You have landed. The jet bridge empties into a long, bright corridor, and somewhere ahead sits the part of the trip that worries first-time visitors most: a border that runs on QR codes, fingerprints and screening machines. The good news is that China's five busiest international gateways — Beijing Capital (PEK), Beijing Daxing (PKX), Shanghai Pudong (PVG), Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) and Shenzhen Bao'an (SZX) — have spent the past two years turning arrival into a genuinely smooth 45–90 minutes.
This guide walks the whole sequence in order: the arrival card you should file before you fly, the fingerprint kiosks nobody warns you about, the immigration desk, customs, and then the practical stuff — a SIM card, your first payment, and the fastest route downtown. Print it or screenshot it; you will not have reliable internet in the first ten minutes after landing.
Two tasks done before departure turn a chaotic arrival into a calm one. Both are free, and both are optional in the sense that you can do them on arrival — but you should not.
China replaced the paper arrival card with an online system on 20 November 2025. Filing it 24–72 hours before you land — once your flight number and first hotel are locked — is the single highest-value thing you can do. Do it through an official channel only:
You will need your name exactly as printed in your passport, passport number, nationality, date of birth, flight number and port of entry, the full street address of your first night's accommodation (not just "Beijing"), and your purpose of visit. Submit, then screenshot the QR code and email yourself a copy. Every traveller — including children — needs a separate card.
Officers rarely ask, but under China's new entry-exit rules (in force since 15 September 2026) they can ask you to demonstrate a truthful purpose of travel. Keep a paper or offline copy of your return or onward ticket, your hotel booking, and a one-line itinerary. It should take under a minute if asked.
After the aircraft parks (allow 5–15 minutes to reach the gate), follow the signs for Arrivals / 入境. Walk times are typically 5–15 minutes; PKX and PVG are large, and PVG sometimes uses a shuttle train between satellite and main terminals. Signage is bilingual in every major gateway, and most also carry Japanese, Korean and Arabic on the main wayfinding boards.
Since 2025, the old physical health-declaration form has largely been retired. A digital customs declaration via the WeChat mini-program is recommended in some ports but is not consistently required; in practice you will usually see a staff member near the head of the immigration queue holding a scanner who waves travellers through. Do not overthink this step. What genuinely matters is the customs channel after baggage claim.
Connecting to a domestic flight? You still clear immigration and customs at the international arrival airport, then re-check your bags unless they were through-checked. Budget three hours minimum for an international-to-domestic connection.
This is the trick nobody tells you. Fingerprint capture is now standard for foreign travellers aged 14–70, and at the busiest airports a bank of self-service machines sits before you reach the immigration desks. Each machine pre-collects your ten prints in about 90 seconds, for free. Use one while you are still in the queue: it removes the slowest part of the desk interaction and can save you ten minutes or more.
Immigration halls are divided into lanes. Read them before you join one:
Prepare before you reach the desk: passport open at the photo page, your arrival-card QR code (or paper card) on your phone screen, and your onward ticket and hotel booking within reach. Officer questions are usually three: purpose of visit, length of stay, place of stay. Answer concisely. Fingerprint verification is standard if you did not use a kiosk.
Typical processing time: 30–90 minutes at PVG, PEK and PKX depending on flight volumes. Peak hours, Golden Week and Spring Festival add time; late-night arrivals with a bank of simultaneous long-haul flights are the slowest.
The international baggage hall is where China's airports have quietly become excellent. In the belts area of PVG — and at the "Beijing Service" counters at PEK and PKX — you can, while waiting for your suitcase:
If you only do one thing here, get a data connection. Almost everything else in China — DiDi, the metro QR code, translation, restaurant menus — runs through your phone. If your home carrier offers roaming, that will work for the first hours, but a local SIM is dramatically cheaper for a multi-day trip. Also consider setting up a China eSIM before you fly so you have data the moment you land.
After baggage claim you choose a lane, and the choice is per person — allowances cannot be pooled within a family.
| Item | Duty-free limit (per adult) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol | 1,500 ml | Only for drinks above 12% ABV — roughly two standard bottles |
| Tobacco | 400 cigarettes or 100 cigars or 500 g | Lower limits for very frequent crossers |
| Foreign currency | USD 5,000 equivalent | Anything above must be declared |
| Chinese yuan | RMB 20,000 | Hard limit — more requires declaration and approval |
| Personal valuables | RMB 5,000 total value | Declare expensive gear you will re-export so you are not taxed on exit |
All five airports connect to the city by metro or rail, and every one has taxi ranks and app-based ride-hailing pickup zones. Here is the fastest realistic option from each.
| Airport | Fastest option downtown | Typical time | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beijing Capital (PEK) | Airport Express to Dongzhimen (Lines 2 & 13) | 25–35 min | ¥25 |
| Beijing Daxing (PKX) | Daxing Airport Express to Caoqiao | 20–30 min | ¥35 |
| Shanghai Pudong (PVG) | Maglev to Longyang Rd, then Metro Line 2 — or Line 2 direct | 7 min + metro | ¥50 maglev |
| Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN) | Metro Line 3 North Extension to Tiyu Xilu | 45–60 min | ¥10–12 |
| Shenzhen Bao'an (SZX) | Metro Line 11 to Futian / Chegongmiao | 40–50 min | ¥10 |
For taxis and DiDi: follow the signs to the official rank or the app pickup zone, never a person approaching you in the terminal offering a ride. A metered taxi from PVG to downtown Shanghai is roughly ¥160–200 and takes 45–70 minutes; DiDi is usually a little cheaper and you know the price before you accept. For heavy luggage, travelling with elders or small children, or a hotel far from a station, ride-hailing wins; otherwise the metro or rail is faster and pennies.