Last updated: November 2026
Yes, you can bring personal medication into China, provided it is for your own use, in a quantity that matches the length of your trip, and in its original packaging. Narcotics and psychotropic drugs follow a much stricter rule, and a few medicines that are routine at home are banned outright.
How much medication can you bring into China?
Article 39 of the Provisions on the Administration of Drug Importation requires travelers carrying small amounts of medicine for personal use to stay within a personal, reasonable quantity and accept customs supervision. Two words carry the weight. Personal use means your own treatment, not medicine for a friend or for resale. Reasonable means proportionate to your circumstances, your purpose of travel and your length of stay.
Published guidance is tighter than most visitors expect. Xiamen Customs, answering a public query on its website, put ordinary prescription medicine at no more than seven days' supply unless the prescribing doctor states a reason on the prescription. For narcotics and Category I psychotropic drugs, an injectable prescription counts as one dose and other forms as no more than three days.
That is a threshold, not a wall. Three weeks of a blood-pressure drug on a three-week tour, with a dated letter, reads as personal supply; loose pills and unlabeled bottles do not.
| What you are carrying | Rule that applies | What to have with you |
|---|---|---|
| Over-the-counter medicine: painkillers, antihistamines, rehydration salts | Personal use, reasonable quantity | Original packaging |
| Prescription medicine for a chronic condition | Personal use; seven-day guidance unless a doctor states otherwise | Prescription copy plus a doctor's letter |
| Narcotics and Category I psychotropic substances | Article 44 of the Regulation on the Administration of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances | Diagnosis certificate, ID, single-prescription maximum |
| Category II psychotropic substances | Same regulation; prescription quantity may be extended | Prescription, doctor's letter, red-channel declaration |
| Cannabis and cannabis-derived products | Prohibited | No document changes the outcome |
Which medicines does China treat as controlled or prohibited?
Decree No. 43 of the General Administration of Customs, the schedule of prohibited and restricted articles, bars opium, morphine, heroin, marijuana and other addictive narcotics and psychotropic substances from entry. The same items are barred from exit, and individuals may not post them in or out.
The catalogues behind that rule were rebuilt in 2025. On July 21, 2025 the National Medical Products Administration, the Ministry of Public Security and the National Health Commission issued the medical-use lists: 32 narcotic drugs and 96 psychotropic drugs, of which 18 are Category I and 78 Category II. A companion non-medical catalogue covers 412 substances and three chemical families; court reporting puts the total under control at 540.
Category I is where the surprises are. It includes amphetamine, which is why Adderall and similar stimulants are the classic failure case. Category II takes in diazepam, alprazolam, zolpidem and tramadol, and since 2024 also dextromethorphan, the cough suppressant inside ordinary cold remedies.
- Cannabis and CBD. Illegal in China regardless of where they were bought or prescribed.
- Codeine. Codeine sits in China's narcotic catalogue, so co-codamol and codeine cough syrups fall under the Article 44 route, not the ordinary medicine route.
- Pseudoephedrine. Ephedrine-type substances appear in China's precursor chemicals schedule. Pharmacies here sell ephedrine cold remedies only from a closed cabinet, against ID, and two smallest packs at most.
Can you bring a controlled medicine with a foreign prescription?
Sometimes, and the paper you carry decides it. Article 44 of the State Council regulation allows a person needing treatment to carry narcotic drugs and Category I psychotropic substances up to the maximum on a single prescription, on presentation of a diagnosis certificate from a medical institution and proof of identity. Customs releases them on the principles of personal use and reasonable quantity. For Category II substances the prescription quantity may be extended.
China issues no advance approval to individuals; the carriage certificate that exists is for medical personnel. Clearance is decided at the port, and the on-site review governs.
Documentation carries the case. A letter on clinic letterhead naming the diagnosis, generic name, dose, travel dates and quantity dispensed turns a legal question into a clerical one. Add a Chinese translation: officers handle English, but a translation removes the argument.
Amphetamine-based ADHD medicines sit at the narrow end. The US State Department tells travelers that China restricts these drugs and advises checking with the Chinese embassy before departure. If treatment depends on a stimulant, confirm with the embassy weeks ahead and ask your physician about a non-stimulant alternative.
