How to claim China's departure tax refund
- Shop at a designated tax refund store
- Get the invoice and refund application form
- Keep the goods unused
- Get customs verification at the departure port
- Collect the refund airside
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the "Shanghai haul" trend?
Foreign visitors — mainly on TikTok and Instagram — sharing videos of the Chinese products they bought in Shanghai: sneakers, bags, gadgets, designer toys. It went viral because Chinese brands have closed the quality gap while staying much cheaper than at home, and visa-free entry made visiting easy.
What is worth buying in China in 2026?
The proven favorites: DJI drones and action cameras, Huawei/Xiaomi phones and accessories, Pop Mart designer toys (Labubu), Shanghai fashion brands like PANE sneakers and Songmont bags, Bosideng down jackets, Chinese skincare brands, and good tea — often 30-50% cheaper than the same items overseas, when they are exported at all.
Can tourists get a tax refund on shopping in China?
Yes. Spend at least ¥200 at one designated tax refund store on the same day, keep the goods unused, apply for the refund form and invoice at the store, and claim the refund at your departure airport within 90 days of purchase.
How much is China's departure tax refund?
The refund is 11% or 8% of the invoice (depending on the goods' VAT rate) minus a 2% handling fee — so roughly 9% or 6% in practice. Refunds up to ¥20,000 can be paid in cash or by bank transfer; above that, transfer only. Shanghai stores can also refund via Alipay.
Can I buy from Chinese brands online after my trip?
Yes — Taobao ships domestically and works with international cards via Alipay; most overseas buyers then use a forwarding warehouse to ship home. See our Taobao for foreigners guide for the full setup.
What if my suitcase is too full on the way home?
Buy an extra suitcase in China (they are inexpensive locally), ship a box home via courier or a forwarding company, or split items between cabin and checked baggage. Just remember your home country's customs allowance applies to what you bring back.
Why “China shopping list” is suddenly everywhere
Scroll TikTok or Instagram right now and you will find the same video again and again: a visitor unpacking a suitcase in New York, London, or Dubai, pulling out Chinese sneakers, drones, blind-box toys, and skincare with the caption “Shanghai haul” or “my China shopping list.” The #ChinaHaul tag family has racked up billions of views since spring 2026, and Chinese state media now regularly covers the phenomenon with a name of its own — “reverse daigou” (反向海淘), a play on the years when Chinese shoppers bought foreign goods abroad.
The ingredients are straightforward:
- Visa-free and visa-free-transit entry keeps expanding — see our 144-hour / 240-hour transit guide — so a shopping weekend in Shanghai is a realistic plan, not a pipe dream
- The price-quality flip: Chinese brands now lead in categories from drones to trail running shoes, and buying at home prices often means paying 30–50% less than the markup back home — when the brand exports at all
- The tax refund got easier in 2025: the minimum spend dropped from ¥500 to ¥200, and instant refunds rolled out nationally, so casual shoppers now bother
The queues tell the story. In Shanghai, visitors line up for PANE (a local sneaker label making German-trainer-style shoes for around ¥1,000 or less), Songmont (designer bags that now sell in pop-ups abroad), and Matcha Wang and Muva — four labels city media singles out as the ones foreigners fly in for.
The 2026 shopping list: what foreigners actually buy
Skip the panda magnets. Based on what keeps appearing in viral hauls — and what visitors actually queue for — this is the current list:
Tech and gadgets. DJI drones and action cameras, Huawei and Xiaomi phones, earbuds, and accessories are the top of the list for many travelers. Prices at home-market are often noticeably lower than abroad, and models sometimes reach the domestic market first. Check compatibility and warranty coverage for your home country before you buy.
Designer toys. Pop Mart’s Labubu and friends are the single most recognizable “China buy” of the decade — and Pop Mart stores are everywhere in Shanghai, including inside major malls. Blind boxes make cheap, giftable haul material.
Local fashion. PANE sneakers, Songmont bags, Bosideng down jackets (a genuine winter bargain versus European pricing), and designer labels from Shanghai’s Huaihai Road showroom strip. Chinese sizing runs small — our China size chart saves returns.
Beauty and skincare. Chinese brands (Judydoll, Florasis, Comfy/COMFY-type domestic labels) and pharmacy classics dominate haul videos; ingredient lists are in Chinese, so photograph and translate before buying if you have sensitive skin.
