Over the past three years, I’ve had a chance to travel all across China, fly my drone and publish awesome drone videos. I’ve learned a lot about what I can and can’t do with my drone in China. Can I bring my drone into China in 2024? What are the drone regulations in China?
This can be quite confusing at times and what’s worse, sometimes the “regulations” and “reality” don’t always match up.
For that reason, I’d like to share with you the updated Chinese drone regulations as of 2024 and some stories of my experience flying a drone in China.
Below we’re going to cover the most important drone regulations, how to register your drone, as well as some tips for flying in China.
Note: This article may contain affiliate links, which means that at no extra cost to you, I will be compensated if you decide to use some of these tools.
Drones in China [Video Tutorial]
You can watch the video below or scroll down to read up on the drone regulations.
Hopefully this video gives you a better understanding of what is required in order to fly a drone in China.
However, I recognize the fact that this video is a bit dated, so we’ve included all the updated drone regulations for China in 2024 below.
Drone Regulations in China | UPDATED 2024
To start, let’s look at the official drone regulations that China has issued through the CAAC, the Chinese equivalent to the FAA or EASA. In China, you are permitted to fly a drone under the following restrictions:
- Maximum Altitude: 120m (~400ft); anything higher requires a commercial license from the CAAC. Most drones, including those from the popular DJI brand, automatically set the 120m max altitude and will warn you if you try to manually adjust the max altitude settings.
- Maximum Distance: Like many countries, China requires a VLOS or “Visual Line of Sight” with your drone. In other words, you technically need to fly with your drone in sight. In reality, now that the size of drones keeps getting smaller and the max distance keeps getting longer, VLOS is hard to achieve even on the clearest of days. Still, you are expected to know where your drone is at all times.
- Maximum Weight: For drones that weigh more than 250 grams (~.55lbs), China requires real-name drone registration (more on that below). Any drone weighing more than 7kg (~15lbs) requires a special license from the CAAC. And yes, since DJI’s Mavic Mini is under 250 grams, that means that you aren’t required to register this one. But pretty much any other drone is going to be heavier and require registration.
- No-Fly Zones: All drones are subject to China’s NFZs or “No Fly Zones”. These zones include the area around airports, military installations and specified cities such as Beijing and in sensitive areas like Xinjiang or Tibet. DJI drones are programmed not to take off in these NFZs (although there are hacks to bypass this) but for many other drone brands you will need to check the No Fly Zone map in China to determine if drone flight is permitted near your destination. It is possible to obtain permission to fly in an NFZ through the CAAC.
- Commercial Flights: All drones flown for commercial purposes are supposed to have a license through the CAAC. More on that below.
- Insurance: According to China drone regulations, drone operators are obligated to cover their liability for third parties on the ground through insurance. For more information, check out our guide to the best travel insurance.
How to Register Your Drone in China in 2024
As mentioned above, any drone over 250 grams (~.55 lbs.) is required to be registered through the CAAC. For those of you who know anything about drones, this weight requirement covers almost all of the best drones for travelers (the exception being the Mavic Mini).
What this means is that to legally fly your drone, you will need to register it once you arrive in China.
It’s not a difficult process, but it does require two important things:
- An understanding of the Chinese language and
- A Chinese phone number;
For this reason, unless you have a contact in China with a Chinese phone number, it is quite difficult to register your drone before you arrive in China.
Otherwise, before you leave for China, you’ll either need to use a Chinese SIM card you bought to put in your unlocked phone or you’ll need to rent a China phone.
Online Drone Registration Process – Step-by-Step Guide
As with governments all over the world, China is constantly trying to catch up with the rapid use of drones within the country. For this reason, things are always changing.
Below is a step-by-step guide to registering your drone on the Chinese language website.
New! English Language Registration 2024
It seems that you can now register your drone in China on an English-language CAAC site. If this doesn’t work, you’ll want to use the Chinese language version with step-by-step instructions below.
- Open a CAAC Account: Go to the Chinese-language CAAC website and register as a user. This will require you to supply a Chinese phone number where a code will be texted for confirmation. The registration page looks like this:
- Register Your Drone with the CAAC: Once you have opened a user account with the CAAC, you’ll need to add your drone to the inventory. This will require you to find the serial number for your specific drone.
When it comes to drone name brands, the list on the CAAC website is super-long but of course the most popular is DJI.
It’s a challenge to find, so I recommend copying and pasting these characters into your browser search (深圳市大疆创新科技有限公司).
Those are the characters that you’ll want to look for when you register your DJI drone.
- Get the QR Code: Once your drone has been placed into your virtual “inventory”, a QR code will be emailed to you that you’re required to print and stick on your drone for identification purposes. This is your proof of registration. If you for some reason didn’t get an email, you can click here to request another email:
Registering for China’s Commercial Drone License
For those who are looking to use a drone in China for commercial purposes, China requires a commercial drone license. Although this sounds simple enough – and truthfully China has simplified the process from what it once was – it’s still very hard for the average foreign company.