How do you declare medication at the border?
Announcement No. 43 of 2025, in force since April 1, 2025, replaced the passenger declaration system. It lists when a written declaration is required: prohibited or restricted articles, animals and plants, biological products, large cash sums and commercial goods. If none apply you take the green channel and fill in nothing; if any apply you complete the form and take the red channel.
The regulation adds the sentence that matters most: travelers who do not know the rules, or do not know which channel to choose, should use the red one.
The form can be pre-filled through the customs passenger mini-program on WeChat or Alipay, or at npc.chinaport.gov.cn, then confirmed at the declaration desk. Non-resident travelers also get a CNY 2,000 duty-free allowance for personal effects left in China, each item limited to a reasonable quantity.
Keep medicine in hand luggage, not checked baggage, and in the packaging the pharmacy dispensed it in. A printed label settles in seconds what a bag of loose tablets cannot.
Can you buy the same medicine in China instead?
Prescription medicine needs a prescription from a Chinese-licensed physician; the one written at home is not accepted at a pharmacy counter. The workable path is a hospital outpatient department or international clinic, a Chinese prescription, then the hospital pharmacy or a designated drugstore. Non-prescription medicine is sold openly, with the active ingredient printed in Chinese, so bring the generic name and a photo of your box.
Controlled drugs are the exception either way: narcotics and psychotropic substances are not sold through online pharmacies, and injectables other than insulin are confined to physical pharmacies and hospitals. Our guide to getting medical help in China covers hospitals, pharmacies and insurance.
What should you do before you fly?
Five cheap steps:
- Photograph every prescription.
- Ask your physician for a signed letter with generic names, doses, travel dates and a statement that the medicine is for personal treatment.
- Translate the letter into Chinese and print both versions.
- Pack medicine in original packaging, in hand luggage.
- Check each active ingredient against the categories above before assuming it is fine.
If the trip involves a restricted diet, read eating in China with allergies alongside this guide, and size the kit with our season-by-season packing checklist.
How does this change for longer trips and groups?
For business travel and long tailor-made itineraries, match the supply to the itinerary and say so in the letter. A 30-day trip with a 30-day supply and a dated letter is routine. A six-month assignment is better served by a local prescription once you are settled, because a half-year stock invites questions no letter fully answers.
Group trips need one correction. A teacher or tour leader carrying the whole group's medicine is carrying medicine for other people, which sits outside the personal-use rule however good the intention. Each traveler should carry their own; the leader keeps copies of the prescriptions and a written medication log. Flag complex medical needs early when we design a school or corporate program, so clinic stops land where they are needed.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to declare ordinary prescription medicine at Chinese customs?
No, not if it is for your own use in a reasonable quantity and nothing else on the declaration list applies. Use the green channel. If you are unsure, or the quantity is large, declare it at the red channel; a few minutes at a desk beats being caught with an undeclared restricted item.
Can I bring Adderall or Ritalin into China?
Amphetamine is a Category I psychotropic substance in China and psychotropic substances appear on the prohibited-entry schedule, so this is the medicine most likely to turn into a serious problem. Methylphenidate, sold as Ritalin and Concerta, is also Category I. Article 44 permits a personal supply with a diagnosis certificate, but clearance is decided at the port; confirm with the embassy before booking.
Is CBD oil legal in China?
No. Cannabis and every cannabis-derived product are illegal, and a foreign prescription offers no protection. The same applies to hemp-based creams, gummies and vaping liquids.
How much medicine can I bring for a three-month stay?
No published day count overrides the reasonable-quantity test. Carry what the stay requires, keep it in original packaging, and carry a letter stating the treatment, daily dose and your travel dates. Three months of medicine explained by a three-month itinerary reads differently from the same box unexplained.
What happens if customs stops me?
Answer directly, then hand over the packaging, the prescription and the letter. An item that is not permitted is usually held or surrendered against a receipt. Ask for the decision in writing if you intend to claim on travel insurance.
Planning a trip with a medical dimension, whether a family itinerary, a corporate delegation or a school group, is the kind of detail we build into the schedule, not the airport. Start with our China Travel Essentials section, or tell us what you are carrying.
