China ID Photo Standards, Explained

Updated September 2026 · For foreigners applying to Chinese institutions and anyone needing the Chinese formats

Chinese forms ask for photos by the names "1-inch" (一寸) and "2-inch" (二寸) — sizes that are not literal inches, and surprise anyone expecting US or EU conventions. If you apply to a Chinese university, employer, or government office, this is what they mean.

The two standard sizes

1-inch (一寸)	25 × 35 mm print · 295 × 413 px at 300 DPI
2-inch (二寸)	35 × 49 mm print · 413 × 579 px at 300 DPI

The 1-inch is the everyday workhorse: staff/student ID cards, application booklets, resumes. The 2-inch appears on formal certificates and some application dossiers. Passport photos are their own format (33 × 48 mm — see our China passport photo tool).

Background colours and where they're used

White — the default for official documents: passports, visas, driver's licences, residence paperwork. When a form doesn't specify, white is the safe choice.
Blue — very common for student IDs, work permits, and company/university documents.
Red — mostly legacy certificates and a few specific forms; rarer every year.

If the form names a colour, our tool can set it: upload once, swap the background with one tap.

Composition rules

The same core rules as everywhere else: recent photo (within 6 months), plain background with no shadows, face centred and fully visible, no headwear unless religious, glasses preferably off, neutral expression, no filters or retouching that alters features. Chinese review is strict about natural skin tone — heavy beauty filters are a real rejection reason.

Make the Chinese formats free

Pick your size and the tool pre-loads the exact pixel dimensions:

1-inch (295 × 413) → 2-inch (413 × 579) →

Both run entirely in your browser — the photo never leaves your device. Export at 300 DPI and it prints true to the millimetre sizes above.