Can I bring this to China? Check the exact item

Use the checker above for a first decision. It is for personal luggage entering mainland China, not commercial imports, cargo, mail or unaccompanied baggage. The officer at your arrival port makes the final decision.

Quick answers for items travelers actually search

Item	Working answer	What to do
Fruit or vegetable seeds; chilli grow kit	Do not pack	Seeds and other propagating plant material are on the quarantine-prohibited list unless formally approved and certified.
Sausage, meat snack or meat-filled food	Do not pack	Raw and cooked meat and meat products are covered, even when vacuum-packed.
Boiled egg, salted egg or egg-yolk food	Do not pack	Eggs and egg products are covered. A boiled egg does not become cabin-safe or customs-safe because it is cooked.
Sealed roasted coffee beans or ground coffee	Declare	Keep the factory label. Do not confuse roasted coffee with green, viable beans, which can fall under the seed restriction.
Sealed dried fruit	Declare	It is not fresh fruit, but it is still a plant product. Customs decides whether the exact processing and origin are acceptable.
Ordinary dishes, mugs or tableware	Usually personal baggage	A few everyday pieces are normally low risk. Declare boxed sets, high-value pieces, antiques or resale quantities.
10kg of hair gel	Do not treat as passenger toiletries	The quantity looks commercial and may exceed aviation limits. Ask the airline and use the correct cargo/import process.
Prescription medicine	Usually possible with evidence	Keep a reasonable personal supply in original packaging with the prescription or doctor letter. Confirm controlled ingredients before travel.

These are decision routes, not advance clearance. If the product differs from the row—for example, coffee mixed with milk powder or dried fruit containing seeds—run the ingredients separately and declare it.

Customs, quarantine and the airline answer different questions

Check	The question it answers	Typical example
Quarantine	Could this carry an animal disease, plant pest or viable biological material?	Meat, eggs, milk products, fresh produce, seeds, soil and live animals
Customs declaration	Must the traveler tell Customs about the item, value, amount or purpose?	Plant products, cash above the threshold, gifts staying in China, commercial-looking quantities
Airline/security	May this item fly in the cabin or checked baggage?	Liquids, aerosols, gels, power banks and other dangerous goods

Passing one check does not pass the other two. A power bank can be ordinary personal property at the border but fail airline battery rules. A large batch of hair gel can be non-prohibited as a product yet unsuitable for passenger baggage.

Food: “sealed” is not the same as “allowed”

China’s 2021 quarantine list applies to goods carried by passengers as well as separately checked baggage and parcels. It covers:

• raw or cooked meat and meat products;
• animal-origin milk and dairy products, including milk, cream, butter, cheese and condensed milk;
• eggs and egg products, including egg liquid, salted eggs, preserved eggs and mayonnaise;
• fresh fruit and vegetables;
• seeds, seedlings and other plant material capable of propagation;
• soil and organic growing media.

This is why a vacuum-packed sausage, boiled egg or chilli grow kit is a poor candidate for the suitcase. Commercially sterilized canned bird’s nest and certain processed aquatic sauces are named exceptions in the official list, but an exception for one product does not create a general “sealed food is fine” rule.

Coffee and dried fruit need a more careful answer

Roasting and grinding change the quarantine risk. A sealed bag of roasted ground coffee is not the same as unroasted beans that may still be viable. Dried fruit is not the same as fresh fruit. However, the current passenger declaration notice says travelers carrying animal or plant products should declare them.

For either product:

1. keep the original sealed package and ingredient label;
2. carry a small personal-use quantity;
3. use the red channel and show the item;
4. do not substitute this advice for an approval if the product includes seeds, soil, meat, egg or milk ingredients.

Medicine: keep the product identifiable

For an ordinary short trip, bring only the amount you reasonably need. Keep medicine in the pharmacy box or bottle with the label visible. A prescription, doctor letter or medication list should show the generic name, dosage and medical need.

Take extra care with narcotic, psychotropic, injectable, refrigerated or cannabis-derived products. A medicine that is legal at home is not automatically unrestricted in China. Ask the Chinese embassy or China Customs before departure when an active ingredient is controlled.

• Put essential medicine in your carry-on, subject to aviation liquid and security rules.
• Do not replace labelled packets with a bag of loose tablets.
• Carry the patient’s documents if one family member is transporting medicine for another.
• Treat several unopened boxes differently from a normal personal supply.

Alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarettes and cash

The 2024 amendment changed the old passenger thresholds, including reducing the general cigar declaration threshold from 100 to 20. Use the current figures below rather than an older airport graphic.

