Packing rule

What you can and can't bring on a China domestic flight

In short

Does the 100 ml liquids rule apply on a domestic flight?

No. On a domestic flight inside mainland China all carry-on liquids are banned outright, not limited to a 100 ml clear bag. A little personal cosmetics is the only routine exception (one per type, under 100 ml, separately bagged); everything else goes in checked baggage.

Back to the packing checklist

Applies to

Any leg between two mainland China airports. The liquids ban and the battery limits are the mainland-specific parts a visitor gets wrong first.

Check before you rely on it

The regulation below sets the shape of the rule but names no objects or quantities — it points at the ICAO Technical Instructions, which is why your airline's list is the operative document. There is no single national checked-baggage weight allowance, and no specific knife blade-length is published on the pages we opened. See the power-bank page for the CCC mark.

Information checked: October 6, 2026

The mistake costs you at the belt: a full water bottle or a large toiletry bag that would pass at home is pulled here. Sort the bag before you leave, not at the checkpoint.

Back to checklist How to take the flight

Cabin, checked, or neither

Where each thing may travel on a domestic flight

One table for the pack decision. Cabin liquids are banned; some items travel in neither bag.

Item	Where it may travel	Detail
Liquids in general (drinks, large toiletries, gels)	Checked baggage only — banned from the cabin	On a domestic flight all carry-on liquids are prohibited. This is not the international 100 ml clear-bag rule; pack liquids in the hold, where they are permitted if packed per civil-aviation rules. Carrier or operator notice implementing the rule, not the regulator's own page: Air China (airchina.us), reproducing an announcement it states is issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China — Announcement on the Prohibition of Carry-on Liquids for Passengers on Domestic Flights (issued by CAAC) (read August 7, 2026)
A little personal-use cosmetics	Cabin allowed under the narrow exception	One item per type of cosmetic, each container no more than 100 ml, placed in a separate bag so it can be opened for inspection. Carrier or operator notice implementing the rule, not the regulator's own page: Air China (airchina.us), reproducing an announcement it states is issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China — Announcement on the Prohibition of Carry-on Liquids for Passengers on Domestic Flights (issued by CAAC) (read August 7, 2026)
Medically-needed liquids	Cabin, handed to the crew	Diabetics and others who need liquid medicines have them screened at security and hand them to the crew for safekeeping during the flight. Carrier or operator notice implementing the rule, not the regulator's own page: Air China (airchina.us), reproducing an announcement it states is issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China — Announcement on the Prohibition of Carry-on Liquids for Passengers on Domestic Flights (issued by CAAC) (read August 7, 2026)
Spare lithium batteries and power banks up to 100 Wh	Cabin only, maximum 2 pieces	Spare batteries and power banks travel in the cabin, not the hold, and are capped at two. A power bank also has to meet the separate CCC-marking rule. Carrier or operator notice implementing the rule, not the regulator's own page: Xiamen Airlines (xiamenair.com), official English passenger information, citing the Civil Aviation Law of the People's Republic of China — Regulations on Transport of Dangerous Goods and Items (source cites Civil Aviation Law Article 101; read August 7, 2026)
Batteries rated 100–160 Wh	Cabin, only with airline approval	The 100–160 Wh tier is permitted only with the airline's approval; devices up to 100 Wh may travel checked or carry-on. Carrier or operator notice implementing the rule, not the regulator's own page: Xiamen Airlines (xiamenair.com), official English passenger information, citing the Civil Aviation Law of the People's Republic of China — Regulations on Transport of Dangerous Goods and Items (source cites Civil Aviation Law Article 101; read August 7, 2026)
Power banks and lithium batteries over 160 Wh	Neither cabin nor hold — prohibited	Above 160 Wh is prohibited outright. The ceiling is set nationally by the Civil Aviation Administration of China — the clause is quoted in the regulation table below — and the airport authority's own list repeats it. Source: Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (深圳宝安国际机场), the airport authority's own official English website — Security check and valid documents for domestic departure (source published August 2020; read August 7, 2026)
Lighters, matches and flints (magnesium rods)	Neither cabin nor hold — prohibited	The airport authority lists lighters, matches, cigarette lighters and magnesium rods as prohibited from both carry-on and checked baggage. Source: Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (深圳宝安国际机场), the airport authority's own official English website — Security check and valid documents for domestic departure (source published August 2020; read August 7, 2026)
Controlled or sharp knives	Checked baggage, not the cabin	Controlled knives and sharp instruments are barred from the cabin and go in checked baggage. No specific blade-length number is published on the pages we opened. Source: Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (深圳宝安国际机场), the airport authority's own official English website — Security check and valid documents for domestic departure (source published August 2020; read August 7, 2026)
Explosives, gases, flammable liquids and solids, oxidisers, toxics, corrosives	Neither cabin nor hold — prohibited	Ammunition and fireworks; compressed and liquefied gases; petrol, alcohol and paint; matches and solid alcohol; oxidisers; cyanide and pesticides; and acids and liquid storage batteries are all barred from a passenger's bags. Carrier or operator notice implementing the rule, not the regulator's own page: Xiamen Airlines (xiamenair.com), official English passenger information, citing the Civil Aviation Law of the People's Republic of China — Regulations on Transport of Dangerous Goods and Items (source cites Civil Aviation Law Article 101; read August 7, 2026)

