Explainer | China’s quarantine: how long, what does it cost and what is the food like?
- Rules on the length of quarantine, and where you must spend it, differ from city to city, but here is what to expect
- Arrivals in China also need to know which documents to prepare and how to get an all-important health code
In this series, we answer frequently asked questions about China’s strict zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19 including current entry restrictions, the length of quarantine and which tests travellers have to take. Have a question you want us to tackle? Drop us an email at [email protected].
Here are the most important things you need to know about quarantine if you are travelling to China.
1) How long is quarantine in China?
It varies from city to city or province to province, but generally lasts at least 14 days.
For most cities (and the rural areas they govern), you have to stay at a quarantine hotel for the two weeks. But policies across the country use different combinations of a 14-day hotel quarantine, a further seven-day hotel or home quarantine, and a seven-day health monitoring period (when people can go out but are required to avoid social gatherings and to report their health conditions regularly to the local Communist Party committee, which contacts them on WeChat).
This is what quarantine looks like in some of China’s major cities:
Beijing (14+7+7)
- 14 days in a hotel, then seven days in a hotel or (for those who qualify) at home, then seven days’ health monitoring.
- People entering China elsewhere are barred from Beijing if they have not been in China for at least 21 days, and on arrival in the capital must complete the seven days’ health monitoring.
Guangzhou (14+7 except from Macau 0+14)
