Yes, you can bring your child's medicine into China.
How much depends on what it is.
Yes, but the limit depends on the drug. Ordinary medicine for your child's own use is allowed in reasonable amounts, usually up to about seven days of a prescription. Narcotics and strong sedatives need a doctor's certificate and a declared prescription. Cannabis and CBD products are banned outright, with no exception.
The short answer: your child's own medicine is allowed, the quantity is not unlimited
Chinese customs works to one principle written into the rules: personal medicine must be for self-use and in a reasonable quantity. What counts as reasonable depends on the drug, not on the length of your holiday.
Two documents set the boundaries. The 2002 rules on imported medicine allow a traveller a small personal quantity. The 2005 regulation on narcotic and psychotropic drugs allows a patient, with a diagnosis certificate and proof of identity, to carry up to the maximum quantity of a single prescription. Anything stronger sits on the prohibited-entry list, which names opium, morphine, heroin, cannabis and other addictive narcotics.
| Type of medicine | What China allows for your child | What to carry with it |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary prescription medicine, such as antibiotics or an asthma inhaler | A small personal quantity; published guidance points to about seven days of a prescription | The original box, a copy of the prescription and a doctor's letter |
| Narcotic and Class I psychotropic drugs | Only up to the maximum quantity of one prescription, released case by case on a self-use basis | A medical diagnosis certificate, your identity document and an active declaration at the desk |
| Class II psychotropic drugs | The prescribed quantity may be extended, and the doctor should note the reason | The prescription and the diagnosis certificate |
| Over-the-counter children's medicine for fever, cold or rehydration | A reasonable personal quantity; no fixed published cap, so keep it modest | The original packaging, with the ingredients list readable |
| Cold tablets containing pseudoephedrine, often sold with a D suffix | Treated as a precursor chemical; a large amount can be read as commercial rather than personal | Nothing extra, and leave it at home if you can |
| Anything containing CBD or hemp | Prohibited with no exception; carrying it is a criminal matter, not a customs fine | Nothing at all, so do not pack it |
| Medicine containing musk, tiger bone or rhino horn | Prohibited at any quantity, because of the endangered species rules | Nothing at all, so do not pack it |
The customs service answers these questions on its 12360 hotline, and every reply ends the same way: the officer at the desk makes the call.
What reasonable quantity means in practice
Xiamen customs has answered this in public, and its figures are the most concrete available. Prescription medicine for personal use is generally capped at seven days, unless the doctor writes a reason for more. Narcotic and Class I psychotropic drugs are tighter: an injection is limited to a single dose, other forms to about three days.
A value limit applies to everything in your bag as well. A non-resident visitor may bring in 2,000 yuan of personal goods duty-free, and a returning resident gets 5,000 yuan. Only the amount above the limit is taxed.
| The rule | The published figure |
|---|---|
| Prescription medicine for your own use | Generally no more than seven days, unless the doctor states a reason |
| A narcotic or Class I psychotropic injection | One single dose |
| Other forms of the same drugs | Generally no more than three days |
| More than the personal limit | Must be declared through the cargo channel instead of carried in person |
| Duty-free allowance for a non-resident visitor | 2,000 yuan of personal goods, with each type in a reasonable quantity |
| Duty-free allowance for a returning resident | 5,000 yuan of personal goods |
The two allowance figures come from a customs announcement issued in 2010 and still in force in 2026. Treat every number here as the published position, not a promise.
Children's cold medicine is the one to check this month
On 20 July 2026 China's medicines regulator issued announcement number 66, ordering a rewrite of the patient leaflet for every oral form of a very common Chinese cold remedy. The new warning is blunt: while taking it, do not drive, and do not work at height or with machinery.
The reason is the antihistamine inside it, chlorpheniramine, the same drug your child may have taken at home under another name. Its half-life runs from 12 to 15 hours, and most people need six to eight hours before the drowsiness lifts.
- A dose taken with breakfast can still be affecting judgement at dinner, which matters if you drive to Dapeng after a day out.
- The revised warning caps paracetamol at two grams a day for an adult, a reminder of how easily combination cold remedies are double-dosed.
- If your child takes a daily medicine at home, bring your own supply rather than substituting a Chinese equivalent.
Manufacturers had to file the revised leaflet by 15 October 2026, but older stock stays on shelves for months. Check the box in your hand, not the poster in the pharmacy window.
