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

There is no single national checked-baggage weight allowance, and no specific knife blade-length is published on the pages we opened. Check your airline for baggage, and see the power-bank page for the CCC mark.

Information checked: August 7, 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, confirmed by both the airline list and the airport authority. 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)

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)

Why these limits exist

CAAC's dangerous-goods regulation defines dangerous goods by the ICAO Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (Doc 9284), so a Chinese domestic flight bars broadly the same items your home airline does — this is the international standard, not a local quirk.

Article 4

Source: Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), official English translation on the CAAC portal (www.caac.gov.cn) — Regulation on the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (CAAC Order No. 216 / CCAR-276-R1) (source Order No. 216 promulgated 22 September 2013, in force from 1 March 2014; 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, and whether these match your home airline.

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. CAAC's dangerous-goods regulation 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.

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.

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How to take the flight

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

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First-day checklist

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

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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

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

Why these limits exist

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?

Numbers this page will not give you

Power banks: the CCC rule

How to take the flight

First-day checklist

Leave each page knowing what to do next.

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