✅ Power banks mentioned:
🔹 Sharge Mini (5,000mAh): https://amzn.to/4m98LWz
🔹 Belkin BoostCharge (10,000mAh): https://amzn.to/45sytOE
🔹 Anker 30W Fast Charger (10,000mAh): https://amzn.to/4mAqlCz
Video Transcript:
Your favorite portable charger could get confiscated in China. So, in this video, I’ll be showing you a couple options that you can bring along instead. But first, here’s the background.
Background on new CCC rule for power banks
As of June 28, 2025, China now requires all power banks on domestic China flights to have CCC certification on them or they’ll be confiscated at security. The rule was put into place after a couple of in-flight fire scares earlier this year. But because the rule was rolled out rather suddenly, it has caught and continues to catch travelers off guard when they’re forced to hand over their trusty power banks at airport security. And you can see from these photos just how many power banks are forfeited. Literally buckets and buckets on every single flight.
Now, technically this rule only applies to domestic flights within China. But here’s the catch. If you’re taking an international flight into China and it has a connecting domestic leg, you’ll need to go through security again. And if your power bank isn’t 3C certified, you lose it then. And even if you’re flying international, say from Shanghai to New York, you’re still not completely safe. In fact, some travelers have reported that even when they were taking a direct international flight, they still had their non-compliant chargers taken away. So to be on the safe side, it’s best to assume that if you’re going through a Chinese airport, you should have a compliant 3C certified power bank.
What to look for in an approved power bank for China travel
So what exactly do you need to look for to make sure that your power bank isn’t taken away? First, make sure that your battery pack is under 100 watt hours. That’s roughly equivalent to 27,000 milliamp hours. But some travelers have reported having their battery packs that were 22,000 taken away. So, be on the safe side. You’re best to stick to a max of 20,000 milliamp hours, which is honestly still quite a lot for day to day, unless you’re streaming throughout the day. In addition, with the latest rule, the battery pack must have a visible CCC certification mark. So, take a second to grab your current battery pack and take a look either on the back or on the bottom to see if this mark appears on your battery pack. If it’s rubbed off or unclear, then that won’t work. And if you happen to have a compliant battery pack, let me know in the comments which one you have so we can share it with the group. Now, if your battery pack doesn’t have a certification, which honestly most of the ones overseas don’t, it can be so tricky to find one. And I’ve seen so many posts where people spend hours looking through Amazon and other retailers and you just can’t find a single one. That’s because product listings online don’t clearly mention whether a power bank is 3C certified or not. So, it’s really, really tough to figure out exactly what is allowed and what isn’t. And that’s exactly why we have today’s video. I’ve just ordered these power banks that have the 3C certification and are available on Amazon right now. I’ll go through each in detail. And I’ve actually picked a couple from different companies and different styles so you can find the one that works best for you. And just to be clear, this video is not sponsored. I bought these purely for the sake of testing them out for you guys. So, if you find this helpful, make sure to drop that like, drop a comment letting me know which one you like the most, and also make sure to subscribe for more amazing travel content for China. With that said, let’s get started.
Review of Sharge Power Bank
To kick things off, we have this first one from Sharge, which has a battery capacity of 5,000 milliamp hours, and that’s enough to charge even a larger phone to 100% or two phones to 70%.
It’s also the smallest and lightest of the three, weighing in at only about 3.56 ounces, which is how much this deck of cards weighs. So, you’ve got the bright orange power button on the right here. And then when you click that, you can see on the left the battery indicator. So, right now it has one bar out of four since I’ve been using it a lot lately. And then you also have two interchangeable connectors. So currently I have the lightning one on, but you can change it to USBC as well. But let’s say if you have two devices, one lightning and one USBC. You can actually charge them both at the same time since there’s two here. The same two connectors are actually double duty. You can use these to charge your devices, but also to charge the power bank itself. And this power bank also supports pass through charging. So you could connect this end into the wall to charge this battery pack, but also charge your phone at the same time, but by connecting it to here, which makes it perfect for airport layovers or coffee shop stops. This cable also tucks neatly into this groove where you’re not using it, which keeps everything neat and compact, and it’s a cute little detail. You can also hold it by the handle here. Price-wise, this is selling for $29.90 at the moment and comes in silver or black. And if you hate carrying out bulky chargers, then this one is tiny but mighty. And I’ve personally been using it a lot, which is why you can see it’s only on one battery right now.
Review of Belkin Power Bank
Next up is this power bank from Belkin. It has a capacity of 10,000 milliamp hours, which is good if you have multiple devices or a really big phone that you need to charge multiple times. It weighs in at 7.44 oz. Definitely heavier than the last one, but still manageable. and it’s about the weight of a typical smartphone these days. So on the right side you’ll find a power button and then on the left a battery indicator. See the four LEDs. Again, there’s no built-in cables with this one, but you do get at the top two USB-A ports as well as this USBC port. So you can charge up to three devices at once. This USBC port also doubles as the input when it’s time to charge the power bank itself. It also supports fast charging, and according to Belkin, it can power an iPhone 15 Pro up to 50% in just 32 minutes, which is pretty solid. It comes in a bunch of different colors, including black, white, silver, and gold. And while this doesn’t have any fancy features, if you’re looking for something simple that works, 10,000 milliamp hours for under $30 is a decent deal.
Review of Anker Power Bank
And last, but definitely not least, is this option from Anker, which comes in a 10,000 mAh hour capacity and is great for not only multiple devices, but even for laptops thanks to its 30watt fast charging. It’s actually the fastest charger in this lineup. Anker claims that it can get an iPhone 15 Pro to 50% in just 25 minutes and a MacBook Air to 50% in under an hour. So, starting on the left side here, there’s a builtin wall plug, so you can charge it directly from any outlet. No extra cables needed. This plug folds up nicely, making it travel friendly and one less thing to worry about when packing. And then up top, we have this USB-C cable that not only charges your devices, but also the power bank itself. This same cable doubles as a handle, so you can hold it on the go. It’s a clever little design and it even tucks into the groove here similar to the first power bank we saw. And it supports IQ charging which is like fast charging. It really is pretty fast. And then on the right side you’ll find the power button as well as a USBC in and out port. So you have the option to charge a second device or charge the battery itself. This also supports pass through charging. So you can plug the power bank directly into the wall and then connect your phone or laptop to this side and then all of them will charge at the same time which is pretty neat. And then of course in the middle you see here you see once you tap the on off button it shows you the battery level. So this does come in five colors white, black, pink, blue and violet. And you can choose between a version with a lightning cable or one with USBC depending on your needs.
End
So those were the three options I found so far. Hopefully you found one that you like, but if not, don’t worry because I’ll add more options onto my website as I come across them. You’ll also find on my website a free China essentials guide that’s an absolute must have cheatsheet for first-time travelers to China. That’s it for now. I’ll see you in the next one!