Clause by clause · read October 6, 2026

The regulation behind the table, and where the 160Wh ceiling comes from

The dangerous-goods regulation in force is Order No. 4 of 2024 of the Ministry of Transport, effective 1 July 2024 — it replaced the edition this page used to cite. It sets the shape of the rule rather than a list of objects: what may never be in a bag, what needs the regulator's own approval, and what passengers are carved out of. The watt-hour row comes from a separate national notice, not from an airport. Each row prints the clause as published, so you can check it in the same document we did.

What the regulation and the battery notice say, in their own words
What it means for your bag	The clause as published	Instrument and reference
Some things may never be in your baggage, with no approval route The prohibition is addressed to 任何单位和个人 — any organisation or individual — and the first verb is 在行李中携带, carrying in baggage. So the ban on packing forbidden dangerous goods is a named article of a ministerial order, not an airline's own policy, and the category it names is goods the ICAO Technical Instructions forbid from air transport under all circumstances. Nobody at a desk can approve an exception to this one.	任何单位和个人不得在行李中携带或者通过货物、邮件托运、收运、载运《技术细则》中规定的在任何情况下禁止航空运输的危险品。	Article 6 (第六条) 《民用航空危险品运输管理规定》（交通运输部令 2024 年第 4 号 / CCAR-276-R2） Provisions on the Administration of the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Civil Aviation (Order No. 4 of 2024 of the Ministry of Transport) Full text, read 2026-10-06
A second tier is banned unless the regulator has approved or exempted it The contrast with the article above is the useful part. This tier covers goods the Technical Instructions forbid in normal circumstances, plus infected live animals, and it has a narrow exit: an approval or exemption granted by the civil aviation authority under those Instructions, where the transport safety level is met. The approval is a regulator's act. It is not something negotiated at check-in, and an airline cannot waive the tier for you.	除运输安全水平符合要求并获得民航行政机关按《技术细则》给予批准或者豁免外，任何单位和个人不得在行李中携带或者通过货物、邮件托运、收运、载运下列危险品：（一）《技术细则》中规定禁止在正常情况下航空运输的危险品；（二）受到感染的活体动物。	Article 7 (第七条) 《民用航空危险品运输管理规定》（交通运输部令 2024 年第 4 号 / CCAR-276-R2） Provisions on the Administration of the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Civil Aviation (Order No. 4 of 2024 of the Ministry of Transport) Full text, read 2026-10-06
Passenger-carried items are carved out — only as far as the Technical Instructions allow This is the clause under which you may carry anything hazardous-ish at all: a spare battery, an aerosol, a medical item. It lifts specific items carried by passengers or crew out of the dangerous-goods restrictions, but strictly 《技术细则》规定范围内 — within the scope those Instructions set — and it names no object. That is the honest shape of the rule: Chinese regulation does not itself list what you may pack, which is why your airline's list is the document that actually governs your suitcase.	符合下列情况的物品或者物质，按照《技术细则》的规定不受危险品航空运输的限制：（一）已分类为危险品的物品或者物质，根据有关适航要求和运行规定，或者因《技术细则》列明的其他特殊原因需要装在民用航空器上时；（二）旅客或者机组成员携带的《技术细则》规定范围内的特定物品或者物质。	Article 9, item 2 (第九条第（二）项) 《民用航空危险品运输管理规定》（交通运输部令 2024 年第 4 号 / CCAR-276-R2） Provisions on the Administration of the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Civil Aviation (Order No. 4 of 2024 of the Ministry of Transport) Full text, read 2026-10-06
The 160Wh ceiling is national, not one airport's house rule Above 160Wh of rated energy a power bank may not be carried at all; above 100Wh but not above 160Wh it needs the airline's approval and two units is the cap. The clause belongs to a notice the Civil Aviation Administration of China signed and still publishes, so flying from a different airport or on a different carrier does not change the ceiling. The full five-item notice, including the checked-baggage ban and the in-flight use ban, is set out on the power-bank page rather than repeated here.	严禁携带额定能量超过160Wh的充电宝；携带额定能量超过100Wh但不超过160Wh的充电宝，必须经航空公司批准且不得超过两个。	Item 2 (第二项) 《关于重申民航旅客携带“充电宝”乘机规定的公告》 Announcement reiterating the rules for passengers carrying power banks on civil aviation flights Full text, read 2026-10-06
