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Entry
What should tourists check before bringing items through China customs?
In short
Check official customs rules before packing anything that could be restricted, declarable, medical, food-related, high-value, professional, or intended for resale. When unsure, declare or remove the item rather than guessing at the airport.
Behind this answer
Official source: China National Immigration Administration
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Reviewed as a concise travel answer
Entry answers were reviewed with the current passport-entry scenario review pass.
- Information checked
Official China Customs guidance, airline rules, prescription or medical documentation, destination-specific restrictions, and current declaration-channel instructions. Visa-free eligibility, transit rules, arrival documents, airline checks, and port practices still belong with current official sources.
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Source boundary
Official China Customs guidance, airline rules, prescription or medical documentation, destination-specific restrictions, and current declaration-channel instructions.
Action path
What to do next
A practical answer should leave the traveler with a few moves they can actually make before the trip or at the point of friction.
1
Check passport, purpose, stay length, and route before booking aggressively.
2
Use official immigration, embassy, consulate, or visa-center sources for the final answer.
3
Keep arrival documents, hotel address, onward proof, and payment setup connected.
Official source
What an official source actually states
These facts are read straight from the operator's own page, so you can check each one at the source rather than take it on our word.
Inbound duty-free allowance: RMB 2,000 for a non-resident visitor, RMB 5,000 for a resident
The customs regulator's own numbers, in place of the page's vague “check official rules”: a non-resident traveller (goods intended to stay in China) may bring personal-use articles up to a total value of RMB 2,000 (inclusive) duty-free, and a resident traveller's overseas-acquired personal-use articles up to RMB 5,000 (inclusive) — released duty-free by customs, single-variety limited to reasonable personal-use quantities.
Where in the source: 公告2010年第54号·一：“进境居民旅客携带在境外获取的个人自用进境物品，总值在5000元人民币以内（含5000元）的；非居民旅客携带拟留在中国境内的个人自用进境物品，总值在2000元人民币以内（含2000元）的，海关予以免税放行，单一品种限自用、合理数量……”
Over the allowance, customs taxes only the excess — but a single indivisible item is taxed in full
Above the line (resident over RMB 5,000, non-resident over RMB 2,000, customs-verified as genuinely personal-use), customs taxes only the portion above the threshold — except that for an indivisible single item the whole item is taxed in full. You cannot split one high-value item to stay under the line.
Where in the source: 公告2010年第54号·二：“……海关仅对超出部分的个人自用进境物品征税，对不可分割的单件物品，全额征税。”
Tobacco, alcohol and 20 state-designated commodities are outside this free allowance
The duty-free allowance does not cover everything: tobacco products, alcohol products and the 20 commodities the state designates as taxable are excluded and handled under separate rules. This announcement does not enumerate those separate quantities, so treat them as excluded-and-separately-taxed rather than a specific cigarette or liquor number.
Where in the source: 公告2010年第54号·一：“……但烟草制品、酒精制品以及国家规定应当征税的20种商品等另按有关规定办理。”
Source: General Administration of Customs (海关总署), announcement carried in the State Council Gazette (国务院公报 2010年第35号) on www.gov.cn — 中华人民共和国海关总署公告2010年第54号 (General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 54 of 2010 — inbound travellers' baggage duty exemption/taxation rules) (source 海关总署公告2010年第54号, dated 2010-08-19; read August 14, 2026)
Foreign cash into China is uncapped, but above USD 5,000 equivalent you must declare it in writing
There is no cap on how much foreign-currency cash you may bring into China, but a person entering with foreign-currency cash exceeding the equivalent of USD 5,000 must make a written declaration to customs (same-day and short-period frequent border-crossers excepted). This is the specific number the page's “declare when unsure” never named.
