The short version
China customs is simple for most tourists. After immigration and baggage claim, you choose one of two lanes:
- Green channel (“Nothing to declare”). For travelers with only personal belongings within the allowances. No form needed.
- Red channel (“Goods to declare”). For travelers carrying anything on the declaration list below. You fill in a customs declaration and show it to an officer.
These rules come from China’s current baggage regulations, in force since April 1, 2025. Customs officers can check any bag in either lane.
If you are not sure whether an item needs declaring, the official advice is to use the red channel and ask.
When do you need to declare?
Use the red channel and fill in a declaration if you carry any of these when you arrive:
- Prohibited items, such as weapons or drugs (see below)
- Restricted items over the limits, or items that need a permit
- Animals, plants and their products, including food made from them
- Blood, human tissue, pathogens or biological products
- Items that could spread infectious disease
- Cash over the limits: more than US$5,000 in foreign currency (declare it) or any RMB above 20,000 (not allowed)
- Goods over your duty-free allowance, including extra alcohol or tobacco
- Commercial goods, samples or advertising material
- Luggage shipped separately that will arrive after you
- Anything else the law says must be declared
When you leave China, the list is shorter: prohibited or restricted exports, commercial goods, biological materials and cash over the limits.
How to fill in the declaration
You have two options:
- Paper form: fill in the paper Baggage Declaration Form at the customs area and hand it in at the red channel desk.
- Online in advance: use the official customs mini-program “海关进出境人员指尖服务” in WeChat or Alipay, or the official web page, and confirm the data at the customs desk on arrival.
Do not confuse this with the arrival card, which is for immigration and required for most foreigners. See How to fill in the China arrival card.
Duty-free allowances for visitors
As a foreign tourist, you are a non-resident traveler. Your allowances:
| Item | Duty-free limit (arriving from most places) |
|---|---|
| Goods you will leave in China (gifts etc.) | Total value up to RMB 2,000 |
| Alcoholic drinks over 12% alcohol | 1.5 liters |
| Cigarettes (including heated tobacco sticks) | 400, or 20 cigars, or 500 g of loose tobacco |
| E-cigarettes | 2 devices plus 6 pods or disposables, total e-liquid up to 12 ml |
Details that matter:
- Arriving from Hong Kong or Macao? Alcohol and tobacco allowances are halved: 0.75 liters of alcohol, 200 cigarettes, 10 cigars or 250 g of tobacco, and 1 vape device plus 3 pods (up to 6 ml).
- Frequent travelers (you entered China more than once in the last 15 days) get only 40 cigarettes, 2 cigars or 40 g of tobacco, and no duty-free alcohol over 12%. Duty-free goods are limited to items you need for the trip.
- Under 18: these alcohol and tobacco allowances do not apply, and travelers under 18 may not bring e-cigarettes at all.
- Vapes without a stated e-liquid volume are banned.
- Only the excess is taxed. If you go over, customs charges duty on the part above the limit, but a single item that cannot be split is taxed in full.
- Everything must be for personal use or gifts, in reasonable quantities for your trip. Goods for resale are handled as imports.
Your own clothes, phone, laptop and camera for the trip are personal belongings, not “goods to leave in China”.
Cash: how much can you bring?
| Currency | Arriving in China | Leaving China |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese yuan (RMB) | Up to RMB 20,000 per person per trip; more is not allowed | Same limit |
| Foreign currency cash | No cap, but declare in writing if over US$5,000 in value | Over US$5,000: a bank-issued carrying permit; over US$10,000: from the foreign exchange authority |
If you declare foreign cash on arrival, keep the stamped declaration. Customs uses it when you take the money out again. Without it, you may need a permit to leave with more than US$5,000.
Most visitors do not need anything like these amounts. Mobile payment works almost everywhere, so a small RMB reserve is enough. See Cash and ATMs in China.
Food, plants and animals you cannot bring
China’s list of animal and plant products that travelers may not bring in, whether carried or posted, includes:
| Category | Banned examples |
|---|---|
| Meat | Raw or cooked meat and organs, and products such as sausage, ham, jerky and bacon |
| Seafood | Aquatic animal products (dried, cooked and fermented sauce products are exempt) |
| Dairy | Milk, yogurt, cream, butter, cheese and condensed milk |
| Eggs | Fresh, preserved and salted eggs, liquid egg, and egg products such as mayonnaise |
| Fruit and vegetables | All fresh fruit and fresh vegetables |
| Plants | Cut flowers, tobacco leaf, seeds, seedlings and anything that can grow |
| Other | Bird’s nest (except commercially sterilized canned), soil, animal specimens, live animals |
Two exceptions: a pet dog or cat (one per person, with an official health certificate and vaccination certificate from your country), and items with an import permit plus an official quarantine certificate.