How to pack it so the border is boring
Nothing here needs a lawyer. It needs a folder and ten quiet minutes before you leave the house.
- Keep every medicine in the original pharmacy box labelled with your child's name. A weekly pill organiser is the most common way a simple case becomes a conversation.
- Carry a doctor's letter on letterhead stating the diagnosis, the generic drug name, the dose, the total quantity and the words for personal use.
- Add a one-page Chinese translation of the key list, which the medicines regulator recommends.
- Keep medicine in your hand luggage rather than the hold, so a delayed bag does not take the inhaler with it.
- Walk through the red channel and declare anything you are unsure about. Declaring a legal medicine costs minutes.
China's customs service advises travellers to declare proactively and to carry the prescription or diagnosis certificate as evidence. If a drug is legally ambiguous at home, assume it is stricter here.
Liquid medicine on the plane: the 100 millilitre trap
The rule that catches families is an aviation rule, not a customs one, and it differs between a domestic and an international flight. On a domestic flight inside China, liquids are not allowed in the cabin and must be checked in. On an international or regional flight, each container may hold up to 100 millilitres, inside one clear resealable bag of no more than one litre.
Medicine your child needs during the flight is exempt from the 100 millilitre limit, but only after security staff confirm it.
| The flight | What applies to liquid medicine |
|---|---|
| A domestic flight inside China | Liquids are not allowed in the cabin at all, so check them in, unless the medicine is needed during the flight |
| An international or regional flight | Each container up to 100 millilitres, inside one clear bag of up to one litre, one bag per passenger |
| Medically necessary liquid medicine | Allowed in the cabin once a security check confirms it, and best carried with a doctor's note |
| How the 100 millilitres is measured | By the volume printed on the container, not by how much is left inside it |
| Alcohol-based hand sanitiser or spray | 75 per cent medical alcohol and alcohol sprays are banned from both the cabin and checked baggage |
A 200 millilitre bottle of cough syrup with a spoonful left in it still counts as 200 millilitres. Decant what you need, or put the whole thing in the hold.
You will still need a pharmacy, so know what is going around
Guangdong's provincial centre for disease control publishes a monthly risk notice, and the October 2026 edition names three illnesses likely to interrupt a family trip here. Norovirus gastroenteritis runs from October to March, and children mostly vomit rather than have diarrhoea. Alcohol hand gel does not kill it; soap and running water do.
Influenza is the third. Shenzhen has started its free seasonal flu vaccination programme for eligible schoolchildren, and national guidance is that anyone older than six months without a contraindication can be vaccinated.
| The illness | Its season in Guangdong | What actually helps |
|---|---|---|
| Norovirus vomiting and diarrhoea | October to March, and children mostly vomit | Washing with soap and running water, because alcohol gel does not work on it |
| Hand, foot and mouth disease | Warm months, and children under five are most affected | Careful hand washing, and the EV-A71 vaccine to reduce severe cases |
| Influenza | A winter peak, with vaccination open from six months of age | The seasonal flu vaccine, free for eligible schoolchildren in Shenzhen this season |
Children's paracetamol and ibuprofen are sold under unfamiliar brand names. Pharmacists here are helpful but rarely speak English, which is why a Chinese list of your child's medicines is worth more than a translation app with no signal.
What we ask families to do on our own programmes
We have run camps and journeys in Shenzhen and across southern China for 16 years, for children aged 3 to 14, at about seven children to every staff member. Our own paperwork has one rule in it: every family hands us a written medication list in Chinese, with the original boxes, on the first morning.
We do not give a child prescription medicine unless a parent has authorised it in writing, and we keep what we hold in a locked box with one named staff member responsible. On a Dapeng day that reaches Qiniang Mountain at 867 metres, the nearest clinic involves a drive.
We also tell families what not to pack: cannabinoid products, and stimulant medicines for ADHD, which are legal at home and still a bad idea to bring unchecked.
Who this article will not help
- If your child takes a stimulant for ADHD, plan the trip with your prescriber before you book. Do not assume it clears.
- If you are staying for months rather than weeks, seven days of a prescription is not your answer. Long-stay medicine travels as cargo, or is sourced in China with a local doctor.
- If your child needs a refrigerated biological medicine such as some insulins, the flight itself is the problem, and importing it needs health quarantine approval arranged in advance.