Where in the source: 第三条：“入境人员携带外币现钞入境，超过等值5000美元的应当向海关书面申报，当天多次往返及短期内多次往返者除外。”
On the way out, USD 10,000 equivalent is the practical foreign-cash ceiling
Context for a round trip: up to the equivalent of USD 5,000 needs no permit; USD 5,000–10,000 equivalent needs a bank-issued Foreign-Exchange Carrying Permit (《携带证》); above the equivalent of USD 10,000 a departing traveller may in principle not carry foreign-currency cash out without a SAFE-issued permit.
Where in the source: 第七条：“……原则上不得携带超过等值10000美元外币现钞出境。如因特殊情况确需携带超过等值10000美元外币现钞出境，应当向存款或购汇银行所在地外汇局申领《携带证》。”（第五条 sets the up-to-5,000 / 5,000–10,000 tiers.）
Source: State Administration of Foreign Exchange (国家外汇管理局) + General Administration of Customs (海关总署), measures carried in the State Council Gazette (国务院公报 2004年第5号) on www.gov.cn — 携带外币现钞出入境管理暂行办法 (Provisional Measures for the Administration of Carrying Foreign-Currency Cash In and Out of the Border) (source 汇发[2003]102号, in force 2003-09-01; read August 14, 2026)
RMB cash is capped at 20,000 yuan per person per trip; carry more and you must declare it
For both foreigners entering/leaving and Chinese citizens, the carrying limit is no more than RMB 20,000 in cash per person per trip; carrying more than the prescribed amount must be truthfully declared to customs. The figure is landed off this official gov.cn port-office page, which names its primary source (中国人民银行公告[2004]第18号 + 《国家货币出入境管理办法》) — that PBOC announcement was not opened directly this pass, so the figure is attributed to the port-office explainer, not a directly-read PBOC page.
Where in the source: 口岸办·人民币现钞限额：“……中国公民出入境、外国人入出境，每人每次携带的人民币不得超出20000元限额。携带超过规定数额人民币出入境的，应当按照国家规定向海关如实申报。”
Over any limit, you must actively declare and take the “declaration channel” (the red channel)
The operational step the generic answer never named: a traveller carrying over-limit currency must actively declare to customs and take the “declaration channel” (申报通道) to clear customs — the red channel, not the green nothing-to-declare channel.
Where in the source: 口岸办·申报通道：“携带超额货币需要向海关主动申报，并选择‘申报通道’通关。”
Source: Shenzhen Municipal People's Government Port Office (深圳市人民政府口岸办公室, ka.sz.gov.cn) — official government surface; the RMB figure is cited to its primary source 中国人民银行公告[2004]第18号 + 《中华人民共和国国家货币出入境管理办法》, not opened directly this pass — 旅客携带货币出入境规定 —— 携带超额货币需向海关主动申报 (Shenzhen Municipal Port Office explainer: RMB-cash carrying limit and the customs declaration-channel obligation) (source primary cited: 中国人民银行公告[2004]第18号; read August 14, 2026)
What this source does not settle: This layer states only the numbered, gov.cn-sourced customs-channel thresholds a foreign visitor faces: the inbound duty-free personal-articles allowance (non-resident RMB 2,000 / resident RMB 5,000) and its over-allowance taxing rule, the inbound foreign-currency-cash written-declaration threshold (over USD 5,000 equivalent) with the outbound USD 10,000 ceiling, and the RMB-20,000-per-trip cash limit with the obligation to declare and take the declaration channel. It does not enumerate the 20 state-designated taxable commodities or the specific tobacco/alcohol allowances (excluded from the free allowance under separate rules, not listed on the opened pages); it prints no customs duty-rate percentage (the 行邮税 schedule was not opened this pass); it does not quote the red/green-channel signage or the entry-exit declaration form field-by-field (the declaration duty is proven, the exact signage legal text was not pulled); and the RMB-20,000 figure is attributed to the Shenzhen port-office explainer that cites 中国人民银行公告[2004]第18号 as primary, not to a directly-read PBOC announcement.
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