Leaving China: the departure checklist

The day before you fly

• Confirm your onward flight time and airport terminal — Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou have multiple terminals and airports.
• Check the expiry stamp in your passport against your departure date. Today, not at the airport.
• Gather every tax-refund form and invoice in one envelope, with the goods still unpacked and in your hand luggage.
• Screenshot your hotel address in Chinese for the taxi driver.
• Download boarding passes; check in online if your airline allows.
• Keep some yuan for the last taxi and a bottle of water — your card may not work airside at small airports.

Tax refund: the exact order of operations

1. Before check-in

   Go to the customs refund desk (海关 / 退税) in the departure hall. Not after security, not at the gate.

2. Show the goods

   Keep them with you and unwrapped; customs may want to see that the items are genuinely leaving the country.

3. Show the paperwork

   Refund form, original invoice, passport, boarding pass.

4. Get the stamp

   Without the customs stamp there is no refund, at any airport, ever.

5. Collect the money

   At the refund counter — cash, or a card refund that takes days to weeks. There are service fees, so the amount received is slightly below the headline rate.

At the airport

• Arrive 3 hours early for international departures; Chinese airports are large and security plus exit immigration can be slow.
• Exit immigration — passport, and if you used the transit scheme, the officers will check that you are leaving within the permitted period and, normally, to your declared destination.
• Liquids follow the standard 100 ml rule. Duty-free bought after security is fine.
• Power banks stay in hand luggage and must be within airline limits.
• E-cigarettes are regulated; carry them in hand luggage and check current airline policy.

Customs, cash and what you cannot take home

• Cash: taking out more foreign currency than you declared on arrival is a problem. Declare again if in doubt.
• Antiques and "cultural relics": genuine antiques cannot legally leave without an export certificate. Anything with a red seal from a state-approved store is safe; anything sold to you as "Ming dynasty" in a market is a souvenir replica, and that is fine.
• Ivory, coral, tortoiseshell, and products from endangered species — do not buy them, and do not try to export them. Penalties are severe in both China and your home country.
• Religious and political material in quantity can be treated as more than personal use.
• Commercial quantities of anything — tea, silk, electronics — can be treated as trade. Reasonable personal amounts are fine.
• Dried meat, fresh fruit and seeds are usually prohibited by your destination country.

Getting home, and things to do afterwards

• Save all receipts if you are claiming on insurance for delays or medical treatment.
• Check your card statements for the Alipay/WeChat service fees and any foreign transaction charges.
• Remove Alipay's auto-pay authorisations for bike share and metro if you are done with them.
• If you overstayed by accident, handle it at the airport promptly and honestly — the officers deal with this regularly and being upfront is far better than being discovered.
• Write down what confused you while it is fresh. It makes the next trip much easier.

Final-hour checklist

• T-3 h: arrive, customs tax-refund desk first, then airline check-in.
• T-2 h: security, then any remaining refund counter airside.
• T-90 min: exit immigration.
• T-60 min: spend remaining yuan, or exchange it back at a bank counter.
• T-30 min: boarding.