Arriving from a country or region other than Hong Kong or Macao

Item	Use the declaration channel when carrying
Alcohol at 12% ABV or higher	More than 1,500ml
Cigarettes, including heated cigarettes	More than 400
Cigars	More than 20
Tobacco	More than 500g
E-cigarette devices	More than 2
Pods, combined products or disposable e-cigarettes	More than 6
E-liquid	More than 12ml

Arriving from Hong Kong or Macao

Item	Use the declaration channel when carrying
Alcohol at 12% ABV or higher	More than 750ml
Cigarettes, including heated cigarettes	More than 200
Cigars	More than 10
Tobacco	More than 250g
E-cigarette devices	More than 1
Pods, combined products or disposable e-cigarettes	More than 3
E-liquid	More than 6ml

The e-cigarette passenger allowance applies to travelers aged 18 or older. These are declaration thresholds, not a promise that every amount below them is always duty-free or unrestricted.

Declare RMB cash above RMB 20,000 or foreign-currency cash above the equivalent of US$5,000. Keep the endorsed declaration if you expect to take the same foreign cash out again.

Dishes, electronics and gifts: quantity changes the answer

A visitor’s used phone, laptop, camera and a few ordinary dishes normally look like personal belongings. Several identical boxed devices, a stack of dinnerware sets or goods intended for sale look different.

China Customs asks non-resident passengers to declare personal articles intended to remain in China when their total value exceeds RMB 2,000. A gift that stays in China is not the same as a camera you will take home. For professional equipment, prepare serial numbers and evidence that it will leave China.

Antiques and cultural objects require separate care, especially when you later leave China. Do not use the ordinary-tableware answer for an old, collectible or culturally significant piece.

Hair gel: the 10kg question is mainly an airline and import question

For cabin baggage, liquids and gels are commonly limited to containers of 100ml inside a one-liter transparent bag, subject to the airport and airline. Checked baggage removes that cabin-screening rule, but it does not remove dangerous-goods limits or the customs question about commercial quantity.

IATA’s passenger dangerous-goods table generally caps permitted toiletry aerosols at 2kg or 2L total and 0.5kg or 0.5L per article, with valves protected against accidental release. Airlines and national authorities may be stricter.

A 10kg shipment of hair gel is therefore not a normal “which suitcase?” decision. Give the airline the exact product, safety data if available, container size, total quantity and whether it is an aerosol. If it is for sale, samples or salon work, use the relevant cargo and commercial-import process.

Power banks belong in carry-on baggage

Customs and aviation security are different checks. Keep power banks in the cabin, protect the terminals and make sure the capacity marking is readable. If you will take a domestic flight in China, use the China Power Bank / 3C Checker because China domestic-flight rules also involve the CCC mark and recalled models.

One pet dog or cat is a document-heavy exception

The quarantine list provides a route for one pet dog or cat per passenger with the official quarantine and vaccination certificates. Microchip, origin-country and quarantine conditions can apply. Confirm the current process with China Customs and the airline before booking; other live animals are not ordinary passenger baggage.

Red channel or green channel?

Use the green channel only when you have no item requiring declaration. Use the red channel when you carry a prohibited or restricted item, an animal or plant product, cash or goods above a threshold, goods intended to remain in China, commercial goods or samples, or an item whose status you cannot determine.

China Customs’ 2025 notice also allows travelers to prepare electronic declaration data through the official “Customs Pocket Declaration” services in WeChat or Alipay, then confirm it at the port. If you are unsure, declaring the item gives Customs the facts needed to decide; it does not guarantee admission.

Keep the product accessible. Show the packaging and documents, state the quantity and value, and explain whether it is for personal use and whether it will leave China. The outcome can include release, taxation, quarantine treatment, return, surrender or seizure.

Before you close the suitcase

• Run every uncertain item and ingredient through the checker.
• Photograph labels, receipts and prescriptions.
• Keep supporting documents available offline.
• Separate declarable items so they are easy to show.
• Recheck the airline for liquids, aerosols, gels, batteries and cabin baggage.
• Use the red channel when the official material does not answer your exact case.

Related guides

• Shareable China packing list
• China Power Bank / 3C Checker
• China travel without a Chinese phone number
• First-time China travel checklist
• China arrival card guide

Official sources

• China Customs Announcement No. 43 of 2025: passenger baggage declaration
• China Customs Announcement No. 176 of 2024: current passenger thresholds
• Ministry of Agriculture and China Customs Announcement No. 470: quarantine-prohibited list
• China Customs: inbound prohibited articles
• IATA: passenger baggage rules
• IATA: dangerous-goods guidance for passengers
• CAAC: check baggage rules with your airline before travel