Under the rules announced in September, the ban covers not just flying drones but also possessing and storing them. Beijing's government said the measure was intended to "firmly strengthen the capital's security defences", coming after the city banned unapproved outdoor drone flights in August 2025 and tightened security following a small plane crash into Beijing's tallest building in June.
Owners who flout the rules will "face strong action", including confiscation and fines up to 5,000 yuan ($1,050). Many people have been lining up at drone buyback sites, but some owners are getting back less than a quarter of the purchase price.
Kristine, a Sydney resident who asked to use only her first name to protect her brother in Beijing, said her brother bought his drone for $2,000 last year and chose to send it to her rather than sell at a loss. "He's still quite reluctant to let it go, but because of this rule, he has no choice but to dispose of it," she said. "[He thought] it would be nice if it could stay in the family. If he gave it to me, I could let my kids play with it, and it would still serve some purpose."
Aerial photographer Matthew Zhang has sent his drone to his parents' home in nearby Tianjin and planned to travel there to use it whenever he needed it. "It is definitely inconvenient, but at least I can still use it," he said.
The regulation applies to all "unmanned aerial vehicles" and appears to extend to radio-controlled model aircraft, toy drones and toy flapping-wing aircraft. Taobao is among several Chinese e-commerce platforms that have restricted drone purchases using a Beijing delivery address.
Most of China's major cities have introduced civilian drone no-fly zones around airports, military zones, core commercial districts and government buildings, but Beijing is the only city to ban ownership outright.
Hsiao-Huang Shu, a researcher at Taiwan's Institute for National Defence and Security Research, called it "deeply ironic" that a city in the world's biggest consumer drone-making country was banning the ownership of drones. "For Beijing, security concerns are the first priority," he said.