Can you bring your own medicine when you travel to China for care?

First see whether the medicine is controlled

A Shanghai Customs explanation updated on 14 October 2026 separates two situations. Personal medicine that does not contain a narcotic drug or psychotropic substance may be carried in a reasonable quantity for personal use and is subject to customs supervision. Narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances are regulated both as medicines and as controlled substances. They must be used as prescribed and under the relevant rules.

Whether a medicine is a narcotic drug or a Category I or Category II psychotropic substance depends on the current catalogues of the National Medical Products Administration. Those catalogues give Chinese names, English names, and registry numbers. Check the generic name before travel, not only the brand name.

Narcotic drugs and Category I psychotropic substances

Article 44 of the Regulations on the Administration of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances says that a person who needs these medicines for treatment may, with a medical diagnosis certificate from a medical institution and a personal identity document, carry narcotic drugs and Category I psychotropic substances within the maximum quantity of a single prescription. Customs clears them on entry and exit according to personal use and a reasonable quantity.

The same Shanghai Customs explanation asks the traveler to show a diagnosis certificate from a medical institution and an identity document such as a passport. The maximum for one prescription is set by the health authority's prescription rules. It is not a quantity you calculate from the number of travel days. Customs at the port makes the clearance decision.

Category II psychotropic substances and other personal medicine

• For Category II psychotropic substances, the prescribed quantity may be extended where appropriate. Shanghai Customs advises travelers to carry the prescription, medical records, or a diagnostic certificate, and to declare the medicine to customs at the port.
• The name, dose, directions, and date should be readable by customs and by the receiving clinician. For record preparation, see How to prepare medical records for care in China.
• Medical personnel who carry a small quantity of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances for medical work need a certificate authorizing carriage from the drug regulatory department at or above provincial level. That rule is for staff, not for a patient's own medicine.
• Medicine prescribed by a hospital after you arrive in China is a separate prescription. See Prescriptions after a visit in China.

Clearance is decided at the port

Keep the medicine in your hand baggage and show the documents when declaring it or when customs asks. Do not ask another person to carry a controlled medicine for you, and do not treat it as an ordinary parcel that can be mailed. Whether a medicine can enter, and how much, is decided by customs at your port on the day you arrive.

SinoCareHub can help you organize generic medicine names, current doses, instructions and existing diagnosis certificates for the hospital to review. Confirm entry and declaration requirements with customs at the port. The prescribing clinician and the clinician seeing you in China assess whether medicines should continue or change.