Our UK to China moving services

Seven services covering everything from a dozen boxes to a full container and an office relocation. This page explains which one fits your move, and where each stops.

Choose by volume first, then by urgency. Under about 2 m³ and with no furniture, ship as excess baggage. Between roughly 2 m³ and 25 m³, a part load in a shared container is almost always cheapest. Above about 25 m³ a dedicated 20ft container usually wins on both price per cubic metre and transit time. If you need something within a fortnight, that part goes by air regardless of the rest.

Which service fits your move

Indicative fit by shipment size. Volumes are planning figures, not thresholds we enforce — a survey decides the actual routing.
Service	Typical volume	Best for	Door-to-door planning range
Excess baggage	Under 2 m³	Students, single people, anyone furnishing locally	8–14 weeks by sea, 1–2 weeks by air
Furniture shipping	1–8 m³	A few pieces you cannot replace	9–14 weeks
Household removals	5–60 m³	A family relocating on a posting	8–14 weeks
Sea freight — part load	2–25 m³	Most household moves	10–14 weeks
Sea freight — full container	25 m³ and up	Three-bedroom homes and larger	8–12 weeks
Air freight	Under 2 m³ typically	First-need items, documents, work equipment	1–2 weeks
Office relocation	Varies	Business moves, equipment, records	Planned to your date

Not sure which band you are in? The volume calculator turns a list of furniture and boxes into a cubic-metre figure using volumes we publish in full.

All services

Household removals to China

Full export packing, freight, Chinese customs clearance and delivery. The standard service for a relocation.

Household removals →

Excess baggage to China

Boxes and suitcases without the furniture. Priced per cubic metre with a small minimum.

Excess baggage →

Furniture shipping to China

Single pieces or a part load, crated where the item needs protecting.

Furniture shipping →

Sea freight to China

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

Sea freight →

Air freight to China

One to two weeks door to door for the things you need on arrival.

Air freight →

Office relocation to China

IT equipment, records and furniture moved into a Chinese office, with the paperwork that entails.

Office relocation →

Storage, UK and China

For the gap between leaving your UK home and having somewhere to deliver to in China.

Storage →

What every service includes

A survey before any rate is issued — video call or in person.
Export-standard packing and a written inventory of every item or carton.
Export documentation from the UK and import entry in China.
Customs clearance handled by our own China office, not a subcontracted agent.
A named contact at both ends for the duration of the move.

What none of them include unless you ask

Marine transit insurance. It is quoted separately and is worth having — carrier liability on an international move is minimal and calculated by weight, not value.
Customs duty or tax assessed by Chinese customs on your shipment. We cannot absorb a duty ruling made after inspection.
Storage at either end beyond what is quoted.
Handyman work, curtain fitting or appliance connection at the destination — available in some cities, quoted on request.
Anything on the prohibited and restricted list. We will tell you before it is packed, not after it is seized.

Questions people ask before booking

Can I mix services — some by air, the rest by sea?

Yes, and most families do. A small air consignment of clothes, work equipment and children's essentials arrives in the first fortnight while the sea shipment follows. Tell us at survey and we will quote the split. Note that mainland China customs generally expect personal effects as a single importation, so we will advise on how to structure it.

Do you offer a part-pack service where I pack the boxes myself?

For excess baggage, yes. For household removals we strongly advise against it: owner-packed cartons carry no meaningful insurance cover for damage, and they are the ones Chinese customs inspection tends to open.

What if my move is delayed after I have booked?

Tell us as early as you can. Before collection, rescheduling is usually straightforward. After the goods are in the system, options narrow to storage — which is why we ask about your residence permit timeline before we book anything.