{"id":9182,"date":"2020-12-08T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/?p=9182"},"modified":"2022-02-21T19:55:15","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T18:55:15","slug":"the-postal-system-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/the-postal-system-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"The Postal System in China: Sending Goods Within, From, and To China"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"sistema<\/p>\n

The postal system in China is probably one of the cheapest and most efficient in the world. In this article, I am going to give a small description of the different needs, the sending possibilities that exist, and the advantages and disadvantages of each service. Below, you can find the points I am going to cover.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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    \n
  1. Shipments within China<\/a><\/li>\n
      \n
    1. Documents<\/a><\/li>\n
    2. Packages<\/a><\/li>\n
    3. Large volumes<\/a><\/li>\n
    4. Banned articles<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    5. Shipments outside of China<\/a><\/li>\n
        \n
      1. Documents<\/a><\/li>\n
      2. Packages<\/a><\/li>\n
      3. Large volumes<\/a><\/li>\n
      4. Banned articles<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      5. Shipments to China<\/a><\/li>\n
          \n
        1. Documents<\/a><\/li>\n
        2. Packages and large volumes<\/a><\/li>\n
        3. Banned articles<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

          Shipments within China<\/h2>\n

          The postal system within China is extremely complex due to the number of public and private companies that offer this service. In this section, I will try to describe in detail the best options for each type of need.<\/p>\n

          Documents<\/h3>\n

          To send documents<\/a>, even though there exists the possibility of sending them by normal mail from any China Post office, it is not a good idea, as it is not widely used in China and does not offer any guarantees. <\/p>\n

          In my opinion, the best option is to use the priority service of China Post called EMS<\/a>, as it is extremely cheap (a shipment with EMS within China weighing less than 500 g costs 20 Yuan), reliable and efficient.<\/p>\n

          To send documents via EMS, you just need to go to the post office and ask for \u5feb\u9012 (kuaidi), or call (or fill out the form on the internet) for them to come to pick up the documents.<\/p>\n

          The problem with EMS is that in general, its employees do not speak English and you need to fill out the shipment documents in Chinese (even if the documents are translated into English). The employees of the post office won’t help fill them out for you (they are not allowed) and they need to be filled out by hand.<\/p>\n

          That means if you don’t know how to write Chinese, you are going to have a problem. Even if you have the address written on your cell phone or paper, no official will write it for you on the form.<\/p>\n

          Another very good option is the private company Shunfeng<\/a>, which, despite being a little more expensive than EMS, has an excellent reputation in China, offers a part of its services in English and also can be used to send documents to some international destinations, such as Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, the United States, and Russia, among others.<\/p>\n

          The other option is to use international courier services that also operate in China, such as DHL, FedEx, or UPS, as they have employees who speak English and who will help you fill out the documentation. Personally, I don’t recommend this, as their prices are extremely high compared to EMS (between 5 and 10 times more). For example, sending documents within Beijing with DHL costs a little more than 100 Yuan.<\/p>\n

          Packages<\/h3>\n

          To send small packages of up to 30 kg, the situation is similar to the previous one. They can be sent via China Post, EMS or via international courier services. However, in my opinion, it is preferable to use one of the private Chinese companies.<\/p>\n

          In China, online shopping is trendy, and because of this, many shipping companies have appeared, which transport packages from one place to another. These companies are extremely reliable, efficient, and cheap. Some of the most popular ones are Shunfeng (\u987a\u4e30\u901f\u8fd0), Yunda (\u97f5\u8fbe\u5feb\u9012), and ZTO Express (\u4e2d\u901a\u5feb\u9012).<\/p>\n

          Sending packages with these companies is relatively simple, as in the majority of large cities, you can find hundreds of distributors waiting in the street to deliver packages, especially in universities and large housing complexes. You just give the package and the address to one of these distributors and they will take care of the rest.<\/p>\n

          It is very important to ensure that packages are well-protected against blows, as they are not normally treated with much care. However, don’t worry too much, as because of this, the delivery people will try to help you pack them adequately.<\/p>\n

          Remember to not close packages before dropping them off, as they are normally going to check what you are sending (below, you can see the articles that you are banned from sending).<\/p>\n

          As a reference, sending a package weighing 20 kg with EMS from Beijing to Shanghai costs around 250 yuan.<\/p>\n

          Large volumes<\/h3>\n

          To send objects of over 30 kg or beyond standard box dimensions, you will have to hire a moving company, as none of the previously mentioned companies will accept them.<\/p>\n

          In addition, if the number of packages is large (even though it is not over 30 kg), it is also advisable to hire one of these companies, as the price will be lower and the service will be door to door.<\/p>\n

          I am not going to mention any particular company, as they vary greatly between cities and in general, prices among them are similar.<\/p>\n

          To get an idea, to send a washing machine, an electric bicycle and a large box from Beijing to a city located 700 km away costs around 500 Yuan.<\/p>\n

          Banned articles<\/h3>\n

          The law states that the following products can’t be sent by mail:<\/p>\n