What counts as dangerous goods, in the regulation's own definition Two prongs, and a traveller can apply both: an item is dangerous goods either because it appears on the Technical Instructions' dangerous-goods list, or because it falls into one of their classifications. The harm test is 对健康、安全、财产或者环境 — health, safety, property or the environment. This is the closest the regulation comes to explaining in plain terms why a given object in your bag is restricted.	本规定中下列用语，除具体条款中另有规定外，含义如下：（一）危险品，是指列在《技术细则》危险品清单中或者根据《技术细则》的归类，能对健康、安全、财产或者环境构成危险的物品或者物质。	Article 90, item 1 (第九十条第（一）项) 《民用航空危险品运输管理规定》（交通运输部令 2024 年第 4 号 / CCAR-276-R2） Provisions on the Administration of the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Civil Aviation (Order No. 4 of 2024 of the Ministry of Transport) Full text, read 2026-10-06
The standard behind it is ICAO Doc 9284, and it tracks the current edition The 《技术细则》 every article above points at is the ICAO Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, Doc 9284. Two details are worth carrying away: they are 定期批准和公布 — periodically approved and published — and the definition expressly sweeps in the Supplement, addenda and corrigenda. Chinese law therefore follows whichever edition is current rather than a 2024 snapshot, which is why airline lists get revised and why a Chinese domestic flight bars broadly the same items as your home carrier.	（二）《技术细则》，是指根据国际民航组织理事会制定的程序而定期批准和公布的《危险物品安全航空运输技术细则》（Doc 9284 号文件）及其补篇、增编和更正。	Article 90, item 2 (第九十条第（二）项) 《民用航空危险品运输管理规定》（交通运输部令 2024 年第 4 号 / CCAR-276-R2） Provisions on the Administration of the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Civil Aviation (Order No. 4 of 2024 of the Ministry of Transport) Full text, read 2026-10-06
Article 4 binds everyone in the chain to the international rules This is the article this page used to cite for the definition of dangerous goods — wrongly, because what it actually carries is an obligation, not a definition. It binds organisations and individuals involved in dangerous-goods carriage to Annex 18 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (The Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air) and to the Technical Instructions, with Chinese law layered on top wherever it says more.	从事民用航空危险品运输有关活动的单位和个人应当遵守《国际民用航空公约》附件 18《危险物品的安全航空运输》及《技术细则》的要求；法律、法规、规章另有规定的，还应当遵守其规定。	Article 4 (第四条) 《民用航空危险品运输管理规定》（交通运输部令 2024 年第 4 号 / CCAR-276-R2） Provisions on the Administration of the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Civil Aviation (Order No. 4 of 2024 of the Ministry of Transport) Full text, read 2026-10-06
It binds the security screeners you meet, and foreign carriers flying the mainland The scope article reaches the bodies that perform civil-aviation security screening, so the checkpoint you walk through is carrying out this regulation rather than applying an airport's own preferences. Its second paragraph reaches foreign and Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan carriers whenever a flight's origin, stopover or destination is in the Chinese mainland — which settles whose rules apply on the leg, though not what a given airline permits on it.	中华人民共和国境内的承运人、机场管理机构、地面服务代理人、危险品培训机构、从事民航安全检查工作的机构以及其他单位和个人从事民用航空危险品运输有关活动的，适用本规定。外国承运人、港澳台地区承运人从事前款规定的活动，其航班始发地点、经停地点或者目的地点之一在中华人民共和国境内（不含港澳台，下同）的，适用本规定。	Article 2 (第二条) 《民用航空危险品运输管理规定》（交通运输部令 2024 年第 4 号 / CCAR-276-R2） Provisions on the Administration of the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Civil Aviation (Order No. 4 of 2024 of the Ministry of Transport) Full text, read 2026-10-06
Which edition is in force, in the regulation's own closing article The regulation states its own commencement — 1 July 2024 — and repeals the previous edition of the same regulation, Order No. 42 of 2016 of the Ministry of Transport, on the same day. That is the whole reason this page cites a transport-ministry order rather than the older CAAC dangerous-goods order it used to cite. The 2024 text does not mention that older order anywhere, so this page does not claim it was the thing repealed.	本规定自 2024 年 7 月 1 日起施行。交通运输部于 2016 年 4 月 13 日以交通运输部令 2016 年第 42 号公布的《民用航空危险品运输管理规定》同时废止。	Article 91 (第九十一条) 《民用航空危险品运输管理规定》（交通运输部令 2024 年第 4 号 / CCAR-276-R2） Provisions on the Administration of the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Civil Aviation (Order No. 4 of 2024 of the Ministry of Transport) Full text, read 2026-10-06

