China Customs Guide: Medicines, Food, Electronics, Drones and Cash

China Customs uses a red channel for travelers with goods to declare and a green channel for those with nothing to declare. If you are unsure, ask a Customs officer or use the red channel. Choosing green does not prevent inspection, and uncertainty is safer to resolve before leaving the controlled area.

Customs is separate from immigration, airline security, quarantine, and the rules for using an item after entry. A drone can create aviation issues even if Customs releases it. A medicine can be legal to possess in one country but controlled in China.

The current declaration framework

China's General Administration of Customs issued new passenger-baggage declaration rules effective 1 April 2025. An arriving traveler must make a truthful written or electronic declaration when carrying, among other things:

• prohibited goods;
• restricted goods above a limit or requiring a permit;
• animals, plants, their products, or other quarantine items;
• human tissue, blood, microorganisms, or biological products affecting public-health safety;
• cash above the permitted declaration threshold;
• goods above duty-free allowances or quantity limits;
• commercial goods, samples, or advertising material;
• unaccompanied baggage;
• other items that legally require declaration.

Travelers can enter declaration data in advance through the Customs Pocket Declaration service in WeChat or Alipay, or through the official web service. The declaration must still be confirmed at the designated place on arrival and may be checked by Customs.

The official web declaration is https://npc.chinaport.gov.cn/goodsdeclweb/. The Customs service hotline is 12360.

Medicines

Small quantities of ordinary medicine for personal use are generally handled under the principles of personal use, reasonable quantity, and Customs supervision. That is not a universal approval for every ingredient.

Travel with:

• medicine in its original labeled packaging;
• a current prescription;
• a clinician's letter or diagnosis certificate;
• the generic name, active ingredient, strength, and daily dose;
• an amount consistent with the trip and treatment plan.

Medicines containing narcotic or psychotropic substances require special care. Current Customs guidance says an individual who needs certain controlled medicines for treatment may carry up to the maximum amount on a single prescription with a medical diagnosis certificate and proof of identity, subject to Customs review and the applicable category rules. Other addictive narcotic or psychotropic substances are prohibited.

Do not rely on a brand name. Cold medicine, pain medicine, sleep medicine, ADHD treatment, anxiety medicine, and traditional products can contain ingredients classified differently in China. Contact the Chinese embassy or consulate and 12360 before departure when an ingredient may be controlled.

Declare prescription and controlled medicines proactively when required or when uncertain. Final release is subject to the officer's review.

Biological products, blood products, or medicines requiring refrigerated transport can have additional health-quarantine and airline requirements. Arrange these well in advance.

Food, plants, and animal products

Food is not one simple duty-free category. Customs and quarantine rules apply to animals, plants, animal and plant products, and other quarantine items. Products that commonly require checking include:

• fresh fruit and vegetables;
• meat and meat products;
• eggs and some dairy products;
• seeds, live plants, bulbs, and soil;
• dried or fresh animal products;
• homemade food with unclear ingredients;
• products from an area affected by an animal, plant, or human disease restriction.

Packaging does not automatically make a product admissible. Vacuum-sealed meat, a sealed piece of fruit, seeds in a retail packet, or a gift containing an animal product can still fall under quarantine control.

If you carry food, identify every ingredient and country of origin. When the item could be an animal product, plant product, seed, biological item, or disease vector, declare it and let Customs decide. Do not hide it inside checked baggage.

The same caution applies when leaving China. Cultural relics, endangered species and products made from them, some plants, and other controlled goods can require evidence or permission. A shop receipt alone does not always authorize export.

Phones, laptops, cameras, and other electronics

Ordinary personal electronics used during a trip usually fit the personal-use and reasonable-quantity principle. Risk increases when a traveler carries:

• several new devices in retail boxes;
• stock intended for sale or gifts beyond a reasonable personal quantity;
• commercial samples;
• high-value professional production equipment;
• radio transmitters or communications-security equipment;
• equipment that will remain in China;
• unaccompanied cases of electronics.

Customs' English passenger guide identifies personal goods intended to remain in China above the applicable allowance, commercial goods, samples, radio equipment, and unaccompanied baggage as declaration categories. Rules and thresholds can change, so use the current 12360 guidance rather than an old blog post.

