Can I fly a recreational drone in Beijing or Chengdu?

At a glance

• China's national drone regulation requires civil-drone owners to complete real-name registration. Being a visitor or owning a light camera drone does not remove the registration requirement. [1]
• Article 19 makes airspace above 120 m, airports and their specified surroundings, and other listed sensitive areas controlled airspace. Flying there requires air-traffic-management approval. [1]
• Article 31 generally exempts micro, light and small drones in suitable airspace from a flight-activity application, but lists exceptions such as flying over assembled crowds or operating from a moving vehicle. [1]
• Micro/light-drone operators do not need the same pilot licence required for small, medium and large categories, but must understand the operating instructions and management rules. Weight alone is not the full legal category definition. [1]
• For an activity requiring approval, Article 26 normally requires application by 12:00 on the previous day, with a decision by 21:00; approved flights also have the Article 30 preflight reporting step. Foreign-operated drones must not conduct the Article 35 surveying/mapping or radio-parameter-testing activities. [1]

What to do next

1. Before packing for a sightseeing trip, decide whether there is a specific lawful flying location worth the extra equipment. For central Beijing sightseeing, use a normal camera unless you already have an approved activity. For Chengdu, first identify a suitable location outside the airport and other controlled areas.
2. Use CAAC's official UOM platform at uom.caac.gov.cn for the applicable account, identity and aircraft-registration process. Prepare the passport identity information and aircraft model/serial details requested by the system. If your document cannot complete verification, resolve that through the platform's support rather than registering under another person's identity.
3. Check the actual takeoff point, flight area, height and date against the current official airspace information and local public-security notices. A manufacturer app's unlocked zone does not by itself establish the legal permission or a park's permission to launch.
4. If the activity requires approval, submit the aircraft, operator, flight area, time and other required information through the responsible air-traffic-management process. Follow the published advance deadline and the required preflight report/confirmation; owning a registered drone is a different step from having an approved flight.
5. Ask the site's manager whether takeoff and landing are allowed and keep clear of crowds, transport infrastructure and protected places. Maintain the operating conditions required for the drone's legal category and stop if a temporary restriction or staff instruction changes the permitted activity.
6. Carry the registration and any required approval records for the actual flight. Use ordinary photography when the planned location cannot meet the conditions; do not move a few metres outside a visible sign and assume the airspace boundary has also ended.

If your situation is different

Your drone weighs less than 250 g: do not treat that number as an all-purpose exemption. Check its legal category, registration, airspace and local restrictions; the national category definitions include capabilities as well as weight.

You want a Beijing landmark aerial photograph: plan a ground-level viewpoint instead unless an authorised activity has already secured the required approvals. The concentration of sensitive sites makes spontaneous city-centre flying a poor visitor plan.

You are outside central Chengdu: suitable airspace may exist, but verify the specific point against airport areas and current controls. “Countryside” is not a legal airspace classification.

You intend professional mapping or survey work: the national regulation expressly bars the listed activities by foreign aircraft or foreign operators. A recreational travel plan and a mapping assignment are different cases.

Common mistakes

• Treating a sub 250 g label as blanket permission: check all applicable conditions.
• Confusing registration with flight approval: complete each step the activity requires.
• Using only the manufacturer's geofence: compare the official airspace and local notices.
• Flying above a crowd because the altitude is low: Article 31 includes specific exceptions and restrictions.

Quick questions