material. - Pornographic material (broadly defined in Chinese customs law; borderline cases are possible).

**Restricted (requires declaration, permit, or clearance):** - Plant material including seeds, soil, fresh fruit, and cut flowers (agricultural quarantine regulations). - Animal products including meat, dairy from some countries, and any ivory or CITES-listed species parts. - ADHD medications (Ritalin, Adderall, methylphenidate — Schedule I controlled in China). A foreign prescription is not sufficient; these are effectively prohibited. See the medication guide for alternatives. - Large quantities of any medication beyond 3 months' personal supply. - Wireless devices with non-standard frequencies (some older ham radio equipment).

Prohibited items: outbound

• Antiques and cultural relics dated before 1949 require an export licence issued by an authorised cultural-relic authority. Museum-shop replicas and modern reproductions are generally fine; objects that could be originals — even if purchased at a market — require a permit. The penalty for exporting a cultural relic without a permit is significant.
• CITES-listed species and their products (ivory, rhino horn, certain coral, certain turtle-shell products).
• Currency above the declared threshold.
• State secrets and classified materials (rarely relevant to tourists; relevant to journalists and researchers).

Health declaration

Beyond customs, a health declaration is completed separately — most airports now handle this via a QR-code scan at the health declaration desk rather than a paper form. The process takes 2–3 minutes. [VERIFY: current procedure — May 2026]

What the customs officers look for

At major international airports, green-channel spot checks focus on passengers arriving from source countries for specific prohibited goods, passengers with irregularly large luggage volumes, and electronic flag systems. The process is routine for the vast majority of travellers; carrying nothing unusual means the green channel requires no stop at all.

Agricultural quarantine

China takes biosecurity seriously. Agricultural inspection counters are present at major international airports, and X-ray focuses partly on fresh produce and soil. Items like fresh fruit, meat, seeds, and plant material have caused quarantine issues for visitors from agricultural export nations (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Southeast Asia). These items can simply be eaten before landing or surrendered at the quarantine bin — penalties are for smuggling, not for declaring and surrendering items. There is no penalty for declaring and surrendering an apple; there is a potential fine for concealing one that is found at X-ray.