For expensive equipment that will leave China with you, ask whether a temporary entry declaration is appropriate. Keep serial numbers, purchase evidence, and the endorsed declaration. This can help show that the same equipment is being re-exported.

Customs clearance does not override Chinese rules on encryption, mapping, radio transmission, data, photography, or activity permits.

Drones

Treat a drone as two separate questions:

1. May it be carried through Customs?
2. May it be registered, activated, and flown at the intended place?

Do not assume that clearance at the airport answers the second question.

China's national rules require civil unmanned-aircraft owners to complete real-name registration. Controlled airspace includes airports and surrounding areas, borders, military and sensitive sites, important infrastructure, protected cultural sites, and other designated zones. Flight approval, operator qualifications, identification transmission, insurance, or local public-security requirements may apply depending on the aircraft and operation.

New national real-name registration and activation standards took effect on 1 May 2026. Local rules may be more restrictive. Beijing, for example, introduced additional 2026 information-verification conditions that include local-residence documentation for individual owners in the covered process. A short-term visitor should not assume a foreign passport is enough to complete every local step.

Before bringing a drone:

• check the current Civil Aviation Administration of China rules;
• confirm the real-name registration and activation path for the exact model and owner;
• check the official airspace platform and local police notices;
• obtain any required approval;
• check airline lithium-battery transport rules;
• confirm that photography or mapping at the intended place is permitted.

If you cannot complete the registration or verify a legal flight area, do not fly. Foreign-operated mapping flights carry particularly serious legal risk under the national regulation.

Cash

Current Customs guidance uses these key thresholds:

• RMB: RMB 20,000 is the limit for cash carried into or out of China.
• Foreign currency cash: declare an amount equivalent to more than USD 5,000 on entry.

If you bring more than the foreign-currency declaration threshold and intend to take it out again, complete the entry declaration and retain the endorsed copy. Outbound foreign-currency rules depend on the amount previously declared and any required bank or foreign-exchange documents.

The threshold applies to physical cash, not the available limit on a bank card. Other negotiable instruments and securities can have separate rules.

Do not split cash among bags or travelers to conceal an amount. If the figure is close to a threshold after currency conversion, declare and ask Customs.

Red channel or green channel?

Use the green channel only when you have no item requiring declaration. Use the red channel when you have a declaration, a permit to present, commercial or unaccompanied goods, relevant quarantine items, excess cash, or a genuine doubt.

Bring the supporting documents in carry-on baggage. An officer cannot assess a prescription, permit, purchase invoice, or previous declaration that is inaccessible in a checked case.

Keep any Customs-endorsed form until the corresponding goods and cash have left China. If Customs seals an item or bag, do not remove or break the seal without authorization.

Hong Kong and Macao crossings

Hong Kong and Macao are separate customs territories. A trip from either place into Mainland China is a Customs entry to the Mainland, and a trip in the other direction is an exit. The fact that a journey is by high-speed rail, ferry, bridge, or a short flight does not remove the declaration step.

Recheck allowances whenever the itinerary crosses one of these boundaries.

Before departure

Make a list of medicines, food, high-value equipment, drones, cash, and goods you will leave behind. For each uncertain item, check the current official rule or call 12360. Print or save permits and prescriptions. On arrival, declare honestly and ask before proceeding through green.

This takes less time than trying to recover a seized item or explain an undeclared one.

Official sources

• General Administration of Customs 2025 passenger-baggage declaration announcement: https://app.www.gov.cn/govdata/gov/202504/05/526129/article.html
• China Customs passenger-clearance guide and cash thresholds: https://english.customs.gov.cn/statics/88707c1e-aa4e-40ca-a968-bdbdbb565e4f.html
• Official passenger goods declaration service: https://npc.chinaport.gov.cn/goodsdeclweb/
• 2026 Customs guidance on medicines for personal use: https://english.cq.gov.cn/services/entryandexit/FAQs/202606/t20260629_15782389.html
• State Council regulation on unmanned-aircraft flight management: https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/202306/content_6888799.htm
• Civil Aviation Administration update on 2026 drone registration and activation standards: https://www.caac.gov.cn/English/News/202512/t20251224_229562.html

Last reviewed: 24 July 2026. Customs release, permits, and drone flight authorization are fact-specific; ask the responsible authority when uncertain.