Updated · 4 min read · Mango Tour editorial, Sanya
In short: Hainan's island duty-free — city-centre shops where you buy now and collect when you leave — used to apply only to travellers continuing to mainland China. Since 1 November 2025 it also covers passengers who fly or sail from Hainan straight to another country. Buyers must be 18 or over; the allowance is ¥100,000 per person per year. Here is how it works, from the official announcements of China's Ministry of Finance.
What changed on 1 November 2025
Announcement No. 9 of 2025 by the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs and the State Taxation Administration, signed on 15 October 2025, added a second category of eligible shopper: the traveller leaving the island and leaving China. To qualify, the passenger must be 18 or over, hold an air or sea ticket from Hainan to a destination outside mainland China, carry a valid travel document and actually depart.
The same announcement raised the minimum age from 16 to 18 and set the list of duty-free goods at 47 categories. Purchases by departing international passengers count towards the same ¥100,000 annual allowance.
The rules at a glance
- Who: Chinese and foreign travellers aged 18+, foreign travellers by passport.
- When: leaving Hainan Island — to mainland China, or, since 1 November 2025, straight abroad by air or sea.
- Allowance: ¥100,000 per person per year, with no limit on the number of purchases.
- Goods: 47 categories, including cosmetics, perfume, watches, jewellery, electronics and clothing; some items have per-purchase quantity limits.
- Personal use only: buying for resale or for others can lead to a ban on duty-free shopping.
How buying and collection work
At the till the shopper shows a passport and the departure ticket, and the purchase is linked to that departure. The standard method: the shop delivers the goods to a designated pick-up zone at the airport or port by the departure time, and the traveller collects them there and takes them out in one go. Some goods from an approved list can be collected at the till straight away; the cashier explains what applies to each item.
The announcement does not describe how collection is organised for international departures at each airport, so we advise guests to tell the cashier they are flying abroad and to confirm where and when to collect.
Where to shop in Sanya
The main complex for guests staying in Sanya is in Haitang Bay, about an hour from the airport and next to Atlantis Sanya. A larger complex has operated in Haikou, in the north of the island, since October 2022. From Yalong Bay or Dadonghai, plan half a day for the trip and the shopping, and shop at least a day before departure so the goods can reach the airport in time.
Sanya's bays compared →What this means for tour operators
- Duty-free is now a selling point for every international programme into Sanya, not only for itineraries via the mainland.
- Build a shopping half-day into the programme, ideally the day before departure.
- Remind clients that buyers must be 18 or over and that purchases are for personal use.
- Payment is by international card, Alipay or WeChat Pay with a foreign card, or cash in yuan.
