Taking a domestic flight in China as a foreign visitor

One document, from booking to the gate

The regulator's own passenger-services page lists a valid passport among the documents accepted for a domestic flight, and states that a passenger taking a domestic flight must use the same valid boarding identity document for ticketing, check-in and security. Book on your passport and everything downstream has to match it.

Source: Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), passenger-services section of the CAAC portal (www.caac.gov.cn) — Air travel basics — Boarding: use a valid identity document (航空旅行常识 · 乘机 · 使用有效身份证件) (source published 16 March 2023; read August 7, 2026)

A domestic flight is real-name for foreigners

In accordance with the CAAC regulation, foreign passengers are required to register their real name and other necessary real identity information to take domestic flights within mainland China. The booking, the ticket and the boarding are all tied to one identity document.

Carrier or operator notice implementing the rule, not the regulator's own page: Shandong Airlines, issuing an operator notice that implements the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) real-name regulation for foreign passengers on mainland-China domestic flights — Notice on the Implementation of the Real-name Management of Foreign Passengers Taking China Domestic Flights (implementing the CAAC regulation) (source dated 20 February 2023; read August 7, 2026)

The document you fly on

A legal and valid passport, a seaman certificate and a foreign permanent resident ID card are all applicable documents; a foreigner who holds none of these uses the foreigners' exit-entry permit. For an ordinary first-trip visitor, that means the passport.

Carrier or operator notice implementing the rule, not the regulator's own page: Shandong Airlines, issuing an operator notice that implements the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) real-name regulation for foreign passengers on mainland-China domestic flights — Notice on the Implementation of the Real-name Management of Foreign Passengers Taking China Domestic Flights (implementing the CAAC regulation) (source dated 20 February 2023; read August 7, 2026)

If the passport itself is unavailable

For a document that is expired, lost or damaged and being re-issued, the acceptance receipt of the visa, stay or residence permit plus the loss-of-passport confirmation from the public-security exit-and-entry departments, or a temporary international travel document from the relevant embassy or consulate in China, is allowed.

Carrier or operator notice implementing the rule, not the regulator's own page: Shandong Airlines, issuing an operator notice that implements the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) real-name regulation for foreign passengers on mainland-China domestic flights — Notice on the Implementation of the Real-name Management of Foreign Passengers Taking China Domestic Flights (implementing the CAAC regulation) (source dated 20 February 2023; read August 7, 2026)

Turning up without it can mean no boarding

The identity information is registered at ticketing and verified at check-in, and a passenger who fails or refuses to bring the required valid documents may be refused to board.

Carrier or operator notice implementing the rule, not the regulator's own page: Shandong Airlines, issuing an operator notice that implements the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) real-name regulation for foreign passengers on mainland-China domestic flights — Notice on the Implementation of the Real-name Management of Foreign Passengers Taking China Domestic Flights (implementing the CAAC regulation) (source dated 20 February 2023; read August 7, 2026)

At the security checkpoint

Prepare your boarding pass and valid travel documents consistent with those used to book your ticket, and present them for inspection. Booking on a passport and trying to pass on a different ID is the common way a visitor is stopped.

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)

The airport's own document list

For domestic departure the airport authority lists the passport among the valid documents it accepts, alongside the resident-style documents mainland residents use. A foreign visitor's counterpart on that list is the passport.

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 you will read 'ID card, not passport'

State media reported a 2017 rule that domestic air travellers carry their personal IDs rather than passports. That rule is about Chinese residents, who hold resident ID cards. As a foreign visitor your passport is the valid document, so the line is not about you.

State-media report, not a regulatory page: People's Daily Online (en.people.cn), Chinese state media — Domestic flights require passengers to show IDs, not passports (source published 22 May 2017; read August 7, 2026)

If you are connecting at a hub

At a hub, a connection is guided: you may be met by pick-up staff, given a transit stamp confirming the onward gate, and a transit service counter handles transfer procedures, information and rescheduling. Leave a comfortable buffer between legs.

Carrier or operator notice implementing the rule, not the regulator's own page: China Southern Airlines (csair.com), official English transit-process page for Beijing Capital International Airport — Beijing Capital Airport Transit Process (read August 7, 2026)

Do I use my passport for a domestic flight in China?

Yes. A foreigner's domestic flight is real-name, and the passport is a listed valid document. Book on your passport and carry the same passport to check-in and security — it must match the document you booked with.

I keep reading that domestic flights need an ID card, not a passport. Is that about me?

No. That rule, reported by state media in 2017, applies to Chinese residents who hold resident ID cards. As a foreign visitor your passport is your valid travel document for a domestic flight.

What happens if I turn up without the passport I booked on?

Your identity document is registered at booking and checked at check-in, and a passenger who fails or refuses to bring the required valid document may be refused boarding. Carry the same passport you booked with.

My passport was lost or is being re-issued. Can I still fly domestic?

There is a published fallback: the acceptance receipt from the public-security exit-and-entry departments plus a loss-of-passport confirmation, or a temporary travel document from your embassy or consulate in China with a valid visa or stay document.

Is a domestic connection guided, or am I on my own?

At a hub it is guided — pick-up staff, a possible transit stamp for the onward gate, and a transit service counter. Leave a comfortable buffer; the exact re-screening and baggage rules for a connection are not published in English, so build in margin.