Medicines and Prescriptions in China: Customs Rules & Buying (2026)

If you take regular medication and are planning treatment in China, the short answer is: you can bring your own medicines for personal use in a quantity that matches your doctor's prescription, controlled substances follow much stricter rules, and buying medicine locally works well once you know the generic names. This guide covers the customs rules for bringing medicines in, how prescriptions and pharmacies work inside China, and what to check before taking medicines home.

Bringing your own medicines into China

China's Customs Law limits personal luggage to items for "personal use in reasonable quantities", and travellers must declare truthfully and accept customs supervision. For ordinary medicines, there is no published pill count or fixed number of days. Instead, customs judges "reasonable quantity" against a valid prescription from your doctor, and one prescription supports one customs clearance.

Practical rules that follow from this:

• Carry your prescription or a doctor's letter. If it is not in Chinese or English, bring a translation. The amount you carry should match what the prescription says.
• Keep medicines in their original packaging with the label and the leaflet, so officers can verify the ingredients.
• If in doubt, declare. Use the red "goods to declare" channel and show your documents. You can also call the national customs hotline 12360 before you travel.
• Mailing medicines is different. Postal imports follow separate value limits and tax rules, and some items that you may carry cannot be mailed. If you will need refills during a long stay, plan to see a doctor in China rather than having packages sent.

Special rules apply to biological products and blood products (for example certain injectable therapies). For these, travellers should present a hospital diagnosis certificate and prescription, and the amount allowed is limited to one course of treatment as defined by the prescription or the product leaflet.

Controlled substances: the strictest category

Opium, morphine, heroin, cannabis and other addictive narcotic or psychotropic substances are on China's list of articles prohibited from entering or leaving the country. Medical use is the exception, not the rule: under Article 44 of the Regulations on the Administration of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, a patient may carry narcotic drugs and Class I psychotropic substances up to the maximum amount of a single prescription, on presentation of a medical diagnosis certificate issued by a medical institution and personal identification; customs releases them on the principle of personal use in reasonable quantity.

Three warnings matter for international patients:

• Amphetamine-based medicines are not allowed in. Published customs replies state that drugs containing amphetamine — which includes lisdexamfetamine products such as Elvanse/Vyvanse, widely prescribed for ADHD — may not be brought into China. If you rely on such medication, discuss alternatives with your doctor well before the trip.
• Cannabis products are prohibited, including CBD oils marketed as supplements in some countries.
• Strong painkillers and sedatives need paperwork. Opioid analgesics, and many sleep or anxiety medicines, are controlled in China even if they are easy to obtain at home. Carry the diagnosis certificate, the original prescription and no more than the single-prescription amount.

If any medicine you take falls into a grey area, contact the customs office at your port of entry before flying. Rules are enforced at the border, and "I didn't know" is not a defence.

Buying medicines in China: OTC vs prescription

China manages drugs in two legal categories. Prescription drugs may only be dispensed, purchased and used against a prescription from a licensed physician; non-prescription (OTC) drugs can be bought and used on your own judgement. OTC medicines carry an oval OTC logo on the box and are further split into Class A (red logo, sold in licensed pharmacies) and Class B (green logo, lower-risk, also sold in approved shops).

What this means in practice:

• Pharmacies are everywhere in Chinese cities, and large chains are open long hours. For OTC needs — painkillers, cold medicine, stomach remedies — you can simply walk in. Staff rarely speak English, so show the generic name written down or use a translation app (see apps and connectivity).
• For prescription drugs, see a doctor. The usual route for a visitor is a hospital outpatient visit: register, see the physician, get the prescription and fill it at the hospital pharmacy in the same building. International departments can handle this in English — find hospitals with international services in our directory.
• Only approved drugs are sold. Medicines not registered in China are not legally available, and a specific foreign brand or formulation may have no exact local equivalent. If continuity of a specific product is critical to your health, bring enough for the whole trip (within the prescription-quantity rule) rather than counting on buying it locally.
• Buy from licensed pharmacies or hospital pharmacies only. Avoid informal channels and resellers; that is where counterfeit risk lives.

Generic names are your common language

Brand names change across borders; generic names mostly do not. The international nonproprietary name (INN) — e.g. "metformin" rather than a brand — is how doctors and pharmacists worldwide identify a molecule, and international guidance on travelling with medicines recommends documents that state substances by their INN.

Before you travel:

1. Make a one-page medication list: INN, strength, dose, frequency, and why you take it.
2. Ask your doctor to sign it, ideally mentioning diagnoses.
3. Keep a digital copy with your medical records.

This list does triple duty: it satisfies customs questions, lets a Chinese doctor continue or adjust your therapy safely, and helps in an emergency.

Taking medicines home

The trip home is governed by your own country's rules, not China's, and they differ widely. Most countries require a prescription for medicines containing controlled substances; prescriptions should be translated into the local language (English is sufficient for some countries); and many countries cap what you may carry at a 30 to 90 day supply. Some countries also control substances that are not internationally controlled, so a medicine freely sold in China may still be restricted at home.

Practical steps:

• Keep the pharmacy receipt (fapiao), the box and the leaflet for anything you buy in China.
• Ask the prescribing doctor in China for a copy of the prescription and, for anything controlled, a diagnosis note.
• Check your home country's customs or medicines-agency website for traveller rules before buying large quantities; the INCB publishes country-by-country summaries where governments have provided them.
• Traditional Chinese medicine products deserve the same care: declare them, keep ingredient lists, and be aware that some animal- or plant-derived ingredients are restricted by wildlife and biosecurity rules in many countries.

Who should plan extra carefully

• Patients on opioids, stimulants, benzodiazepines or other controlled drugs — paperwork requirements apply in both directions, and some medicines simply cannot enter China.
• Patients on biologics or refrigerated medicines — carry the diagnosis certificate and prescription, plan cold-chain storage for the flight, and confirm your hotel has a fridge.
• Long-stay patients — a single prescription supports one clearance; for stays longer than your supply, arrange a doctor's visit in China early rather than mailing refills.

Next steps

• Browse hospitals with international departments that can issue local prescriptions and continue your therapy.
• Read how to handle payments in Chinese hospitals and pharmacies and what belongs on your planning checklist.
• Use the bilingual inquiry letter tool to ask a hospital in advance whether your specific medicines are available, or let the CareAtlas planner build medication questions into your treatment-and-travel plan.