Practical check-up guide
Bringing Personal Medicines to a China Check-up: The Customs Questions
By MyChinaCheckup coordination team · Published
Official Shanghai guidance checked 13 October 2026.
Before travelling with medicines, resolve two questions with the people responsible for them: what Customs requires for the products you intend to carry, and what your clinical team wants you to do before the booked examinations. A prescription, a hospital preparation message and a Customs reply serve different purposes. Keep each answer attached to the question it actually addresses.
This guide provides a private enquiry record for the border-documentation question. It does not determine whether a particular medicine can enter China, classify a product, calculate a permitted quantity or give instructions to change treatment.
Start with the official Shanghai sources
Shanghai Customs guidance published by the municipal government distinguishes medicines without narcotic or psychotropic substances from medicines subject to those controls. It describes personal-use and quantity considerations and identifies diagnosis and identity documents in its controlled-medicine provisions. Requirements depend on the applicable category; the article should not be reduced to a general rule that a foreign prescription guarantees entry.
Use that official page to frame a question about your exact product. This guide does not reproduce its category-specific quantity provisions or identify which medicines fall within them. Ask Customs which requirements apply and whether any further authority must be consulted.
The municipal government's personal-medication FAQ lists the Shanghai Customs enquiry number as 021-12360. It is a published contact for clarification, not an approval obtained on your behalf. For an arrival elsewhere, ask the Customs authority responsible for that entry point for the applicable route rather than assuming a Shanghai contact has settled the enquiry.
Identify the product before asking about paperwork
Prepare the product's printed name, active ingredient, strength and formulation, together with the quantity you intend to carry and your travel dates. Keep the original wording available so that a brand-name difference or an unclear translation can be checked. Ask your prescriber or pharmacist to clarify missing product information; leave the Customs classification to the relevant authority.
These details make an enquiry specific. They are not a list of documents that Customs has already required. The authority may request particular supporting information, and you should record its answer rather than treating a general packing checklist as sufficient.
Keep border and appointment answers in separate columns
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Matter to resolve | Customs or relevant authority | Responsible clinical team |
|---|---|---|
| Product identity | Which classification and requirements apply to this exact product? | Is my medicine list clear and accurate for the appointment? |
| Quantity and travel dates | What may I carry for the itinerary described, and what process applies? | Who should address any treatment-continuity question raised by the travel plan? |
| Supporting paperwork | Which documents are required, in what form and language? | Can the appropriate medical professional supply the clinical documentation requested? |
| Before the examinations | Record the border answer without turning it into dosing instructions | What are the medicine instructions for my final booked tests? |
| An unresolved answer | Ask the authority what remains to be confirmed | Ask the clinician about the clinical issue; do not make a treatment change yourself |
The two columns should not be combined into a single “approved” tick. If Customs asks for medical documentation, obtaining it is a step in answering that request; this guide cannot determine whether the paperwork will be accepted. Equally, a border reply does not supply the hospital's preparation instructions.
A blank record for your own enquiry
Use one record per product. Fill it privately, retain the actual replies and leave unanswered fields blank. This page does not collect or submit the information.
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Field | Your record |
|---|---|
| Product name as labelled | ____ |
| Active ingredient, strength and formulation | ____ |
| Quantity intended for carriage | ____ |
| Travel dates and intended entry point | ____ |
| Authority contacted and official contact used | ____ |
| Date, reference and scope of its reply | ____ |
| Classification confirmed by the authority, if provided | ____ |
| Documents or further steps the authority requests | ____ |
| Border question still unresolved | ____ |
| Clinical team and date of preparation instructions | ____ |
| Clinical preparation question still unresolved | ____ |
Keep the Customs response with the product and itinerary it addresses. If those details change, ask whether the earlier answer still applies. A general FAQ, a coordinator's message or this completed worksheet should not be presented as individual import permission.
Continue the clinical preparation separately
For organising the information your doctor needs, use medical records to bring to a China check-up. For questions about the final examination list, use fasting and medication preparation. Neither replaces a direct Customs enquiry.
MyChinaCheckup's visit-planning route concerns the proposed hospital appointment. The relevant authority determines border requirements, and the responsible healthcare professional provides individual medicine and test-preparation advice. Do not stop, substitute or change a medicine to resolve a paperwork uncertainty without clinical advice.
Source limits: the two linked official pages were accessible when checked on 13 October 2026; the retrieved pages did not display a last-updated date. Recheck the official guidance and obtain a product-specific answer before travel. This article is an administrative question guide, not legal advice or approval to carry any medicine.