This layer is the structure of the rule, read off the promulgated text of the regulation in force. It is not a packing list, and it cannot be turned into one: Articles 6, 7 and 9 each define their category by reference to the ICAO Technical Instructions, and the regulation itself names no object, no quantity and no watt-hour figure. Doc 9284 is a paid ICAO publication we did not open, which is precisely why travellers meet these rules through airline and airport lists instead. Three further limits. The 100 ml cabin-liquids ban is not in this regulation — it comes from the civil-aviation security-screening rules, a separate instrument, so the liquid facts on this page keep their airline and airport sources. The penalty articles carry real figures but every one of them is addressed to carriers, shippers, agents, airports, screening bodies and training organisations, not to a passenger who packs the wrong thing, so no fine is printed here. And nothing in it tells you how a particular airline grants the 100-160Wh approval, or what a screener will do with an item that is merely unusual rather than listed.

The published facts

What the airline, the airport and the regulator say

Each line links the official page and the day we read it. Sources read 2026-08-07.

Liquids: the domestic rule is not the international rule

Issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China: all passengers travelling on domestic flights are prohibited from carrying on liquids. The 100 ml clear-bag rule a visitor expects does not apply inside mainland China.

Carrier or operator notice implementing the rule, not the regulator's own page: Air China (airchina.us), reproducing an announcement it states is issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China — Announcement on the Prohibition of Carry-on Liquids for Passengers on Domestic Flights (issued by CAAC) (read August 7, 2026)

The cosmetics exception, exactly

Passengers may carry a small quantity of cosmetics for personal use, limited to one item for each type, each container no more than 100 ml, placed in a separate bag so it can be opened for inspection.

Liquids belong in the hold

Checked baggage containing liquids is permitted if packed according to civil-aviation regulations, so the fix is to pack the rest of your liquids in checked baggage rather than the cabin.

Dangerous goods barred from both bags

Explosives, compressed and liquefied gases, flammable liquids, flammable solids, oxidising substances, toxic substances, radioactive materials and corrosives may not travel in a passenger's checked or carry-on baggage.

Civil Aviation Law Article 101

Carrier or operator notice implementing the rule, not the regulator's own page: Xiamen Airlines (xiamenair.com), official English passenger information, citing the Civil Aviation Law of the People's Republic of China — Regulations on Transport of Dangerous Goods and Items (source cites Civil Aviation Law Article 101; read August 7, 2026)

Lithium-battery watt-hour tiers

Personal-device batteries up to 100 Wh may travel checked or carry-on; spare batteries and power banks up to 100 Wh are carry-on only, maximum two; the 100–160 Wh tier needs airline approval; over 160 Wh is prohibited.

Lighters and matches: neither bag

The airport authority lists lighters, matches, cigarette lighters and magnesium rods (flints) as prohibited from both carry-on and checked baggage, and bars controlled knives, weapons and explosives.

Source: Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (深圳宝安国际机场), the airport authority's own official English website — Security check and valid documents for domestic departure (source published August 2020; read August 7, 2026)

Sort the bag

Five moves before you zip the bag

1.Take all liquids out of your cabin bag — on a domestic flight they are banned from the cabin, not limited to 100 ml — and move them to the hold.
2.Keep only a little personal cosmetics in the cabin: one item per type, each under 100 ml, in a separate bag.
3.Put spare batteries and power banks in your cabin bag, up to two and up to 100 Wh, and check any power bank carries a clear CCC mark.
4.Move controlled or sharp knives to checked baggage.
5.Leave lighters, matches, and anything explosive, gaseous, flammable, oxidising, toxic or corrosive at home — they fly in neither bag.

