Heading home?
Departure day from China has three pieces most foreigners miss: the 11% VAT refund at the airport (requires ≥¥500 receipts signed within 90 days by participating retailers, refunded in cash or to a Chinese-yuan account), the customs declaration for purchases over the duty-free threshold (¥5,000 for personal goods, separate limits for luxury items), and closing or rebalancing your Alipay / WeChat Pay accounts before you leave (foreign-card-bound accounts can run into withdrawal-window issues post-departure if balances aren't zeroed).
This stage has the lowest item count of any of the 8 stages — only 3 articles — not because departure is unimportant, but because it's tightly scoped to the last 4 hours of the trip. The departure checklist article is the umbrella, with anchor sections (#tax-refund, #customs, #alipay-close) that the other entries link to directly.
The VAT refund process is the highest-value action: 11% back on eligible purchases at participating retailers. The editor has personally claimed it at PVG (Shanghai, 2024-12-08 — ¥598 net on a ¥6,800 shopping run) and CKG (Chongqing, 2026-02-19 — ¥282 net on ¥3,200). Singapore passport holders are eligible the same as any non-mainland passport. Allow 90 minutes at the airport before your normal check-in time to handle the tax refund counter queue.
All articles + tools in this stage (3)
Frequently asked questions
How does the 11% VAT refund at the airport actually work?
Shop at retailers displaying the 'Tax Free' sign — major Chinese department stores (Hangtian Times Square / Beijing SKP / Shanghai Plaza 66) and many Chinese-brand shops participate. Ask for the VAT refund form at checkout when your same-day purchase exceeds ¥500. At the airport on departure day, present the form + receipts + unused goods at the customs counter for stamping, then go to the tax refund counter for the cash or card-credit refund. Total airport time: 30-90 minutes depending on queue. The editor's personal claims: PVG 2024-12-08 (¥598 net on ¥6,800) and CKG 2026-02-19 (¥282 net on ¥3,200).
Do I need to declare anything at customs when leaving China?
Most tourists won't — China's customs declaration on departure focuses on (1) currency over ~¥20,000 RMB equivalent in cash, (2) Chinese antiquities or cultural relics (these are heavily restricted), (3) commercial goods over personal use thresholds (¥5,000 for general goods). If you bought a single luxury watch or handbag, that's typically fine; if you bought 20 identical luxury items, that's commercial. Standard tourist shopping doesn't trigger declaration.
Should I close my Alipay or WeChat Pay account before flying out?
Not close — but zero out the balance. Foreign-card-bound Alipay accounts can have withdrawal-window issues if you try to withdraw RMB to a non-Chinese bank account after leaving China (the bank verification step often fails). The cleaner path is to spend the balance down to ¥0 on your departure-day meals + airport snacks + the cab to the airport. If you have residual balance, gift it as WeChat red packet to a Chinese friend before departure. Keep the accounts active in case you visit again.
All 8 decision stages
From “Should I go?” through “Heading home?” — the full 8-stage decision journey for foreign visitors planning a China trip.
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For decision-stage research we own the editorial layer; for booking, we recommend Trip.com — China's largest English-language travel platform.
Stage hubs at China for Travelers aggregate the editorial articles, tools, and planned future content for each phase of a 2-month China trip-planning arc. Items marked “Planned” have no link yet and will unlock once the underlying article ships. Last reviewed: 2026-05-20.