Most travelers pass China customs without opening a bag: personal belongings in reasonable quantities are duty-free, and the green channel handles everything else. The limits that matter are easy to remember. Duty-free you may bring 400 cigarettes or 100 cigars or 500 grams of tobacco, plus 1.5 liters of alcoholic drinks above 12 percent. Cash above 20,000 yuan, or foreign currency worth more than 5,000 US dollars, must be declared. Items you plan to leave in China (gifts, for example) are duty-free up to 2,000 yuan in total for foreign visitors.
This guide covers the allowances, the items that get confiscated most often, and how the red and green channels work at Beijing Daxing.
The allowances at a glance
| Category | Duty-free limit for inbound visitors |
|---|---|
| Cigarettes | 400 (or 100 cigars, or 500 g of tobacco) |
| Alcohol | 1.5 liters of drinks above 12% ABV |
| From Hong Kong / Macao | Halved: 200 cigarettes, 0.75 liters of alcohol |
| Cash | Declare above 20,000 CNY or 5,000 USD equivalent |
| Items staying in China (gifts) | Up to 2,000 CNY total for non-residents; 5,000 CNY for returning residents |
| Personal electronics | One of each for personal use (phone, laptop, tablet, camera) is fine |
Children get no tobacco or alcohol allowance. The limits are per person, not per family. Two smaller China customs limits worth knowing: gold and silver items pass duty-free up to 50 grams, and milk powder in personal quantities (around one carton) is allowed even though fresh dairy is not.
What gets confiscated most often
China applies strict animal and plant quarantine rules, and this is where ordinary tourists lose items. Banned regardless of packaging origin: fresh fruit and vegetables, meat in any form including sausage, ham and jerky, raw and fresh dairy, and eggs. The sandwich from your layover and the salami from a European market both count. Sealed commercial snacks, chocolate, coffee, and baked goods are generally fine.
Also prohibited: narcotics in any quantity, weapons and replicas, and printed or digital materials deemed harmful. Soil, seeds, and live plants need permits that tourists do not have, so leave them at home. For what you can take on the plane when LEAVING China, see our separate guide to prohibited items on flights from China.
Medication
Bring personal medication in its original packaging, in amounts that match your trip, ideally with the prescription or a doctor's note. Be careful with common Western cold and pain remedies: products containing pseudoephedrine, codeine, or other controlled substances can cause problems in quantity. A blister pack for personal use is normally fine; a full bag of pharmacy stock is not.
Red channel or green channel
After baggage claim at Beijing Daxing you choose a channel; both are on the arrivals route out of the baggage hall, clearly marked in English and Chinese. The green channel means nothing to declare: you are within all the China customs limits above and carry no commercial goods. The red channel is for everything else: exceeding an allowance, carrying more than the cash threshold, commercial samples, or anything you are not sure about.
The honest rule of thumb: if you are asking yourself whether to declare something, declare it. Walking the green channel with goods that needed declaring is treated as a violation, while declaring at the red channel usually just means paying duty or filling a form. Customs officers at PKX can X-ray any bag from either channel.
Money matters
The 20,000 CNY and 5,000 USD thresholds apply to cash and bearer instruments, not to what is on your cards: card balances and payment apps do not need declaring. If you bring more than 5,000 US dollars in cash and plan to take it out of China again at the end of the trip, declare it on arrival; the stamped form makes the export side painless.
Leaving China, keep receipts for valuable purchases. Departure tax refund schemes apply to purchases of 200 CNY and above (the minimum was lowered from 500 CNY in April 2025) in participating stores, refunded at the airport before you fly; details are at the service counters listed in our facilities guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can I bring snacks for the flight into China?
How much cash can I carry into China without declaring?
Do I need to declare my laptop and camera?
What happens if I carry banned food by mistake?
Sources
Allowances verified against the GACC passenger guide and cross-checked references in June 2026. Rules change; when in doubt, use the red channel and ask the officer. This is an independent guide and is not affiliated with the airport or Chinese customs. Photo: Arne Müseler, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons.