According to regulations that went into effect on June 1, 2018, there are a few things that you’ll need to have in order to apply for a commercial license to fly in China:
- A legal business entity in China whose legal representative is a Chinese citizen.
- This legal entity must already own at least one drone that has already been registered with CAAC using the process described above.
- Liability insurance must have already been purchased to cover usage of the drone.
- The drone operator must be certified through a training process recognized by the Chinese government.
If it isn’t already apparent to you, unless you plan to set up a company in China, it’s often best to contract drone work to a local company when you want to film commercially in China.
Tips for Flying a Drone in China – My Experience
I can tell you from experience that even if you’ve done everything right and registered your drone with the CAAC, that doesn’t guarantee that all will go well for you when trying to fly your drone in China.
I’ve run into a number of small problems along the way, but hopefully you can learn from my experience to avoid them.
- Boarding a Plane with a Drone: It is legal for you to take your drone on airplanes, trains and buses in China. The only restriction that I have found is that you are not allowed to put the batteries in your check-in bag. If you check your drone, you must make sure that you put all your batteries in your carry-on bag.
- Don’t Fly Near/Around Police and Military: Obviously you can’t fly around military bases but even flying around police checkpoints or police sub-stations can be risky. Try to avoid it if at all possible.
- Don’t Draw Attention: China is still very wary of foreigners, especially if you’re flying outside the city. It’s not uncommon for people to be extremely suspicious of me when I take my drone out here in China and many times they will take it upon themselves to tell me that I’m not allowed to fly my drone there…even if I technically am allowed to fly my drone there. The best thing you can do in these cases is to try to move away to an inconspicuous place to begin flying your drone. Don’t draw attention to yourself and you’re less likely to find trouble.
Best Drones for Travelers in 2024
Unfortunately there’s not much competition when it comes to a high quality drone for travelers. There’s DJI and then there’s, well…
…that’s about it.
You can talk to me all day about Parrot drones, Yuneec drones and other brands. They just don’t cut it.
This is especially true when you’re traveling internationally. You want to buy a travel drone where you can easily find parts and extra batteries when necessary.
If you’re in the market for a quality travel drone that is built for easy travel, you only have a few options to choose from, all from DJI.
Thankfully, they’re amazing drones.
DJI Mavic Air 2 | Best Overall Travel Drone
The newer DJI Mavic Air 2 is the best overall travel drone for a number of good reasons.
It has the best flight time (34 min), best video capabilities (4k), the best CMOS sensor, etc., etc.
Not to mention how stinkin’ small it is!
The whole drone comes in at a whopping 20.1 ounces, which is incredible.
The good news is that a drone like this doesn’t break the bank and costs less than $1000. Give it a look for yourself:
DJI Mavic 2 Pro | Best Consumer Drone
If you’re looking for a drone that has the best available CMOS sensor (1″) and best control (omnidirectional sensors!)…
…the DJI Mavic 2 Pro is the best consumer drone on the market right now.
It’s the largest of the three travel drones I’m mentioning here, but it’s also the fastest and easiest to control. If price is no object for you and you have the space in your luggage, this is a great option.
DJI Mavic Mini | Smallest Travel Drone
If you’re not particularly interested in 4k video resolution or the ability to fly the drone 10km away from your position, the best travel drone based on size is most certainly the DJI Mavic Mini.
The Mavic Mini has replaced the DJI Spark as the go-to for small drones (the Spark has been discontinued).
It’s so small, it basically fits into your pocket. You can still get amazing 2.7k footage and 12MP photos, which is more than enough for most travel videos and photos.
Best of all, it’s so darn cheap it’s hard to justify not having a drone while you travel.
Conclusion | Flying your Drone in China
So in conclusion, you can see that it’s quite easy to legally bring your drone and fly it in China. As long as you make sure that the drone has been registered through the CAAC website and you don’t fly in the No Fly Zones, you’ll be fine.
Mind you, once you’ve shot all the footage you want and transferred it to your computer, you’re still going to need a VPN in order to upload the video to YouTube.
Enjoy your drone in China!
do you have a Chinese number i can use haha, im only on a layover but want to film great wall with my dji mavic.
Ha! Yea…I don’t think so 😉
Of course, you can get a phone number when you land in Beijing and use that to register the drone.
hello josh, thanks for taking the time to write this, i will be travelling to china for 3 months and going from new york to guangzhou, beijing, shanghai, zhangjiajie, hong kong. hopefully will capture some great footage!
I hope so too! Glad you found this useful 😉
hi, need some advice am first timer to take my drone out from Malaysia. Am going to Shenyang, China for 2 weeks visit. Transit via Shanghai, can I carry my drone and batteries (3 pcs with lipo bags) with me or should I put in my check in luggage?