Tea, ceramics, and the traditional list. Still worth buying — Longjing tea, Yixing teapots, Jingdezhen porcelain — but these now share suitcase space with gadgets instead of filling it alone.
Where to shop in Shanghai (the haul capital)
- Nanjing Road East & West — the classic strip; flagship stores of most national brands
- Huaihai Road (and TX Huaihai) — where the local-designer wave is concentrated; expect queues at PANE and neighbors on weekends
- Pop Mart flagship stores — multiple locations; restocks draw lines of their own
- Qipu Road clothing market — wholesale pricing chaos; bring patience and cash-backed Alipay, and know it is a bargaining environment
- Jiuguang (Jiu Guang) and iapm malls — mid-to-upscale one-stop stops where the tax refund desk knowledge is solid
One practical note: brands that trend on TikTok sell out. If a specific item matters to you, go on a weekday morning, and ask the store about holds or delivery to your hotel — most Shanghai flagship stores will deliver within the city, and some will ship to your next hotel in another city.
The same list, outside Shanghai
The haul capital gets the headlines, but the list above works in every major entry city — and two are better than Shanghai for specific items:
- Shenzhen — the electronics end of this list is best bought at the source: Huaqiangbei’s market towers and the DJI flagship store, at domestic prices. Usually a 144-hour-transit hop from Hong Kong; see Shenzhen transit guide.
- Beijing — SKP and Wangfujing cover the department-store list, and Pop Mart’s original flagship scene is here; the city’s own haul videos trend as “Beijing haul.” See Beijing transit guide.
- Guangzhou — the wholesale side: clothing and accessory markets (Shisanhang, Baima) that supply half the country, priced for bulk and patient browsers. See Guangzhou transit guide.
Tax refund rules are national — the same ¥200 minimum and airport claim process apply wherever you shop.
The tax refund: get roughly 9% back at the airport
This is the part most haul videos skip, and it is free money if you do it right. The rules below are from the official Shanghai government guide, verified September 2026:
- Minimum spend: ¥200 at one designated tax refund store on the same day (lowered from ¥500 in 2025)
- Refund rate: 11% or 8% of the invoice depending on the goods’ VAT rate, minus a 2% handling fee — about 9% or 6% in practice
- Time windows: you must depart China within 90 days of purchase, and within 183 days of your most recent entry
- Condition: goods must be unused and unconsumed when you exit, and carried by you or in your checked baggage
- Payout: up to ¥20,000 in cash or bank transfer; above that, transfer only. Shanghai supports Alipay payouts, and the “refund upon purchase” (即买即退) pilot lets you take the refund at the store itself against a card guarantee
The step-by-step process is in the HowTo section above — the short version: invoice + application form at the register, customs verification at the airport, cash at the airside counter. Budget 20–30 extra minutes at departure if you are claiming.
Pay like a local before you fill the cart
Almost every store above takes Alipay or WeChat Pay, and both now link directly to international Visa/Mastercard — no Chinese bank account needed. Set this up before your trip; big-ticket purchases occasionally trip a verification step in your own banking app, which is much easier to handle at a hotel than at a checkout counter. Full setup walkthrough: How to Pay in China.
Getting it home: suitcase math
The viral stories of travelers checking 40 suitcases are outliers, but overweight luggage is a real haul problem. Three escape routes, cheapest first:
- Buy a suitcase in China — decent 26-inch cases run a few hundred yuan, far less than airline overweight fees on a full bag
- Ship a box home — SF Express and forwarding warehouses handle international parcels; if you plan to keep buying Chinese brands after the trip, a forwarding address is the sustainable setup (see Taobao for foreigners)
- Split cabin/checked strategically — keep tax-refund documents and anything fragile or battery-powered accessible; customs verification happens before you check in, not after
And a note the videos rarely mention: China’s tax refund is China’s side of the deal. Whatever you bring home still passes your own country’s customs — check your personal allowance before you check in your haul, not after.
Shop online while you’re here
Everything in this list is also buyable on Taobao with domestic delivery to your hotel — often cheaper than the physical flagship, and the tax refund rules apply the same way (purchase from a designated store; most Taobao listings do not qualify). Our Taobao for foreigners guide covers registration, English mode, and hotel delivery.
Source: departure tax refund rules per the Shanghai government official English guide (verified September 2026). Trend and brand coverage per Shanghai city media and international reporting, 2026. Prices are approximate domestic-market figures and change frequently.
Related: How to Pay in China · Taobao for Foreigners · 144-Hour Transit in Shanghai