Commercially sealed snacks are not named on this list, but their ingredients matter. If a product contains meat, egg or dairy, or you are simply unsure, declare it. Customs can hold items for up to seven days for quarantine checks, and items that fail and cannot be sent back can be destroyed.
Prohibited and restricted items
China bans travelers from bringing in:
- weapons, imitation weapons, ammunition and explosives;
- counterfeit money and securities;
- printed matter, films, photos, recordings and computer storage media that China considers harmful to its political, economic, cultural or moral interests;
- deadly poisons;
- opium, heroin, cannabis and other narcotic and psychotropic drugs;
- animals, plants and food that carry pests or disease, or come from outbreak areas.
Restricted items need a permit or must stay within limits: radio transmitters and receivers, encryption communication devices, tobacco and alcohol, RMB cash, and endangered animals and plants, including specimens.
Drugs, including cannabis
The UK government warns that China has zero tolerance for illegal drugs, including cannabis. Airports scan baggage, including transit passengers’ bags, and foreigners can be drug-tested at random, even on entry. A positive test can be prosecuted however and wherever you took the drug. Do not bring cannabis products, even if they are legal where you live.
Drones
Drones and drone parts are strictly regulated. Check with the Civil Aviation Administration of China before you pack one.
Medication
- Normal prescription and over-the-counter medicines: bring a reasonable amount for your own use. Keep them in the original labeled packaging with a copy of the prescription or a doctor’s letter.
- Narcotic and Class I psychotropic medicines (for example, some strong painkillers): Chinese law allows you to carry up to one prescription’s maximum dose, with a medical diagnosis certificate from a hospital or clinic and your ID. Customs releases it on a “personal, reasonable use” basis.
- Anything unusual or injectable: check with the Chinese embassy or consulate before you travel. The UK government notes that some medicines prescribed abroad may not be allowed into China.
If you carry medicine that needs paperwork, use the red channel and show the documents.
Leaving China: what you cannot take out
When you fly home, customs also restricts:
- cultural relics: valuable relics may not leave China at all, and other antiques are restricted, so keep receipts and ask the seller whether an item can legally be exported;
- endangered animals and plants and products made from them;
- gold, silver and other precious metals, and valuable Chinese medicinal materials, which are subject to limits or permits;
- RMB over 20,000 and foreign cash over the limits above.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | What happens | Do this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Packing fruit or a sandwich from the plane | Confiscated at inspection | Eat it or bin it before customs |
| Bringing cheese, salami or jerky as gifts | Banned animal products, confiscated | Bring non-food gifts, or sealed foods with no meat, egg or dairy |
| Two bottles of wine plus duty-free spirits | Over 1.5 liters; tax on the excess | Stay within 1.5 liters of drinks over 12% alcohol |
| Not declaring US$6,000 cash | Possible fine or confiscation | Declare it on arrival and keep the stamped form |
| Pills in an unlabeled bag | Questions at inspection | Original packaging plus prescription |
| Filming in the customs hall | Not allowed without permission | Keep your phone camera off until you leave the hall |
| Walking through green with items to declare | Treated as not declaring | If in doubt, choose red and ask |
Customs is only one part of arriving in China. For the full entry sequence, from the arrival card and immigration to your first taxi, see What to bring to China and China airports.
If you are planning your first trip and want a second pair of eyes on entry rules, visas and what to pack, our free trip planning service can help you prepare before you fly.
- GACC Announcement No. 43 of 2025 on baggage declaration, with the declaration form and allowances, in Chinese
- GACC Order No. 276: Measures for Supervising Inbound and Outbound Baggage, in force April 1, 2025, in Chinese
- China Customs: Customs Clearance Guide for International Passengers
- Nanjing Customs: Prohibited and restricted items and the banned animal and plant products list, in Chinese
- Nanjing Customs: Duty-free limits for tobacco, e-cigarettes and alcohol, in Chinese
- State Council: Regulations on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, Article 44, in Chinese
- UK FCDO: China travel advice, safety and security (drugs, drones)
Editorial update: . Check the linked source for current provider terms or official rules.