Packing rule
In short
Take the red channel if you are a non-Chinese resident carrying personal articles intended to remain in the country worth RMB2,000 or more, or any radio transmitter, radio receiver or communication security equipment, in either direction. Customs writes that threshold for articles staying behind, not the laptop you fly home with. A drone over 250 grams needs real-name registration with the aviation regulator, and its printed mark attached for every flight.
Open the packing checklistApplies to
Visitors carrying laptops, cameras, drones, radios, recording kit or cash into or out of mainland China, at an airport, seaport, train or bus crossing.
Check before you rely on it
These figures are the General Administration of Customs' own English passenger guide and CAAC's own English translation of the drone registration regulation. Neither publishes a duty rate, a drone customs category, or an English-language registration interface, and this page does not supply one.
Review date: 2026-07-25
Almost everyone walks the green channel on instinct. The three things that make that the wrong instinct are a radio, a bag of kit that is staying, and a drone nobody registered.
Two phrases Customs defines
Both look like vague officialese. Both have a published definition, and together they are the test a bag of identical new devices fails.
Source: General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China — Customs Clearance of Inward/Outward Passengers' Carried Baggage (read 2026-07-25)
Before the bag is packed
Decision table
Six rows from the customs passenger guide, including the one for not knowing.
| What is in the bag | Channel | What the guide says |
|---|---|---|
| Radio transmitters, radio receivers, communication security equipment | Red channel, in and out | Named explicitly on both the inbound and the outbound declare list. No value threshold is attached to this row. |
| Personal articles intended to remain in the territory, RMB2,000 or above, carried by a non-Chinese resident | Red channel, inbound | This is the threshold that applies to visitors. It is written for articles intended to stay behind, and it is a quarter of the RMB5,000 figure published for Chinese residents bringing personal articles from overseas. |
| A camera, video camera or laptop worth over RMB5,000 each that you will bring back | Red channel, outbound | Two declaration forms are filled out. Customs endorses them and returns one copy, which is used when re-entering China with the same item. |
| RMB20,000 in cash or above, or foreign currency worth US$5,000 or above | Red channel, in and out | Included here because it sits in the same table on the same form. Our page on the declaration channel itself carries the cash and currency rules in full, along with the alcohol and tobacco rows. |
| Computer storage media carrying material detrimental to the political, economic, cultural or moral interests of China | Prohibited from import | Listed among prohibited imports alongside printed matter, films, recordings and discs in the same category. Material involving state secrets is separately prohibited from export. |
| Anything you cannot classify | Red channel | Customs writes that passengers who do not understand the regulations, or do not know how to choose a channel, shall use the goods-to-declare channel. Choosing a channel does not exempt baggage from inspection either way. |
Source for the whole table: General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China — Customs Clearance Guide for International Passengers (read 2026-07-25)
The aviation regulator, not customs
Bringing it in and flying it are two different regimes. This is the one that has a published English text.
Source: Civil Aviation Administration of China — Regulations on Real-name Registration of Civil Unmanned Aircraft Systems (AP-45-AA-2017-03, English translation) (page dated 2017-05-16; read 2026-07-25)
The regulation names the duty and the documents. It does not put an English registration screen in front of you, and we could not open one. The document we read is CAAC's own English translation, carrying CAAC's own note that the Chinese version prevails where the two differ.
Where you may fly, how high, and which areas are closed are governed by separate instruments we could not open in English. Nothing on this page is permission to fly anywhere.
The published facts
Customs and the aviation regulator, each linked with the day we opened it. Sources read 2026-07-25.
Inbound passengers who are not Chinese residents must use the goods-to-declare channel for personal articles intended to remain in the territory valued at RMB2,000 or above. The equivalent figure published for Chinese residents bringing personal articles from overseas is RMB5,000.
Source: General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China — Customs Clearance Guide for International Passengers (read 2026-07-25)
Radio transmitters, radio receivers and communication security equipment appear on both the inbound and the outbound goods-to-declare lists. Unlike the value rows, this one has no threshold: the category itself is what triggers the channel.
Source: General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China — Customs Clearance Guide for International Passengers (read 2026-07-25)
An outbound passenger carrying a camera, video camera, laptop computer or other trip necessity valued at over RMB5,000 each, intending to bring it back, fills out two declaration forms. Customs endorses them and returns one copy for use on re-entry.
Source: General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China — Customs Clearance Guide for International Passengers (read 2026-07-25)
Storage media for computers, along with printed matter, films, photographs, recordings and discs, are prohibited from importation where they are detrimental to the political, economic, cultural and moral interests of China. Material involving state secrets is prohibited from export.
