Removals to China, run by the movers already on the ground there

Door to door from anywhere in the UK to mainland China and Hong Kong — cleared and delivered by our own offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

See what it costs

Get your UK to China moving quote

Five short questions, and a move consultant replies with a written estimate.

What are you moving to China?
Where is the move going from and to?
Roughly how much is there?
When do you need to move?
Where should we send your estimate?
  • Asian Express International Movers, since 1979 — not a broker reselling your move
  • Our own offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou handle the China end
  • Door to door — one company accountable from UK collection to China delivery
  • Since 1979 — Asian Express International Movers
  • Four offices — Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou
  • Door to door — UK collection to China delivery
  • Published volumes — compare quotes on one basis

Most UK households moving to China ship between 5 m³ and 35 m³ of personal effects by sea, and should plan on roughly eight to fourteen weeks door to door once packing, consolidation, the sailing and Chinese customs clearance are counted. Air freight cuts that to one or two weeks at several times the cost per cubic metre, so it usually makes sense for a first-need consignment rather than a whole home.

The two things that decide your price are the volume you actually ship and whether it travels as a part load or fills a container. Work out the volume first — everything else follows from it.

Start with the number that drives your quote

Every mover prices a UK–China move from cubic metres. Get that figure right and the rest of the conversation is straightforward.

Tool

Volume calculator

Count your furniture and boxes and get a cubic-metre figure, using per-item volumes we publish in full.

Work out my volume →

 Costs

What a move to China costs

How UK–China removal pricing is actually built up, which charges are commonly left out of a headline quote, and what moves this size cost to plan for.

See the cost breakdown →

 Decision

Sea or air freight?

A straight comparison on cost, transit time and what each option suits — including the split shipment most expat families end up choosing.

Compare the options →

What we move to China

Household removals

A full home packed, shipped and delivered — the standard service for a family relocating on a work posting.

Household moves →

Excess baggage

Boxes and suitcases only. The cheapest way to get personal effects to China when you are not shipping furniture.

Baggage shipping →

Furniture shipping

Individual pieces or a part load, crated where the item needs it.

Furniture shipping →

Sea freight and containers

Shared container groupage or your own 20ft or 40ft container from a UK port.

Sea freight →

Air freight

For the things you cannot be without for three months.

Air freight →

Office relocation

Business moves, equipment and records into a Chinese office.

Office moves →

Where the weeks actually go. Proportions of a typical part-load shipment, using the midpoint of each published range. Sea transit is about 43% of it — which is why a quote of “4–6 weeks” answers a different question from “when will my things arrive”.

Collection in the UK8–14 weeks door to doorDelivery in China

Packing, collection and UK consolidation
1–4 weeks Your goods wait for the shared container to fill. Flexible packing dates shorten this stage more than anything else you can do.
Sea transit
4–6 weeks The part most movers quote when asked how long shipping takes. It is the most predictable stage and the one you can do least about.
Arrival and deconsolidation
1–2 weeks Unloading the shared container at the Chinese port. A full container skips this stage entirely.
Customs clearance and delivery
1–4 weeks Runs against your residence permit. Documents in order and inspection uncalled, it is quick; neither of those is guaranteed.

Why the China end is the part that matters

Any UK removal firm can put your belongings on a ship. The difference between a straightforward move and an expensive one shows up at the Chinese port, where the shipment has to be entered against your residence permit, inspected, and released. That is a local process, and it goes badly when it is handed to whichever agent was cheapest that week.

Asian Express International Movers has been doing this from Hong Kong since 1979 and runs its own company offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. When your shipment reaches China it is handled by colleagues, not by a subcontractor picked from a list — and the people quoting you at the start are the people accountable at the end.

  1. Survey and quote

    A video or in-home survey establishes the real volume and any access problems at both ends. You get a written quote showing what is included and, just as importantly, what is not.

  2. Packing and collection in the UK

    Our UK origin partners pack to export standard, wrap and inventory every item, and collect from anywhere in mainland Britain. Export documentation is prepared at the same time.

  3. Sea or air freight

    Your goods travel as a part load in a shared container, as a full container, or by air. We book the space and give you the sailing or flight details.

  4. Chinese customs clearance

    Our own China office enters the shipment against your residence permit and passport, deals with inspection, and tells you immediately if anything is queried.

  5. Delivery and unpacking

    Delivery to your address in China, unpacking to the level you have asked for, assembly of what we dismantled, and removal of the packing debris.

What we will tell you that a comparison site will not

Three things decide whether a UK–China move goes smoothly, and none of them appear in a headline price.

  • Your paperwork has to be in place before the goods arrive. Personal effects going into mainland China are cleared against the consignee's residence permit. If the shipment lands before your permit is issued, it sits in bond and you pay storage. We time the sailing around your visa, not the other way round.
  • A cheap groupage rate can be an expensive move. Part-load consolidation means waiting for the container to fill at both ends. That is fine if you know about it and plan for it, and infuriating if you were told "six weeks" by someone quoting port-to-port.
  • Destination charges are where quotes stop being comparable. Port fees, inspection, delivery and any storage at the China end are real costs. A quote that omits them is not cheaper, it is incomplete. Ours lists them.

On the figures used across this site. Cost and transit ranges here are planning figures for the UK–China lane, published so you can budget and sense-check quotes. They are not rates, and no rate is issued without a survey. Customs and visa requirements are described in general terms and change without notice — always confirm current requirements with the General Administration of Customs of the PRC and the Chinese embassy before you ship.

Affiliations

Asian Express is a long-term member or affiliate of international moving networks. These are the relationships that put our own people, or people we have worked with for years, at the far end of your move.

  • Harmony Relocation Network

    Proud member

    A global network of independent movers. This is how UK origin partners are appointed for a Removals to China move.

  • DSP Relocations Asia

    Affiliate

    Relocation services across Asia, alongside our own offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Get your UK to China moving quote

Five short questions, and a move consultant replies with a written estimate.

What are you moving to China?
Where is the move going from and to?
Roughly how much is there?
When do you need to move?
Where should we send your estimate?

Questions people ask before booking

How much does it cost to move to China from the UK?

A part load of boxes and a few items of furniture is a very different proposition from a full container, so any single number is misleading. The cost breakdown sets out how UK–China pricing is built up, the planning ranges for each shipment size, and the charges most often missing from a headline quote.

How long does shipping from the UK to China take?

Plan on roughly eight to fourteen weeks door to door by sea, and one to two weeks by air. The spread is wide because packing dates, container consolidation and Chinese customs clearance all sit between the collection and the delivery. The shipping times guide explains where the weeks actually go.

Do you collect from anywhere in the UK?

Yes — our UK origin partners collect from across mainland Britain, with Northern Ireland handled on request. See UK collection areas for how collection and consolidation work outside the South East.

Can you ship to Hong Kong as well as mainland China?

Yes, and they are separate customs territories with different rules. Hong Kong clearance is generally simpler; mainland China requires your residence permit. See removals to Hong Kong.

Are you a broker or an actual moving company?

Removals to China is the UK-facing identity of Asian Express International Movers Ltd., an international mover operating since 1979 with its own offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The China end of your move is handled in-house, not passed to a subcontracted agent.

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