By the ways my caps lock is off, not sure why my text is all in capital 🙁
apologies in advance.
Hi David, you can bring the drone but you’ll need to have the batteries with you on your carry-on (not in your checked luggage). Best of luck!
Thanks for your info. So it looks as though you can fly it around the great wall? We’re going at the end of april beginning of may and would like to film there. from the map it looks like we can. also, is it expensive to get a chinese phone number once we land? just trying to prepare. Thanks!
You should be able to! And no, Chinese SIM cards are not that expensive as long as you have an unlocked phone to use them with 😉
I live in china now and have been flying my drOne nearly every possible moment i can , i Havent had too many problems , dji mavic pro
Josh, I am heading to China for the last two weeks of march. My wife’s family is from Beijing and her sister is telling me she thinks it could be a problem trying to fly my drone or even getting it through customs, though I have not heard that. We are heading to Zhangjiajie, Shanghai/Suzhou, and then to Beijing.
Do you know of anyone that has had a drone confiscated, or had issues with any authorities? I am hoping to fly around ZJJ, and the Great Wall (probably not in the cities), and will be trying to be as inconspicuous as I can. Any thoughts?
Thanks.
Hey Steve, thankfully I’ve never heard of anybody having their drone confiscated at the airport. As long as you’re not flying in a NFZ (No Fly Zone), you shouldn’t have any problems at all.
can you provide a valid URL link for registration? I’ve spent literally hours and still all the webpages come up ‘error’. THANKS!!!
That dumb China website keeps changing its URLs! As of right now, you can register at this URL: https://uas.caac.gov.cn/login. Hope that helps!
Hi. And thanks for this article. Is there any price advantage in purchasing a DJI drone in China, compared to U.S.?
Hey Len, great question. There is no real advantage. The pricing is set in both countries, so fluctuation in currency may cause minor advantages, but not enough to wait to purchase in China vs the U.S.
Hello Josh,
I am also planning to bring the Mavic up to China, and the Great Wall if Possible…
I will try to find a chinese number to register.
I never registered it anywhere before, not even wit FAA as I am from Indonesia… I hope it will not be a problem.
I was reading the article, what is the deal with the insurance ? Do I need to buy any to be allowed to fly in China ?
For now there is a non Fly zone around the wall but it looks temporary until the 20/03… I hope I will have more luck.
Thanks for your help.
Insurance isn’t mandatory to fly in China unless your drone is being commercially flown or if the drone is above a certain weight class (which the Mavic is not!).
Hi JOSH,
I am planning to bring my DJI Mavic air to Mt Everest and the Karakorum highway, as well as parts of Xinxiang. Thanks for you work in setting this up it is greatly appreciated.
Just wanted to know where I put my email address so that they can email me the QR code? I wont be in China for another month but just want to be prepared. Will be buying the china unicom sim which is sold on tht web and delivered to your hotel when you arrive in china, so will not have a problem with a chinese phone number once I arrive.
once again thanks for your help.
They use your phone number, not your email address, to deliver the QR code. So in this way, you won’t be able to get the QR code until you arrive in China.
Hello there Yosh,
do you have any tips on how to print out QR code in China to stick it on the drone?
Some people on other website said that they already got a QR code on the drone so its ok, but if I understand this right they are going to generate you a different QR code for the registration than the original one device already has right?
I can imagine that it might be quite a pain to find some printing place with no knowledge of chinesse. Especially if there might be a problem for locals to understand english. (Lets assume not staying at hotel to get advice there but backpacking with no set accomodation in advance).
Hi josh,
Thanks foR the advice! We have a friend living there, do you think it is possible to register the drone already with hiS phonenumber?
Best regards, Wies
As long as he’s willing to let you use his number, that shouldn’t be a problem at all!
Can you please help me with the CAAC website? There’s doesn’t appear to be any DJI option for registering a DJI drone.
Hi josh, thank you for all of the info. I will be in Shenzhen in a couple of weeks for a day or two before traveling to Beijing and touring the Great Wall. (where I plan to hopefully fly my Mavic Pro.) Anyway is DJI there in Shenzhen worth visiting? Is there anything to see or do they have shops to visit or anything?
Hey Arlo, they do have a big store there but to my knowledge, there’s no “factory tour” or anything really special worth visiting.
hi Josh,
I have followed your step-by-step guide and still, I cannot get through the registration page. I can receive a code which I input but then a red bar appears and I cannot do anything from there. Do you know why this is happening?
I can’t be 100% sure. I’d need to see what you’re talking about. Do you get any sort of message?
Hi Josh, I have the same issue as Stephanie. I have followed your guide exactly, received a code to my Chinese number (I am a teacher working in China). I fill in all the details but when I press the registration button the account isn’t created. The webpage just freezes and an empty red warning box (the red box that would warn you if you hadn’t filled in the correct details) appears then disappears.