- If you are crossing by land from Hong Kong with a week of a controlled medicine, bring original documents rather than photographs.
Rules move. Every figure here is the published position in October 2026. Confirm the current rules with the customs service on 12360 before you travel.
Frequently asked questions
Can I bring my child's prescription medicine into China?
Yes, for your child's own use and in a reasonable amount. Published customs guidance points to about seven days of a prescription for personal use, and a doctor's letter plus the original box makes the case in seconds. Narcotic and Class I psychotropic drugs are treated separately, with a lower ceiling and a requirement to declare them.
Is children's paracetamol or ibuprofen allowed?
Yes. Ordinary over-the-counter medicine for a child's own use is allowed in a modest personal quantity, and there is no fixed published cap. Bring the original packaging with the ingredients readable, and avoid stocking up for a whole year, because a large quantity is what makes an officer read it as commercial rather than personal.
Can I bring ADHD medicine into China?
Only with paperwork, and it is the category most likely to end badly. Stimulants are controlled here, so treat them as narcotic and Class I psychotropic drugs: a medical diagnosis certificate, your own identity document, no more than the maximum quantity of a single prescription, and an active declaration. If you take a stimulant daily, plan for the trip without it or ask your prescriber about an alternative.
Do I have to declare my child's medicine at customs?
Declare anything you are unsure about, and walk through the red channel to do it. China's customs service advises travellers to declare proactively and to carry the prescription, the medical record or the diagnosis certificate as evidence. Declaring a legal medicine costs a few minutes. Having a legal medicine found undeclared costs considerably more.
Can I carry liquid medicine in my hand luggage?
It depends on the flight. On a domestic flight inside China, liquids must be checked in, except medicine your child needs during the flight. On an international or regional flight, containers are limited to 100 millilitres each inside one clear bag of up to one litre. The limit is measured by the volume printed on the container, not by how much is left inside it.
Sources
- General Administration of Customs of China — reply on carrying medicine for personal use (reasonable quantity, seven days of a prescription, one dose for an injection, 2,000 and 5,000 yuan allowances, prohibited ingredients such as musk and rhino horn)
- General Administration of Customs of China, Guangdong Sub-Administration — reply on carrying medicine into and out of China (Customs Order No. 43 prohibited items list; State Council Order No. 442, Article 44, on narcotic and psychotropic drugs)
- General Administration of Customs of China — reply on the duty-free allowance for personal goods (Customs Announcement No. 54 of 2010: 5,000 yuan for a returning resident, 2,000 yuan for a non-resident visitor)
- National Medical Products Administration — Announcement No. 66 of 2026, annex: requirements for revising the leaflet of oral cold remedy preparations containing chlorpheniramine (published 20 July 2026)
- People's Daily health channel — the regulator revises the cold remedy leaflet, and a pharmacist explains the driving ban (half-life 12 to 15 hours, wait six to eight hours, paracetamol capped at two grams a day)
- Shenzhen Municipal Transport Bureau — rules on carrying liquids on flights (no liquids in the cabin on domestic flights; 100 millilitres per container on international flights; medically necessary liquid medicine allowed after screening)
- Guangdong Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention — October 2026 health risk notice (norovirus season from October to March, hand, foot and mouth disease in children under five, seasonal influenza vaccination)
- Guangzhou Centre for Disease Control and Prevention — October 2026 health notice (vaccination open from six months of age, EV-A71 vaccine for hand, foot and mouth disease, hygiene advice for norovirus)
- Qumogu family camps in China, 11 programmes for ages 3 to 14 (our programmes)
- Qumogu Field Notes from our programmes in Guangdong (our programmes)
What this means for your family
Yes, you can bring your child's medicine to China, and most of the time nobody will look at it. What gets families into trouble is quantity and category. Ordinary medicine is fine in a small personal amount, roughly seven days of a prescription. Narcotics and strong sedatives need a doctor's certificate, an identity document and an active declaration. CBD products, and medicines containing endangered animal ingredients, are banned at any quantity. Pack the original boxes, carry a doctor's letter with the generic names, add a Chinese translation of the list, keep liquids small enough for security, and walk through the red channel if you are unsure. Then treat this article as a starting point rather than a ruling, and check the current position with the customs service before you fly.
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