Exit Formalities

Part of the Travel section of A Better Guide to Běijīng’s Practical A–Z

Make sure you have a pen with you and complete an exit card, obtainable at tables on the approach to passport inspection. This is usually a formality, as are customs.

Antique items on sale at mainstream tourist shops may carry a red seal which indicates that the relevant authorities have cleared the item for export, but may simply mean that a fake seal has been attached to give authenticity to a modern copy. In theory antiques dated earlier than 1795 may not be exported, and those between 1795 and 1949 should be cleared for export before you leave the country. But real antiques are anyway entirely unobtainable by the casual visitor, despite what antique shops may claim.

You are also prohibited from exporting Chinese medicine worth more than ¥300, but it is unlikely this would be checked.

Billions of ¥RMB may have travelled overseas in the pockets of corrupt officials, but you’re only allowed export cash up to US$10,000 equivalent, and amounts over US$5000 must be declared. Better rates are available for re-conversion of ¥RMB at border points than at home. You may be asked to present receipts proving that you have exchanged more than you want to reconvert. There is a rule that your receipts must be less than three months old, and that the sum you wish to reconvert must be less than half the value of your receipts, but this is rarely enforced. If re-exchanging at Běijīng’s Capital Airport during banking hours avoid the exchange offices closest to the main routes through the terminals as these charge a ¥50 fee, whereas bank branches, set slightly further back, do not.

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