I have tried on my iPhone on 4G, my iPad, my macbook and a windows PC and also on all major web browsers but I cannot get the website to create an account for me. I’m desperate to fly my drone as I’ve been trying this since yesterday but no luck 🙁 Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Best, Ashley
Hi Ashley, I’m so sorry that you’re having problems! I have a feeling that their website is undergoing some updates and it isn’t working well right now. In the meantime, I wouldn’t be afraid to fly the drone anyway. You’ve done your due diligence and they have your information. Make sure you fly in legal areas (per the No Fly Zone maps) and you should be good. In the years I’ve been flying my drone, I’ve never had anyone ask me about my registration.
Hi josh, thank you for the helpful and kind reply. Its hard to find information as a foreign expat in china seeing as 99% of the information needed iS in chinese with No English counterparts haha so your advice is REASSURING ???????? And yes luckily where i live is oretty much nfz free bar the local airport. Once again thank you for the advice and ill be sure to reply if and when the website is back up and running to help anyone else out who has been in the same situAtion. Thanks for the advice and keep up the great work with your website and youtube channel ????????
Hi, didnt think i would be replying so soon but it would appear the website was down for the chinming festival, it was back up briefly in which I could register the account. before I could register the drone the website shut down for maintenance. Good news is it will be back up soon and working so no issues for anyone in the future hopefully. While there is slight cosmetic difference in the visuals your picture guide is still accurate. the only bit of advice is the DJI company name is not in the manufacutrer list in english, anyone looking to find it use these characters: 大疆创新
Otherwise thank you for the helo Josh and safe flights
best,
Ash
Awesome. Thanks for letting us know, Ashley! Safe flying 😉
Hi , do you know the chinese name of DJi on CaCc website, im having a hard time finding it on the manufacturer page for the drone registration
You’re looking for 大疆 or “Da Jiang”.
Yeah josh is right, here is The one infound inline just copy and paste it in the drop down field: 大疆创新
update: i was able to fill in all information on the drone and now i am waiting for QR code.
will it be in my email that i use or the phone number i use?
how long is usually the wait for the qr code?
thanks
You should have received an email but the QR code will reside in the account you created with the CAAC online.
Hi Josh,
Thanks for the great write up. I’ll be going to china in a few weeks and wanted to know if a chinese sim card will be required in order to launch the dji go 4 app and fly the drone. i can use someone’s number to register once I get there, but want to make sure I don’t need a China SIM card to fly it.
Hi Jon! No, you don’t need to have a SIM card to launch the app, only to register the drone.
HI josh, thanks for sharing. Pls Share how You were able to buy iNsurance. I will be in guangdong late may and need to fly mavic pro for 3 days. SO far in singapore, no insurance comPanies cover 3rd party for incidents occured overSeas. Any ideal where i cld get coverage in chIna? ThaNkS!
Hi Ronny…interesting question. I haven’t purchased insurance for my drone so I don’t have a good answer for you. Sorry!
Hi Josh
I just heard of a few cases where dRones have been refused to be brought into china at the airports because they have not been registered in advance. Do you have any update on the official regulation? Is it allowed to bring your drone unregistered if you are not going to fly? We are just stopping in shanghai for a few days and i would like to avoid to fill the chinese forms and buy a chinese sim.
Many thanks!
I’ve never heard such stories, Ingrid. I’ve traveled with my drone frequently (including two weeks ago) and nobody has ever stopped me to ask about the drone.
Hi Josh,
I am presently in Shanghai and will be flying my Mavic air here. A few tricks for people who need to fill out the registration. I have downloaded chinese to my google translate app on the iphone. I can now read all the chinese text by pointing the camera of the iphone to the chinese text after turning this on in the app (little camera icon). If you lookup dji on wikipedia, there is the chinese name in chinese characters. You copy this and paste it in the ‘manufacterer’ window. Two options reveal themselves, the bottom of the two is the one you need to use. Once this is selected the next field is the model, and… all the dji models are shown. I do not read a word of chinese, but with the google translate app camera mode it was relatively easy to complete all steps. Whilst you do need a chinse phone number, the pdf with the qr code is sent to the email address you supply. Happy flying to you all – remember the best drone technology comes out of china and lAst month some 180,000 drones were already registered. The country is abuzz….
Thanks so much, Robert!
Thanks for the awesome article!!
How about the licensing process for commercial projects?
For instance working with clients who are selling commercial, residential, or industrial real estate and want a video to show the property?
In these cases, you’ll need to seek approval from the local authorities where you wish to fly. It’s not something that is handled by the CAAC as far as I know.
Cheers for this. Just registered it and got the QR code with no hassles. Thanks a lot dude.
