China Pre-Departure Checklist: Documents, Apps, Cash, Customs and Medicine

The week before you fly to China, the jobs that matter are paperwork and phone setup, not packing. Check that your passport fits the way you're entering, fill in the online arrival card, install the payment and travel apps and link a card, get a little cash, and check your medicines against China's rules. Then buy insurance and save the emergency numbers. This page is that checklist, with a printable version at the end. For what goes in the suitcase, see our China packing guide.

The five things to finish in the week before you fly

If you only have one evening, do these five. They are much harder to fix at the airport than anything else on this page.

1. Match your passport to your entry route. Visa-free visitors need a valid ordinary passport that covers the stay. The 240-hour visa-free transit needs at least three months' validity and a booked onward ticket to a third country. If you need a visa, apply now.
2. Fill in the arrival card online. Since 20 November 2025 you can do this before you travel, on the National Immigration Administration (NIA) website, the "移民局12367" (Immigration 12367) app or a WeChat or Alipay mini-program.
3. Install Alipay and link a foreign card, while you still have your home phone number and Wi-Fi. Most everyday payments in China are QR codes.
4. Install Amap for maps, DiDi for taxis and a translation app, and download offline language packs.
5. Get a little cash and tell your bank you're travelling.

Documents: passport, visa or visa-free proof, arrival card

There isn't one passport rule for China; it depends on how you enter. Our visa checker by nationality tells you which route is yours.

• 30-day visa-free entry. Ordinary passport holders from 50 countries can visit for tourism, business, family visits or transit for up to 30 days without a visa, counted from the day after arrival. The passport must be valid for your travel in China, and emergency or temporary passports don't qualify. For most of these countries the scheme currently runs until 31 December 2026, so check the NIA's latest notice if your trip runs into 2027.
• 240-hour visa-free transit. Citizens of 57 countries can stay up to 240 hours in permitted areas while passing through China to a third country or region. You need a passport valid for at least three months and an onward ticket with a confirmed date and seat, booked before you arrive. See our 240-hour transit guide.
• A visa. This is where the "six months" figure comes from: for a visa application, the Chinese embassy in the US asks for more than six months' passport validity and at least two blank visa pages. Check your own embassy or visa centre for its exact list.

On any route, border officers can ask why you're coming, and carrying proof that matches your purpose, such as flight and hotel bookings, is recommended. Save them offline on your phone and print a copy in case your battery dies in the queue.

The online arrival card

If you don't fill the card in before you fly, you can scan a code or use a kiosk at the airport, or fill in a paper card. The official address is s.nia.gov.cn/ArrivalCardFillingPC and it's free; fake sites that charge a fee exist, so use only official channels. Group-visa travellers and 24-hour transit passengers who stay inside the airport are among those who don't need a card. The old health declaration card was dropped in November 2023; you only declare your health to customs if you have symptoms of an infectious disease.

If you're booking a private flat rather than a hotel, note that hotels register foreign guests with the police for you, but anywhere else you or your host must register with the local police within 24 hours of arrival.

Install your apps and link a card before you leave

Do this at home. Sign-ups often send a text to your phone number, and some app stores and websites behave differently once you're in China. The full list is in Must-Have Apps Before You Go; the short version:

• Alipay (支付宝, Zhīfùbǎo). Sign up with your phone number, add your card, and submit your passport details when asked before your first payment. China's central bank lists Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Diners Club and Discover as linkable networks, but check the add-card screen for your exact card. Details in our Alipay foreign card guide.
• WeChat (微信, Wēixìn). Download it from wechat.com or your phone's app store; you may be asked to scan your passport photo page to verify your identity. Hotels and guides will message you here. See our WeChat setup guide. WeChat Pay also accepts foreign cards, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Discover and Diners Club, so check the add-card screen and link one as a backup in case Alipay linking fails; the steps are in our WeChat Pay foreign card guide.
• A map app. Amap (高德地图, Gāodé Dìtú) has had an English version since January 2025, and its main services for international visitors work without logging in.
• Ride-hailing. The Shanghai government's English guide notes you can use DiDi in its own app or inside WeChat or Alipay, with the fare taken from the linked wallet.
• Translation. On an iPhone, Apple Translate works fully offline once you've downloaded the language under Settings > Apps > Translate > Languages. Compare the options in our translation app guide.
• Trains. You can register a 12306 rail account with your passport and an email address instead of a Chinese phone number; the details must match your passport exactly.

China's official tourism website says Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp can't be reached directly in China and advises installing a VPN before you arrive; our internet and VPN guide covers what to expect. The same site suggests buying a regional eSIM with China coverage before you go and activating it after you land. Airalo is one provider you can buy from and install at home; our SIM and eSIM guide compares this with a local SIM.

Cash, cards and the customs cash limit

You need little cash, but not none. Renminbi cash is legal tender and businesses aren't allowed to refuse it, while a 2023 survey found that terminals taking foreign cards directly tend to be found mainly in upscale hotels, large stores and airports. So plan on a payment app for daily spending, a card for hotels, and a few hundred yuan in cash for the odd stall or a dead phone.

You can get that cash on arrival. Bank of China ATMs take UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, JCB and American Express, up to 3,000 yuan per withdrawal, with fees set by your own bank. Airport and hotel exchange counters usually give worse rates than banks and ATMs, so use them only for small emergencies. Your bank may also add a foreign transaction fee, so check this week, and tell them where you're going so your first payment from China isn't blocked.

