Flying Drones in China

'Laws and regulations on drones are as clear as Beijing's air. "


"It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission'

Should You Bring a Drone to China?
Trey Ratcliff was planning to use one with us but just before he arrived in Guilin it was confiscated by Beijing security services, and he was questioned at length and detained. 

What's ironic is Trey is a world famous photographer, runs the world's most popular travel photography and HDR photography blog, and was invited by the Beijing government to shoot Beijing, yet Trey still ran into trouble.

That's not to say this will happen to you... you'll be ok in most places and situations, but it's good to grab a cup of coffee and read this, so you understand the situation.

Flying a Drone in China

Guilin and Drones

Guilin isn't a seat of power, but it does have some sensitive military areas. We discovered this on a photography location dirt bike research trip. Yep, we got a few dinner party stories out of that trip. ;)

Surprisingly, even in downtown Guilin there are some sensitive zones where you should not fly, I will come to that later.

Since our team mostly take you to more remote countryside areas you won't have no problems if you're using a drone with our team. We would be extremely surprised if we ran into trouble. It's never happened in all the years we've been running photo tours.

There are one or two mountaintop locations where you'll meet other Chinese photographers, those kind of epic locations know by the local Chinese community, or some amazing shots that have now found their way through the photo community, so in those locations you'll need to be extra considerate and careful of others.

"China needs to be handled sensitively and played by ear. Laws and regulations on drones are as clear as Beijing's air."

If you ask permission you will be told no in some places. When in unfamiliar situations Chinese peoples first reaction is to say 'no, you can't' especially when foreigners are involved.

In China there is a saying;

"It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission"

However, we still all need to be very sensitive, polite and non-confrontational. We must avoid being near government or military buildings, military zones, and places where the noise will disturb people.

Guilin Drone Videos

Take a look at this beautiful work by Patrice Guacher on his trip to Guilin during October.

Awesome video Patrice!

"Stunning aerial footage of Guilin and Yangshuo (China) I shot with the DJI Phantom 2 Vision+. Both these regions are UNESCO World Heritage sites and are a MUST for anyone visiting this part of the world. The geography and topography of these regions are unique and must be seen to be believed.”

The Best Place to Fly A Drone in Guilin

The best places are in areas with few people, the more remote locations, and those places have some of the best scenery. We would take you to a cool panoramic bend in a remote part of the Li River, or what we call 'The Smeagol'. We can also select a few dramatic peaks very early or late in the day.

One of our many cool locations we kinda
put on the map with the help of Trey Ratcliff

Photographer enjoys a remote landscape view of Guilin

There are no military concerns at our locations, and the nature of access to our locations means if someone had a problem with it, you'd be packed up by the time anyone arrived to ask you to stop flying.

Military Area Warning >

It's important to know sensitive and military areas are not marked on maps, and surprisingly they are often offices located in the city centre. Unless you've lived here for years and speak and read Chinese, you would not know these are military zones, even many locals pay no attention to this, it's not an issue for them.

Can You Fly Drones in the Guilin City Area?

Guilin has a pretty area called the 2 Rivers 4 Lakes, including the sun and moon pagoda and various small bridges in the style of famous ones, such as the Golden Gate Bridge. The park is quintessentially Chinese, a pretty arched white stone bridge, lakes, and the Ancient South Gate. You might think the perfect place to launch your drone, because the surroundings look clearly residential. However, to fly a drone would probably win you some free nights accommodation ;) paid for by the Chinese government. Most of the area on the south side is under military control and includes many important government offices.

It's an easy mistake to make, even experienced travellers can be caught out. If you were to fly a done, you would likely experience what Trey did in Beijing. 

He chose to fly a drone in beautiful Beihai Park, a tourist place in downtime Beijing, much like the 2 Rivers 4 Lakes area of Guilin. However, Chinese security agencies and key government offices surround this area of Beijing. So, it's important always to first ask us if a place is suitable to fly a drone.

Can You Bring a Drone to China?

The More Toys, The More Options!

Yes. In 2018 a need to register drones with China's CAAC started, but the CAAC website is only in Chinese, and requires a Chinese Mobile No. in order to work. These days the only way to get a China mobile number is in China, in person, with your passport, and only at certain large China Mobile offices that can handle foreigners. Even in Guilin I must go down tot he city centre main branch. So unless you have one of those, you can't meet the regulations. 

So, 'should you bring a drone as a photographer?' you ask. In terms of photography there are few bad weather days, even a misty rainy day can produce amazing shots from the peaks, or with the fishermen with lamps. Weather also can change fast. However, during flat flight and the day time, flying a drone can be great fun and give you some very unique shots, especially with the new higher quality sensor of the Hasselblad equipped DJI Mavic Pro2.

Mia and I like to utilise all the kit and tools of photography we can. On a misty day we might capture arty photos of bamboo, portraits, or capture the peaks in the mist. We would then move on to creating a time-lapse of the mist running through the karst mountain peaks. This is why we both have a few cameras and tripods.

To also have the option to fly your drone above the mist would be epic. It would give you more ways to be creative at each location. We especially like shots looking down in the rice terraces.

Andy and I fly MavicPro's and if we are guiding you personally we are happy to have new nervous flyers find their feet, just let us know before the trip and we'll bring it.

"There's no bad weather days, you just need to change your focus"

Your Drone. Your Decision. Your Risk.
​Be Insured.

You are dealing with a 'red' tape nation; you should expect the unexpected to occur. The laws on the drone have changed recently and these laws are new, so there's no English website about it and your find yourself in a grey area.

We are only sharing our experience and take on this situation. The decision to bring and use a drone is your own. It is at your own risk.

We accept no responsibility for any situation from you bringing a drone or bunker buster ;)  Jokes aside, please ensure you have great travel insurance that covers not only damage to your copter but third party property and people.

​In summary, if you have one and you've confident and well-practiced in flying it, you should seriously consider bringing it. We can take you to some beautiful remote areas, and you'll go home with some cool footage. As long as you're patient and understand you can't use it everywhere.

but bring it! ;)

Dealing with a 'red' tape nation, you should expect the unexpected.

Do Foreigners Need to Register a Drone in China?

Last Updated May 2019. You might read about drone registration and find blogs that teach you how to do it, but you do not currently need to do this. Chinese nationals with a local Chinese mobile number use this site to register their drones: https://uas.caac.gov.cn/login but since it's only in Chinese and you require a Chinese Mobile to use the site it's not possible for overseas travellers to register.  We spoke to the CAAC and they advised us 'foreigners do not need to register at this time'. Please continue to check the Chinese CAAC.GOV.CN site for any English update about registration and Google for updates. You can also email them directly if you wish to have an emailing confirming this yourself.

​I would recommend you check this above website and for any updates.