Hi guys, I’ll be flaying to china by the end of august with my spark, I was wondering if I need to register eithereway even if it’s just for recreational/hobby? I’m not sure if I understood properly but it seams that if it’s no for comercial use you should be able to fly the drone without REGISTERING?
hi josh, great guide. I am in shenzhen and present. have followed your guide to regiter, received a code to my Chinese number. I fill in all the details but when I press the registration button the account isn’t created. The webpage just freezes and an empty red warning box (the red box that would warn you if you hadn’t filled in the correct details) appears then disappears.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hey, sorry you’re having trouble. Not being able to see exactly what is happening, I’m not sure I can provide the help you’re looking for.
Hey, just wanted to thank you for writing this guide. I’m going to be training at the shaolin Temple and hopefully get some great footage to share about my time there. Wish me luck, and I’m gonna have to get me an unlocked phone somehow. 🙂
Good luck! Enjoy your time 🙂
Hi Can you give some advise on where to get insurance for the drone. The lost / damage coverage and also the third party?
Hi Josh,
I’ll be FLYINg to shanghai in a few weeks.
I will only be there for one day and have no intention at all of flying my drone there (IN china at all)…
Do YOU expect any questions or confiscation at the airport…? I am not planning to register it or anything as I will not be using it in China, it will just be in my possesion!
Thanks for your help.
Tom.
Not at all. If you’re not flying the drone, you won’t get any questions at the airport based on my personal experience.
Maybe I missed it, but do the same rules apply to Hong kong IN regards to registering
They should, but I don’t believe they do. Hong Kong has it’s own registration system that I’m not familiar with.
There is no need to register your drone in Hong Kong if it’s not for commercial use.
DO I need to register my drone if I do not plan on flying it? I am traveling though asia this fall so I will have it on me but I only want to film in Thailand and japan and do not plan on flying in china.
No, you don’t need to register a drone that won’t be flown.
Hi Josh, so I figured an interesting way for people to register if they’re coming in from hong kong to china.. best to buy the china mobile prepaid sim card in hk which is specially made for hk+china use.
one can register prior to entering to be double sure. an important benefit of such a number is that you can use whatsapp / facebook / etc.. in china “without using a vpn.” ive been using one for the last 2 months on lte without issues. only issue is that data is limited. cheers
What are rules for Tibet?
It’s the same as any other part of China. You’re likely to be more scrutinized, though, so make sure your drone is registered properly!
is the registration effective immediately? will be there and shooting the next day.
Yes, I received my QR code to my email pretty much immediately, if not a few minutes later.
Hello there Josh,
You mentioned FLYING a DRONE in Xinjiang is not permitted.
My TRAVELING plan includes KASHGAR to urumqi (for 2 weeks) AS well as Tibet (8 days).
What are the regulations in the region? Would it be wise to take my Mavic air?
Thanks
BK
No, I didn’t say that flying a drone in Xinjiang isn’t permitted…I’ve done it many times. There are just more restrictions involved, such as no drones anywhere within city limits. So you won’t be able to fly in Kashgar or Urumqi, but if you get outside of town you can. There aren’t many risks to taking your Mavic Air unless you do something dumb with it 😉
Urumqi – this is a special reason. Anyway, I was there yesterday and flying in the city is not permitted and there are so many police at every bus stop and corner. I would say don’t try. It is a very sensitive area and you will possibly be asked by police to show your identity and if there is a drone with you it may be a problem.
Hongshan is the best park in Urumqi that you may get some drone time if you avoid the crowds and cameras.
PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE! I can tell you now that flying a drone in Urumqi is completely ILLEGAL. If you check the No Fly Zone map, there is a big red circle covering the city. Flying in Urumqi is completely off limits – forget the police and the cameras.
Again, I say to everybody who reads this, please read what I wrote in the article above carefully so you don’t get in trouble. Using a drone in Xinjiang is legal as long as you don’t fly in a NFZ (No Fly Zone)…and all major cities have an NFZ over them.
Hi. You manage to fly around tibet? How far and how high?
Unfortunately no, I was never able to make it down to Tibet to fly a drone. I know it’s possible, though. Way too much space for them to worry about drones outside of the city.
Hi, I’ve been flying my drones already for several years in China during my visits to Guilin, Yangshuo, duyangjiang and chengdu, never had any problem, just now registered btw, people are mostly very nice and interested, and mostly at the end of the flight a small crowd has gathered. Be considered don’t go flying in places that you know will give trouble, like zoo, busy market etc. We like to get up at 5.30 in morning to fly and film and never had any problems. Also with airports, just put your battery in hand luggage. Drone itself can be checked in.
Just go out and have fun.
Hey guys! I am leaving China after a month trabeling with my little frien Mavic pro. China is cool to fl if you Have common sense, like everywhere. No problems at Airports, they will check the battterIes Voltage and thats it. When flying the drone, do it iN a Safe zone, far from people and from cameras or police and you will be fiNe. I’ve flown my friend in SHangai, the bund park, pudong, zhujiajiao, Sanya (hainan) and… DISNEYLAND SHANGHAI.