The customs limit is up to 20,000 yuan in Chinese cash per person per trip, and foreign cash worth more than 5,000 US dollars must be declared in writing. Few tourists come close. For how much to bring, see Do You Need Cash in China?

Medication and customs: what you can bring and what to declare

Customs in short

China's current baggage rules took effect on 1 April 2025; the basic test is a reasonable amount for your own use. Most tourists have nothing to declare. You must declare in writing if you carry prohibited or restricted items, animal or plant products, cash over the limits above, or goods over the duty-free allowance, among other cases. With something to declare, or if you're unsure, use the red channel; otherwise walk through the green channel with no form. You can fill in a declaration ahead of time in the "海关进出境人员指尖服务" (Customs Fingertip Service) mini-program in WeChat or Alipay, or at npc.chinaport.gov.cn.

As a visitor, goods you plan to leave in China are duty-free up to 2,000 yuan in total. The tobacco and alcohol allowance is 400 cigarettes or 20 cigars or 500 grams of tobacco, two e-cigarette devices and six pods, and 1.5 litres of drinks over 12% alcohol; it is halved if you arrive from Hong Kong or Macau, and under-18s get none.

What not to bring

Food catches most tourists. Meat (raw or cooked), fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products and eggs are all banned, so eat the apple on the plane. The ban list also covers weapons and replicas, counterfeit money, narcotics and gambling chips, and radio transmitters (such as walkie-talkies) and controlled knives are restricted, which in practice means quantity limits apply and you may need to declare them or show a permit. A dog or cat needs official health and rabies certificates, a microchip and usually 30 days' quarantine, so start months ahead. And no photos or recording in the customs hall without permission.

Medication

Personal medicine is fine in reasonable amounts for your own use. Take care with drugs China classes as narcotics or psychotropics, because some common Western medicines are on those lists:

• ADHD medicines based on amfetamine or methylphenidate are Category I psychotropics; alprazolam, tramadol, zolpidem and dextromethorphan are Category II.
• Dextromethorphan, a common cough-medicine ingredient, has been controlled since 1 July 2024.
• For narcotics and Category I drugs, you may carry up to one prescription's maximum amount with a doctor's diagnosis and your passport; Shanghai Customs puts that at three days' supply for most forms, seven days for controlled-release forms and 15 days for children's methylphenidate, and for Category II drugs it advises carrying the prescription and declaring at the border. In plain terms, on the Shanghai Customs figures, someone taking amphetamine-type ADHD medication every day may only be able to bring a few days' supply, so sort this out with your doctor and the Chinese embassy before you book.
• Chinese pharmacies sell Category II drugs only on a local prescription, so don't plan to buy them there.

For every prescription medicine, keep the original packaging and carry the prescription and a doctor's letter. If anything you take is on these lists, check with your doctor and the Chinese embassy before you fly. The Shanghai government's guide to bringing medicine into China is a good official reference. If you're arriving from a country with yellow fever, bring your vaccination certificate.

Pharmacies and hospitals are covered in Health and Medical Care in China.

Insurance and emergency numbers

We'd buy travel insurance. Hospitals usually expect you to pay first and claim later unless your insurer has a direct-billing deal with them, and a deposit before admission is common. Cover for treatment and medical evacuation is what matters. SafetyWing suits open-ended trips and World Nomads suits hiking and activity trips; our travel insurance guide lists the clauses to check.

Save these national numbers before you leave; all are free to call:

• 110: police, 24 hours
• 120: ambulance, 24 hours; the call is free but the ambulance and hospital are not
• 119: fire
• 122: traffic accidents (110 also works)

English help varies by city: in Shanghai, 110 offers English and seven other languages, and 119 and 120 offer English. For immigration questions, the NIA's 24-hour hotline +86-12367 has English. Skip 12308, which is for Chinese citizens abroad, not foreign visitors. Save your embassy's emergency number from our embassy contacts list; the full guide is Emergency Numbers in China.

Your printable pre-departure checklist

Documents

• Passport checked against your entry route
• Visa, or proof you qualify for visa-free entry or transit
• Onward ticket booked (visa-free transit)
• Flight and hotel bookings saved offline and printed
• Arrival card done on an official NIA channel
• Photos of passport and visa on phone and in email

Apps and phone

• Alipay installed, card linked, passport submitted
• WeChat installed and verified
• Map app and offline translation pack
• 12306 or another train app, if taking trains
• eSIM or roaming sorted; VPN if you need one

Money

• Bank told about the trip, fees checked
• A little yuan, or a plan to use an ATM on arrival
• Cash under the declaration limits, or a plan to declare

Medication and customs

• Medicines in original packaging, with prescriptions and doctor's letter
• Controlled medicines checked with your doctor and the Chinese embassy
• No fresh fruit, meat, dairy or eggs in your bags
• Yellow fever certificate, if needed

Safety

• Travel insurance bought, policy number saved
• 110, 120, 119, 122 and your embassy saved in contacts

Next: the suitcase in what to pack, plugs and power banks in tech and adapters, and train, flight and metro limits in luggage rules in China.

For the full arrival process, read Arriving in China.

Last updated: October 2026