In short

Carry-on questions before a China domestic flight

Liquids, the both-bags bans, the battery count, which regulation is actually in force, and whose rules apply when a foreign carrier flies your domestic leg.

Can I take a normal 100 ml liquids bag on a China domestic flight?

No. On a domestic flight inside mainland China all carry-on liquids are banned, with a narrow exception for a little personal cosmetics (one per type, under 100 ml, separately bagged) and medically-needed liquids handed to the crew. Pack the rest in checked baggage.

What can't go in either bag on a domestic flight?

Lighters, matches and flints are banned from both cabin and hold, as are explosives, compressed gases, flammable liquids and solids, oxidisers, toxics and corrosives, and any lithium battery or power bank over 160 Wh.

How many power banks and spare batteries can I carry?

Spare batteries and power banks travel in the cabin only, up to two pieces and up to 100 Wh; 100–160 Wh needs airline approval. A power bank must also carry a clear CCC mark under the separate aviation rule.

Do these rules match what my home airline enforces?

Broadly, yes. China's dangerous-goods regulation — Order No. 4 of 2024 of the Ministry of Transport, in force since 1 July 2024 — defines the banned items by the international ICAO Technical Instructions (Doc 9284), so the categories match; the liquids ban and the CCC power-bank rule are the mainland-specific parts to watch.

Is the 160Wh battery limit the same at every Chinese airport?

Yes. The ban above 160Wh of rated energy, and the 100-160Wh band that needs airline approval and caps you at two units, come from a notice the Civil Aviation Administration of China signed and still publishes — not from an individual airport or airline. Changing airport or carrier does not move the ceiling, though an airline can be stricter than the national floor.

Which regulation actually decides what I can pack on a China domestic flight?

Dangerous goods are governed by 《民用航空危险品运输管理规定》, Order No. 4 of 2024 of the Ministry of Transport, in force since 1 July 2024. It does not list objects: Articles 6, 7 and 9 all point at the ICAO Technical Instructions (Doc 9284) and Article 90 defines dangerous goods by that list and its classifications. That is why your airline's prohibited-items page is the document you actually read, and why it matches your home carrier's.

Do these rules apply if a foreign airline flies my domestic leg?

Yes. Article 2 of the regulation reaches foreign carriers and Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan carriers whenever a flight's origin, stopover or destination is in the Chinese mainland, and it binds the organisations that run security screening. So the dangerous-goods framework is the mainland's regardless of whose aircraft you board — what varies is each airline's own list within it.

Could not confirm

Numbers this page will not give you

Figures that circulate but were not on a page we could open. We name the gap rather than fill it.

No specific knife blade-length threshold appears on the pages we opened; the category rule is that controlled and sharp knives go in checked baggage, not the cabin. Numbers such as 6 cm or 10 cm come from third-party compilations, so we could not confirm one.
No single national domestic checked-baggage weight or size allowance is published; those are per-airline commercial figures, so check the carrier you booked.
Whether an inbound international flight follows the same battery and liquids limits is not addressed here — check the airline flying you in for that leg.

Power banks: the CCC rule

The one-item deep dive that sits inside this list — why a power bank bought abroad usually fails the check.

Open page

How to take the flight

The companion page: booking on a passport, the document at the gate, and the security ID check.

Open page

First-day checklist

Where packing for the domestic leg belongs, with data, payment and the transfer plan.

Open page

What you can and can't bring on a China domestic flight

Does the 100 ml liquids rule apply on a domestic flight?

Where each thing may travel on a domestic flight

The regulation behind the table, and where the 160Wh ceiling comes from

What the airline, the airport and the regulator say

Liquids: the domestic rule is not the international rule

The cosmetics exception, exactly

Liquids belong in the hold

Dangerous goods barred from both bags

Lithium-battery watt-hour tiers

Lighters and matches: neither bag

Five moves before you zip the bag

Carry-on questions before a China domestic flight

Can I take a normal 100 ml liquids bag on a China domestic flight?

What can't go in either bag on a domestic flight?

How many power banks and spare batteries can I carry?

Do these rules match what my home airline enforces?

Is the 160Wh battery limit the same at every Chinese airport?

Which regulation actually decides what I can pack on a China domestic flight?

Do these rules apply if a foreign airline flies my domestic leg?

Numbers this page will not give you

Power banks: the CCC rule

How to take the flight

First-day checklist

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