And didnt register it as i didnt know it o_0
Thanks for the update! You’re right – you’ll more than likely not get in trouble if you don’t register your drone, but it’s a good thing to do just to cover your butt 😉
Im CuRrently in Tibet. I can only fly 50m high and 50m Radius. Can anyone advise. I need to fly higher..
You should be able to override the settings. I’ve never heard of the government being able to control altitude and radius, only whether or not the drone takes off.
evening everyone,
I currently live in shanghai, China and bought my Dji mavic pro platinUm in the uk.
Firstly i took my batteries on a hand luggage within three seperate Litpo security bags and the drone and comtroller was in my main suitcase that i checked in and had no problem going through sec in Glasgow then dubai and of course shanghai.
I can currently trying to register my drone theough the website and only thing i can’t is Dji on the drop down menu on the website and even tried the full chinese name in chinese can anyone help with this? Thanks.
It’s definitely there. Look for 大疆 or “da jiang”.
Thank you for all the info! The wife and I are headed to China this Thursday, and I am looking forward to flying the great Wall!
My pleasure. Best of luck!
thanks for the guide, much appreciated.
I read all the comments, I doubt there will be a problem at the airport because the drone is not registered? I will arrive in Beijing and don’t have a chinese number – yet. Will Buy A sim once in china, is that sufficient?
any thoughts how to print the QR code in china? Is that something the folks at the reception are willing to do if I were to send them the code by email??
Cheers
Correct. You shouldn’t have a problem at the airport. As far as printing the QR code goes, you can find small shops or have your hotel print for you.
Hi Josh, do you only need the chinese mobile number once for registration or also for the time being in china? Background is, that I easily can ask a chinese friend to help me registering my drone, but this friend will not be with me when I’m in china.
thanks,
roland
That should be fine, just know that essentially what you’re doing is making your friend liable for any problems you have, since it will be their phone number that is tied to your drone.
Hi Josh, is there a link you can paste for the map you mentioned where one can fly or not?
Thanks,
Ben
Hey Ben, the link is up in the article but I’ll paste it here again: https://www.dji.com/flysafe/geo-map
Hi Josh,
I’m flying this Friday to guangzhou and will. Be using my mavic air at canton Tower. My hotel concierge told me that I can fly it since there is no fly zone at the area. Do I need to register at CAAC Still?
Technically, yes. You probably won’t get in trouble if you don’t, so that’s a decision I leave up to you to make.
hi josh, i will travel to china Xi’an in december and would like to bring my Dji Mavic Air. I check the rules and law of civil aviation china, china requires to register our drone at CAAC which requires a china sim card as well as local phone number. question is how we going to get a local sim card at custom clearance?
No, they won’t give one to you. You’ll have to go buy a SIM card yourself.
I just got back from china, and used the instructions on this site to register with the caac. the only issue i had was that DJI is in chinese in the drop down, and even a local had a hard time finding it among all of the manufacturers listed. on top of that there are 2 or 3 that have the symbols listed in the comments above in their names. if you get the wrong one it will not show your drone model in the next dropdown, so trial and error (i got it on the second try). I only flew at the great wall, and not for very long as a hawk started to go after it (almost got it). The DJI app never asked me for a chinese phone number – i just needed that for the registration with the CAAC (sim cards are fairly cheap).
Hi Josh! Do you have any experience regarding the race quads? Is there any tips or troubles with registration?
No experience at all, sorry! 😉 The regulations are based on drone weight, though, so I would assume it’s about the same process.
I work and live in CHina. I just got a drone less thana year ago. It is registered. Places that are nFZ one cannot even take off. But there are places where you can fly but security officers does not allow you to. So keep that in mind. I was recently at Shangri-La and it seems the whole was a NFZ because of a government building in the area. I HAVE A QUESTION. would selling my drone footage of places in China be considered “commercial”? Thanks
If you’re making money from the footage, then technically it is “commercial”. The real question is, unless this is your primary source of income, do you think anyone will really care?
This might be answered elsewhere, but how long does the registration take? We have a short window before we leave for China. Thx.
PV
Hi Pierre, registration is very quick (5-10 minutes) but it requires a Chinese phone number, so you probably won’t be able to do it before you leave for China unless you have a connection with somebody who is already in China.
Saw an article that says a lot of people were attending flight school and paying 10,000RMB for a license. do you need a pilot’s license to fly in china or will this registration be enough?
Registering your drone is enough to get you flying. There may be requirements for commercial use that I’m not aware of.
I would like to take my drone there. But can I get there, then registration from the hotel? Or will the airport give me a hard time?
Thanks for the help and info
The airport won’t give you a hard time, but you need to understand that registration requires a mobile phone number. If you don’t have that, you can’t register at the hotel or anywhere.
Hi, I managed to get the PDF with the QR code. Is it sufficient to print the QR code and to put it on the drone with e.g. sticky tape?
