Everything you need to ship to China in one place. Whether it’s a couple of boxes, your luggage, a student’s belongings or the contents of a home, we collect from your door anywhere in the UK, prepare the paperwork Chinese customs needs, and deliver to Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and beyond. Air freight in 5–9 working days, or economical sea freight in 6–10 weeks, subject to space and flight availability with the carriers. Shipping to China since 1998.
We’ve been shipping to China from our Heathrow-side base since 1998 — boxes and bags for students, personal effects for people relocating, and cargo for businesses. China rewards getting two things right: an honest, itemised inventory, and making sure whoever is receiving the goods has the paperwork Chinese customs expects. Get those right and clearance is straightforward; get them wrong and a shipment can sit at the port. This page is everything we’d tell a friend sending their things to China, whether that’s a single box or a whole household.
Not sure which service you need? Start here — each links to full details, transit times and what’s included.
A few boxes or bags, shipped door-to-door without airline excess fees. The most popular option for students and individuals.
Furniture and a home’s contents by sea freight, with the residence-permit and import-permit paperwork handled with you.
Moving more than a bag or two? See why shipping beats airline excess-baggage charges — often by a wide margin.
The fast option — your consignment flies from Heathrow to Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou or Shenzhen.
The economical option for volume — shared (LCL) or full-container (FCL) to all main Chinese ports.
Sending a term or a year’s belongings to a Chinese university, without the airport queue.
On a budget? Compare the most economical routes and consolidation options to China.
Tell us what you’re sending and where. We give you a clear quote up-front — and as long as your shipment is what you told us, that’s the price you pay, subject to airline rates at the time of booking.
We collect from your address anywhere in the UK. No need to get anything to a depot or the airport.
Goods are export-packed and we prepare an itemised inventory in English or Chinese — the document Chinese customs relies on most.
Air freight from Heathrow, or consolidated sea freight to your nearest Chinese port.
Your receiver’s residence and work permits and, for personal effects, the import permit are used to clear the goods. Every shipment is subject to inspection.
Your goods are delivered to the Chinese address, or ready to collect from the arrival depot.
China is stricter than most destinations on who can receive a shipment of personal effects and how much can come in. The single most important thing is that the person receiving the goods has the right status and paperwork before the shipment arrives.
China screens shipments carefully, and some items that are perfectly ordinary in the UK are restricted or prohibited on the way in. Declaring honestly is always cheaper than being found out at inspection.
Most UK–China shipments clear without drama. The ones that don’t nearly always come down to the same short list of things. Here’s what actually trips people up, and how to stay on the right side of it:
An illustrative example of a common scenario — your own quote is always specific to your exact shipment.
We ship right across mainland China. Here are our most popular destinations — each with local delivery detail, arrival ports and transit times:
Our busiest China lane — air to Shanghai (PVG) and sea to the Port of Shanghai.
Air to Beijing (PEK/PKX) and sea via Tianjin for the capital region.
Air to Guangzhou (CAN) and sea to Nansha and the Pearl River Delta.
Air to Shenzhen (SZX) and sea to Yantian — the tech-hub gateway.
Air to Chengdu (TFU/CTU) for western China and the Sichuan region.
Air freight suits a few boxes, urgent items or anything you need within a couple of weeks — 5–9 working days, priced on weight and size. Sea freight suits volume — a room, a family’s contents or a whole home — at a fraction of the per-kilo cost, over 6–10 weeks. These sea transit times are approximate — the actual time depends on when your LCL container finishes loading and consolidating, the vessel’s sailing date and route, any transhipment hub before the final destination, and customs clearance, so please allow a week or two either side. Many customers split the two: air for the essentials, sea for the rest.
“Since the first day Excess Luggage has been a great help, communicating with me throughout the entire time and updating me on the important details. I would 100% recommend this company to anyone transporting baggage abroad.”
— Neide · Verified review on Trustpilot ↗