Source: General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China — Customs Clearance Guide for International Passengers (read 2026-07-25)
All inward and outward passengers complete a China Customs baggage declaration form and declare truthfully, except those exempted from examination or control under relevant regulations and those under the age of 16 travelling with adults.
Source: General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China — Customs Clearance Guide for International Passengers (read 2026-07-25)
A declaration form verified and endorsed by Customs is kept and re-submitted on return if necessary. Seals affixed by Customs on baggage must not be opened or broken without prior Customs authorisation.
Source: General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China — Customs Clearance Guide for International Passengers (read 2026-07-25)
Personal use means private use only, or gifts to relatives or friends, but not selling or lending. Reasonable quantity means normal quantities based on the purpose of the travel and the length of the stay.
Source: General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China — Customs Clearance of Inward/Outward Passengers' Carried Baggage (read 2026-07-25)
Passengers who do not understand the Customs regulations, or do not know how to choose the channel, are told to use the things-to-declare channel. Whichever channel is chosen, baggage remains subject to inspection.
Source: General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China — Customs Clearance of Inward/Outward Passengers' Carried Baggage (read 2026-07-25)
CAAC's regulation applies to civil unmanned aircraft systems with a maximum takeoff weight of 250 grams or more operating in Chinese territory. Individual owners register a name, a valid document number such as a passport, a mobile phone number and email address, the model and serial number, and the purpose of use.
Source: Civil Aviation Administration of China — Regulations on Real-name Registration of Civil Unmanned Aircraft Systems (AP-45-AA-2017-03, English translation) (page dated 2017-05-16; read 2026-07-25)
The system emails a registration mark containing a registration number and a QR code. The owner sticks it on the aircraft in a durable way and must ensure it is attached during each flight; it must not be altered, forged or transferred. Owners who do not register and mark are stated to be violating the law.
Source: Civil Aviation Administration of China — Regulations on Real-name Registration of Civil Unmanned Aircraft Systems (AP-45-AA-2017-03, English translation) (page dated 2017-05-16; read 2026-07-25)
In short
Short answers on the laptop, the drone, the radio row, cash, and picking the wrong channel.
The threshold that applies to a visitor is RMB2,000, and it is written for personal articles intended to remain in the territory. A working laptop you are flying home with is not an article intended to remain, so the row Customs wrote for it is the outbound one: a camera, video camera or laptop worth over RMB5,000 each that you plan to bring back is declared on two forms when leaving, with one endorsed copy returned for re-entry.
Customs does not list drones among prohibited or restricted articles on the passenger guide we read. What does apply is CAAC's real-name registration: civil unmanned aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 250 grams or more operating in Chinese territory must be registered by the owner, who supplies a name, a valid document number such as a passport, a mobile phone number and email address, the model and serial number, and the purpose of use. The registration mark must be stuck on the aircraft and attached during each flight.
Customs names radio transmitters, radio receivers and communication security equipment on both the inbound and the outbound goods-to-declare lists. That row carries no value threshold, unlike the RMB2,000 and RMB5,000 rows, so the category itself is what sends you through the red channel. If you cannot tell whether a device belongs there, Customs's own instruction is to take the red channel.
The device itself is not named on any prohibited list we read. What is named is the content: storage media for computers, alongside printed matter, films, photographs, recordings and discs, are prohibited from importation where they are detrimental to the political, economic, cultural and moral interests of China, and material involving state secrets is prohibited from export. Nothing published states how that assessment is made at a counter.
Both are defined. Personal use means private use only, or presenting gifts to relatives or friends, but not selling or lending. Reasonable quantity means normal quantities based on the purpose of the travel and the length of the stay. Baggage carried by passengers is limited to both at once, which is the test a bag of identical new devices fails.
Customs writes that passengers unsure about the instructions should ask a Customs officer for details or choose the goods-to-declare channel, and that passengers who do not understand the regulations or do not know how to choose the channel shall use it. Choosing either channel does not exempt baggage from inspection, so the red channel costs time rather than anything else.
Not published
Drone forums are full of confident numbers. The regulator's English text contains some of them and not others, and this is where it stops.
The other device that gets taken off you, and the one rule that decides it: a legible CCC mark.
Check the casingOnce the bag is through, the next failure is a travel eSIM that will not come up.
Open pageThe wider rules on the same form: cash and currency, alcohol and tobacco, and which channel to walk through.
Open pageNext move
Read enough to make the decision smaller, then open the checklist, search a specific question, choose a setup tool, or share the page with the person planning with you.
Use the checklist when the question has shifted from research to preparation.
Search by the actual problem: Alipay, eSIM, transit visa, first transfer, vegetarian food, or a city name.
Open recommendations when the task is clear enough for a short list to be useful.