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I have books on my Kindle with content that would probably make them ask more questions. It is nothing illegal or even questionable in most countries, but it would lead them to ask questions I don't want asked. I have similar content on my smartphone.

Also, do they check normal pen and paper notebooks? Like do they flip through them and read them?

I'll be carrying them on and traveling on a tourist visa if that makes any difference.

Edit: I don't know if it makes a difference, but I'm flying into one airport in China then getting a connecting flight to another domestic airport.

ThatGuy77
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    I've only been in transit there twice, and they didn't check anything, just confiscated my power brick :( – Mark Mayo Jan 24 '15 at 06:34
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    @MarkMayo like a portable battery? – uncovery Jan 24 '15 at 11:57
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    Yeah, like this – Mark Mayo Jan 24 '15 at 12:01
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    @MarkMayo why did they take that? I'm going to bring one in my carry on. – ThatGuy77 Jan 24 '15 at 15:46
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    At Beijing airpoirt, after clearing customs, I had to press one out of 3 buttons to grade the customs officer (smiling, neutral, sad face icons). I guess after too many sad faces, they get a hardship posting in Iner- Mongolia :) For the record, the officer was polite and just as disinterested as in most Western countries that I visited. – TemplateRex Jan 24 '15 at 20:05
  • ThatGuy77 and @MarkMayo -- see http://travel.stackexchange.com/q/42411/26164 – Shokhet Jan 25 '15 at 04:25
  • @ThatGuy77, Here's the detail of my encounter – Mark Mayo Jan 26 '15 at 10:57
  • @Shokhet your link just seems to bring us back here? – Mark Mayo Jan 26 '15 at 10:57
  • @MarkMayo No, it links to a question that asks about battery packs, which is what you were discussing here. – Shokhet Jan 26 '15 at 19:02
  • @Shokhet weird, that so wasn't working for me yesterday. Yep, I answered that other question :) – Mark Mayo Jan 27 '15 at 01:03
  • What books on your kindle do you think will cause problems? More than likely it won't as you'll be surprised what you can buy in a book shop here that you might think would be banned. However, if you think it is questionable, why bring it. Backup your kindle and delete that book then reload the book when you return to your home. – Rincewind42 Mar 08 '15 at 14:01
  • at the border from Kazakstan / Korgos to China they check all electronic devices, pictures, emails, chat history, books all the luggage. – kapscha May 24 '18 at 10:14
  • You have to remember who does the checking/screening. Like some 20 year old from the boonies, cause those are the dudes who are security guards. Can they read English? Likely not. Will they scrutinize your Kindle's content, even more of a no... However, you may be more careful with physical books in large quantities (like a title screaming that Tiananmen Massacre is a hoax) or for example religious tracts by the caseload obviously for public distribution. – Alex Quan Jan 30 '15 at 07:18
  • They won't, usually, if you're not a Chinese citizen. Of course, unless you're on some watch list... – xuq01 May 24 '18 at 22:53
  • @TemplateRex the three-button thingie is at the immigration counter, not customs. –  May 26 '18 at 03:50

5 Answers5

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No, they won't. Unless they have specific reasons (such as a tip-off) that you are trying to smuggle illegal materials (porn, propaganda etc for distribution in China), they will not care about this. They primarily focus is on security-relevant issues and items for which you need to pay duty.

I never in my life had anyone check documents, laptop, cellphone or laptop contents in a routine check, anywhere in the world.

Of course, if you make trouble at the border and they take you in, they might check everything they can.

Flimzy
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uncovery
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    Last sentence is a gold! :> – trejder Jan 24 '15 at 16:51
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    Never say never, you can watch Canadian border agents search through people's cell phones (they love photos), among other things (documents, papers), even have that tv show (to advertise, or scare people, or something). It's not entirely clear if that kind of searching happens routinely (looks more frequent at land borders, especially once they're out of a vehicle), or only at "secondary," but it appears to happen often. – Xen2050 Jan 26 '15 at 11:22
  • Well, the "never" related to the past, not the future :) – uncovery Feb 02 '15 at 05:27
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I crossed into China last year overland, it was a small border crossing and the border guards had a lot of time and took their time to look through things.

There were a bunch of people crossing with me and in no case did the guards look at the content/data of Laptops, tablets or e-readers.

What they did however is spending some time at looking at photos on pretty much every digital camera. I had crossed several other borders before and had placed a dummy memory card with just a few photos in my camera. With other cameras they spend several minutes at looking at photos. Not that they were really looking for something, they were just curious.

I didn't have any paper notebooks, but I didn't see them looking through any of those in other people's luggage.

Of course turning on a camera and looking at photos is much easier than starting up a laptop and asking for a password.

Mark Mayo
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Peter Hahndorf
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    I had a similar experience at an overland border a few years ago, but slightly more thorough. They booted up every computer, did find *.jpg, browsed all images, did same for every memory card / hard drive. They also tried to confiscate our Lonely Planet guidebook because the map in it showed Taiwan as a separate country. But they were specifically looking for guidebooks then checking the maps, they didn't seem interested in other books. The land borders are much stricter than the major airports: probably partly boredom / novelty. – user56reinstatemonica8 Jan 25 '15 at 10:12
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    Also, land borders are often in remote regions, where the government asserts its power with a heavy hand. Regulations are different, and the search for subversive materials is their main goal. –  May 26 '18 at 03:48
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I've only been through customs at Shanghai and they've never looked at any of my electronics. I've always been carrying a laptop, in recent years I've always been carrying a DSLR (although the memory cards have always been basically empty--I copy the pictures off soon after I take them. This has nothing to do with customs) and a Kindle.

Loren Pechtel
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Each year there are ~ 55 million inbound international tourists visiting China, the US has 66 million. Source: World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

It's neither feasible nor necessary for the government customs authorities to examine your books and electronic devices unless you act really suspiciously.

I'm not saying that it's impossible for them to do that, it's just highly unlikely especially if you arrive at big airports like Beijing or Shanghai. And there's no customs check before domestic flights, you still need to pass security screening though, but the content of your books isn't their concern.

Flimzy
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imadcat
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    It is totally feasible for China, as anyone who has visited will tell you. – Mike Riess Jan 25 '15 at 21:34
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    @MikeRiess I think the question is "how likely do I get checked in such things? not do they ever check thing like that?". Anyone who has visited more than a few times or lived in china will tell you that is not likely. – imadcat Jan 26 '15 at 01:41
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    Not what I was saying. The statement I was responding to was "It's neither feasible nor necessary for the government customs authorities to examine your books and electronic devices unless you act really suspiciously." Doing this would be well within the feasibility range of labor-happy China. – Mike Riess Jan 27 '15 at 03:47
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The answer is probably not - but I would think of ways you can minimize your risk.

Each time I enter Shanghai Pudong the border agent checks my visa, doesn't say anything, and lets me through. Then there doesn't seem to be a customs check at all typically (there's sort of an area that looks like you'd set up a queue there, but it's just unattended and I walk out the "nothing to declare" doorway).

I've also entered through Shanghai HongQiao and there was your typical X-Ray machine that you see at subways and at the train station - nothing anywhere near as thorough as the TSA. People barely stop walking to use these machines.

I imagine it could happen. If you can remove those Kindle books from your list temporarily, maybe that's a good idea.

Note that I didn't check bags. One wheeled bag, one backpack.

alexk
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