Thanks,
Dirk
Yes, it is. I would put it under the battery where most of the other stickers are.
I spent hours to try the registration. I got the Sms – and then? No idea how to come on the registration site.
You follow the registration SMS to complete the process. Perhaps you’ll need to get a translator app in order to translate the SMS you got?
Hey again. I ordered a chinese mobile number through amazon. i can register from my home, but it will be activated only once I arrive in China. Question: do I just need to put in my mobile number for the registration process, OR do I also get an SMS with a link in it to click it? If that latter would be the case, I could register the drone only in China, whilst if only the number is needed but no SMS is sent to it, I could also register the drone from home, prior arriving in China…
Thanks heaps!
It’s the latter, so you’ll need to wait until you arrive in China in order to register the drone.
Good tips, just wondered if you are living in xinjiang, i go there often and would be great to use the drone. maybe you can email me.
i know what you mean about the crowds, i am always in trouble with the security teams but a set of earbuds fixes that, haha – truthfully, just stand away from their property line and keep it above their line of sight.
for readers thinking about a drone, I have the phantom4 v2, which i love, but it is too noisey in the city and draws too much attention, but the mavic 2 pro is not noticeable above 10m.
HI Josh,
firstly thanks for taking the time to publish this help!
i am registering with a chinese friends mobile number before i arrive to save some time. do i then just need to connect to the internet originally through his phone to activate the drone once i arrive in China?
Am i able to fly normally without being connected to internet all the time?
No need to “activate”. Just keep that QR code they sent you and fly like normal.
Hi josh, you said that no need to activate if you have already the qr number and if there are authorities that might approach me about the registration of my drone, basically what actions will i do? or maybe i will just confidently show my qr number?
What I mean is that if you have the QR code, there is no “activation”. The QR code is proof of your registration and that’s all you need unless you’re using your drone commercially.
I’m in shanghai right now and I can’t use the website… i asked my local colleague to give a try and it seems that’s there’s a bug (password and phone fields)…
currently in Beijing and successfully registered. However, I registered on an ipad and it seems that the website only wOrks on a laptop? After LogGing in, i tried to add the drone to the inventory, but the browserr just shows this:
Message: Request method ‘GET’ not supported
Description: The method received in the request-line is known by the origin server but not supported by the target resource.
I tried chrome, safari and fIrefox…
did anyone successfully register Via ipad or smartphone? If so, what browser did you use?
Thank you
Update: I got it sorted. On the ipad, the site Is displayed entiRely different, you will find the whole section of adding a drone (after you have entered the personal information) when scrolling doWn quite a bit rather instead on the riGht hand side. Works in chrome too :–) now i just need to get it printed, hopefully the hotel concierge wIll Be willing to Print it for me :–)
Hello. Thank you for posting this info! It was very helpful!
I have a question. I was not able to find any extra batteries for my DJI drone in the states. Can You tell me where i should look for some in china? I’d really like to have extra batteries For my upcoming week-long China trip.
Thanks in advance!
There are DJI stores in most major cities around China, and many more stores that carry these batteries. You’ll have to just ask around wherever you end up.
I apologize to the owner of this blog because i have this one question into my mind that i really need to know. guys in your past experience, especially to those who have been into china already how relevant to bring and attach extra gps device on your drones?
Why would you need to do that?
Hi, if I will buy a spark battery in china beijing will it be confiscated on the airport?
No, not unless you try to check it in your checked luggage. You must take it carry-on.
I’m trying to register a DJI Spark but I can’t seem to figure out which is “DJI” among the Drone brands from the drop-down menu.
DJI is listed as 大疆 in Chinese.
HI josh
Thank you for the info. I’m a little confuses abouT getting a QR code After reading some comments. After registration do they send the QR code Via email, china phone # Or Retrieve in the CAAC account? I reGistered for a week already But don see ant responSe. Please advise
ThanKs in advance
After registering, you will receive the QR code immediately. If you didn’t get it in your email, you can find it in your CAAC account.
Hi Josh,
Thank you for the information above, good article with a lot of information.
I have a question, i will fly 2nd of January from amsterdam to nanjing for work and i want to take my drone (dji mavic air) with me because i will have a stop on the way back in beijing nad want to take some shots from the great wall.
Do you think this is possible without having any problems? no one is stopping you there around the great walll? Do you have any tips, where to drone for example?
do i need to register the drone for only a short start around the wall? i have a contact person (chinese) can i use his number to register the drone and can i still fly with my own phone then??
Hope you can help me.
thanks Silvano.
Hi josH,
Any idea is it possible to fly drone at blue moon valley at jade dragon mountain, Lijiang?
Going there next week. AnyOne has any experience flyin dRone at blue moon valley, let me know.
Thanks
The best way to know is to check the DJI No Fly Zone map. That will tell you what you can/can’t do.
