China is the destination where the order of operations matters more than the list itself. One dog or one cat per person per entry, a microchip, a rabies vaccination, and a titer test at 0.5 IU/ml. Pixel would clear it, just about. The titer is the item that decides your calendar, because it is the only step that depends on a laboratory rather than on you.

Bringing a pet to China requires three documents in the right order: a microchip, a rabies vaccine within the destination's wait window, and a government-endorsed health certificate. The table below lays out exactly what's required, what's not, and where each rule comes from.

How China handles your pet

Key points

  • Governing instrument: GACC Announcement [2019] No
  • 5, in force since 1 May 2019
  • QUARANTINE IS THE DEFAULT, and exemption must be earned: "Pets brought into China shall be quarantined for 30 days in the area designated for isolation by customs (including the withholding period)." This row records quarantine as NOT required because the plan puts the traveller on the exemption pathway
  • Shanghai Customs states when it is NOT earned: "Pets without chips
  • Pets without rabies antibody test reports issued by a laboratory trusted by China Customs from non-designated countries or regions." DESIGNATED ORIGINS SKIP THE BLOOD TEST. "Designated countries or regions： New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hawaii (USA), Guam (USA), Jamaica, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Cyprus, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong (China) and Macau (China)." A pet from one of those needs only a valid chip and to pass on-site quarantine
  • Note Hawaii and Guam are designated but the continental United States is NOT, and French Polynesia is designated but France is NOT — so most European and US travellers DO need the rabies antibody test (above 0.5 IU/ml, from a laboratory China Customs trusts)
  • PRE-DEPARTURE INSPECTION: "Note: Pets must undergo an animal health clinical inspection conducted by the official agencies of the departing country or region within 14 days prior to their arrival in China." ⚠ BREEDS AND SIZE ARE A CITY-LEVEL MATTER, NOT AN IMPORT ONE
  • China's national import rules impose no breed restriction, so a dog that may lawfully ENTER China may still not be lawfully KEPT where you are moving, and the rules differ sharply between cities and change without much notice
  • Beijing restricts by HEIGHT, not just by breed: "II
  • Ferocious dogs and adult dogs with a height of more than 35 cm are prohibited in the key management zones." — which catches many ordinary family dogs (a Labrador or a Golden Retriever is well over 35 cm) even though they appear on no banned-breed list; only "small-sized toy dogs (35 cm or shorter in height)" are allowed in those zones, and "III
  • Guide dogs raised to assist blind people or provide assistance to severely disabled people in the key management zones shall not be included in the restriction list of dogs, regardless of height." Shenzhen instead runs a breed list that is actively growing: "Shenzhen has expanded its list of dog breeds banned as pets to a total of 38, with 14 new additions announced in the latest version of a government gazette released Wednesday." and "According to Shenzhen's pet management regulations, certain urban areas, including residential, commercial and industrial zones, are off limits to these banned breeds." Shanghai operates its own banned-breed list with no height limit
  • Because our structured breed field cannot express a height rule, we deliberately leave it unanswered rather than tell you "no action needed" — CHECK THE RULES OF YOUR DESTINATION CITY AND DISTRICT before you book, and note dogs must be registered with the local police within one month of arrival
  • STILL UNSOURCED: the trusted-laboratory list and the ports list are published separately — "The lists of designated countries or regions, GACC-designated rabies antibody test results laboratories, and ports with isolation and quarantine facilities are subject to announcements from GACC."

Each fact comes straight from the operator’s published policy. Tap the to read the exact wording; the opens the source page.

Health & documents

Microchip · Required Yesverified 2026-09-03
Microchip · StandardISO compliantverified 2026-09-03
Microchip · Must be done before vaccination Noverified 2026-09-03
Quarantine · Typenone_if_compliantverified 2026-09-09
Quarantine · Required Noverified 2026-09-03
Quarantine · Duration30 daysverified 2026-09-09
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Required Yesverified 2026-09-03
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Minimum level iu ml0.5verified 2026-09-03
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Test validity months12 monthsverified 2026-09-03
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Approved laboratory required Yesverified 2026-09-03
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Waiting period after test days0 daysverified 2026-09-03
Import permit · Required Noverified 2026-09-03
Health certificate · Required Yesverified 2026-09-03
Health certificate · Endorsed byOfficial animal quarantine authority of the exporting country or regionverified 2026-09-03
Health certificate · Validity days14 daysverified 2026-09-03
Health certificate · Government endorsed Yesverified 2026-09-03
Rabies vaccination · Required Yesverified 2026-09-03
Rabies vaccination · Booster required Yesverified 2026-09-03
Tapeworm treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-03

Other rules

Pets accepted Acceptedverified 2026-09-03

Timing chain

Day -90 microchip implant · Day -14 health certificate issued · Day 0 arrive at customs

China requires a microchip. It does not require the chip to be implanted before the rabies vaccination, and the customs announcement sets no order between the two. Fit the chip first regardless: it is the identifier every later document is written against, and a vaccination record that predates the chip is harder to match to the animal at inspection.
The health certificate is valid for fourteen days, and the clinical inspection behind it must be conducted by the official agencies of the departing country or region. That is two appointments, not one, and the official endorsement is the slower of the two. Fourteen days is the window you have to fit both into, counted to arrival.
China is a checklist with one long pole in it. Get the microchip in, vaccinate, wait, then test, and everything after that is paperwork with a fourteen-day clock on it. Pixel makes friends with every customs officer, but only after the file is complete. Build your personalized plan with your real dates and it will put the titer test where it belongs in the sequence.
Get YOUR personalized plan for China →

Glossary

ISO chip
ISO 11784/11785 — the universal microchip standard.
FAVN
Fluorescent Antibody Virus Neutralization — a rabies serology test required by rabies-free destinations.
Brachycephalic
Snub-nosed breeds (French Bulldogs, Pugs, Persians, Himalayans) with restricted airline acceptance due to heat-stress risk.
AVIH
Animal Vehicle In Hold — IATA's term for cargo pet shipment, with fees that vary by carrier and route.