Hi, im flying to China Xi’an next year. As i don’t have China phone number and unable to register my drone, please advise will i get into trouble(like confiscated or doesn’t allow to bring into China) when i landed in Xi’an airport.
Am I allow to register my drone in China only when i get myself a China phone number?
Thank you.
HI josh
Very useful post!
I am thinking In buying a dJi dron in my next trip, are tHE same prices in china than in hong kong?
Thanks
Hi Pedro…yes, prices between China, Hong Kong and other parts of the world aren’t wildly different. At least not enough to make buying it in one country better than buying it in another.
Hi Josh,
You are one of the most generous and patient person I have ever encountered online.
Thank you so much for all the information you have been providing to so many people.
I will be going to Lhasa, ECB and Mount Kailash in May and after reading all the comments and your answers, I fell confident everything is going to be ALl RIGHT bringing my Mavic Pro!
Silvio.
Thanks so much, Silvio!
Thanks for so interesting and useful article.
Does author or anybody else know about some local restrictions or bad attitude to drones in shenzhen specifically (apart nfz of course)?
maybe some locations that is better to avoid flying in despite they are outside no-fly-zones.
hI Josh,
Thank you for the informative guide. I just have 1 question I would like to ask.
1) Can I bring my DJI spark onto the plane unregistered and then when I land in china buy a sim card and register it then or do i have to register it before boarding the plane? I am having nightmares that it will get confiscated 🙁
Hi Ken, no need to fear it being confiscated. Yes, you can bring it into China “unregistered” and then register it once you arrive. Really, that’s the only way to go about doing it if you don’t already live in China.
If i have a layover in China and wanTing to get the 48 hour visa. Would i still need to register my drone?
Yes. Anytime you want to fly a drone – in China or pretty much any country nowadays – it needs to be registered.
Hi, is this information still valid in march 2019? is there any updates to think about? thank you!
Yes, it is.
Hi Josh,
As it is not explicitly stated, do the no fly zones also apply to drones under 250 grams?
That’s a good question, Dean. You certainly don’t have to register your drone, but I do believe that the No Fly Zones still apply.
Hi Josh! Unforturnately the CAAN website now asks us to fill in personal information, I cannot go forward without adding an address :/ Do you have any idea how to go around this? I was thinking of inserting one of my hotel’s address, but I don’t understand the drop down lists options :/
Maybe you want to update the info here as well, as the website will not allow to register drone, before registering the pilot beforehand!
cheers 🙂
Managed to put the hotels address!! Rest is just like you explained, I’m ready to fly 🙂
Hi Josh
i am trying to register my dji drone, i select the company 大疆创新科技有限公司 but i can´t
select any model (mavic 2)
The same problem if i try with another company, not possible to select a model…. any idea?
thanks
I am having the same problem, can put the company name but the model list doesn’t come for any company.
could you solve this problem?
I got around tgia by switching to my ipad. When you entwr the INFORMATION on safari on the ipad, the modelS appear. On my macbook it disnt work on either Safari or chrome.
Hi Josh
Im travelling from Islamabad to Kashgar next month and will have my dJi Spark drOne with me. Do you think this is goung tO cause any unnecessary issues for us with me bringing it in at this particUlar border crossing. I have read articles and people are a bit obsessed with how strickt they are and have also read and watched some of yours which quite clearly indicates its nOt as full on as people maKE out. I’d appreciate your thoughts on this
Cheers
Ed
It really depends on where you fly it. I’ve never had trouble traveling with a drone, it’s only when I take it out to fly it. Xinjiang is very strict about where your drone can fly (it won’t take off inside a city) and around Kashgar, you’ll have a hard time getting outside the city to fly.
Hi, am wondering how to buy a sim card in china.
The last time i was in china a year ago, i tried to buy from china mobile And was asked to provide a china id. Icould not buy becau i am malaysian. Requireme change now?
Thank you
Not every store will sell you a SIM card as a foreigner (it’s usually only the big ones). You can get a SIM card in China, although it will require your passport.
Hello josh, we will arrive to china by train from ulanbataar (mongolia). if i’m not wrong i can get my Mavic Air to the country and then in beijing to buy a sim card and the register the drone. isn’t it?
thanks in advance
Yes, as long as you register the drone before you fly it, you’ll be fine.
Hi did you buy your drone in china? My drone is being held at customs because they said i need a separate permit, not just a caac registration, to bring A drone inTo china.
hi Josh – if you get to Guangzhou soon come look us up at the American International School. We have 80 drone club members and would enjoy talking with you. Maybe even a skype call?
Thanks so much for the kind invitation, David!
You guys are lucky. I was thinking of buying another drone after mine was taken by custom. Then I was thinking, maybe I’m just asking for more trouble.
Hi,
Does The new mavic mini need to be registered to fly it? Hoping to use it when i visit the great wall next month.
No, it doesn’t. It falls below the 250 gram limit.
A big thanks for your Tuto, great help there. some changes on the website though but easy to go by