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China Elevator Stories
How I Prepared for My Move Within China
I recently moved from Shandong Province to Jilin Province.
06/08/2025
Ruth Silbermayr
Author
At the end of July, I packed my suitcase as well as those of my children, half of them filled with snacks and instant noodles, and we left our apartment in Tai’an. They had been staying with me since the beginning of July. My work in the classroom had already ended, but I still had to do additional tasks for my university. My boss agreed that I could work from home since my children were coming to stay with me, which I am very grateful for. Although working at home while making sure nothing happened to them was stressful, I’m glad I was allowed to spend time with them while working and didn’t need to hire someone to look after them during the day.
In our free time, we explored the city, though only a little since the weather was already very hot. We also got to know each other a bit better (children may change a lot when living with another caregiver for so many years—especially if that caregiver, or those caregivers, are narcissists who try to shape children into someone other than who they truly are). I also took them to an indoor zoo at a shopping center, which was the only zoo I could find. It was quite different from the zoos I knew from Austria, which are usually outdoors and often larger than this one.
They loved going to the zoo. It featured a variety of small animals, such as hamsters, rabbits, a very social and friendly little pig, two larger pigs, birds, a snake, and a few others, including an alpaca. The entrance fee wasn’t too expensive—10 Yuan (about €1.20 or $1.40) per person for one hour, or 30 Yuan (about €3.60 or $4.20) for the whole day.
We also bought animal feed, and my children had fun feeding the animals. My older son was feeding the birds, and they sat on his arms and shoulders, which was magical to watch. He has a deep connection with animals and loves them dearly.
My younger son also loves animals—probably even more than I did as a child—and they are clearly something very special to him as well.
He especially enjoyed going into one room with glass doors that had many cats. He loved hugging a grey Persian cat with no hair. Most grown-ups probably wouldn’t have thought she looked particularly cute, but for him, she seemed to be the cutest cat there, and he played with her most of the time.
Anyway, during my free time, I was packing up things in cardboard boxes and sending everything I owned (except bowls and plates, since they break easily when shipped) to Northeast China, so I wouldn’t have to buy them again.
Preparing for the move was a bit stressful with two kids around, playing and not ready to part with some of their things yet, but I somehow managed to throw everything into boxes and get it ready for shipping.
China offers pretty affordable shipping of large boxes (around 20–30 kg each) within the country, and most of my boxes cost around 100–120 Yuan (€12 or $14) to ship. WeChat has an option called “小程序” (xiǎo chéngxù, mini programmes), where you can find many other apps that work within WeChat. Many companies have a mini app there, and it’s widely used in China for all kinds of services.
The app I used for shipping is called “上门取件” (“shàngmén qǔ jiàn”, roughly translating to “We Come to Your Door to Pick Up Your Parcel”). It lists different shipping companies and their prices. You just enter the pickup address, the delivery address, and the parcel weight. If you don’t know the exact weight, you can guess—that’s what I did since I had no scale at home. You then pay in advance, and usually, an employee from the company will contact you to arrange a time or let you know when they can pick up the parcel. If the first company declines because they’re too busy, you can simply select another. You can also choose different time frames, such as “tomorrow between 8:00–18:00” or “8:00–12:00,” depending on the shipping company.
If your box turns out to be heavier than you estimated, don’t worry—the company will simply ask you to pay the difference after weighing it. Some companies also offer to help with packaging. With one box, I had run out of tape and didn’t have time to go to the supermarket because my children refused to go out, so the shipping company provided their own tape when they picked it up. You may need to pay a bit extra for this, but overall, prices are very affordable.
Items need to be packed securely so they don’t break during shipping. I recommend not sending fragile items like glassware or porcelain unless they are packed really well (some companies may have extra options for fragile items). I wrapped my breakable things in towels, clothes, or bedding, and everything arrived in Northeast China without damage.
The boxes arrived one after another, just as I had sent them—most within about a week, and one within two weeks.
On the last day in Tai’an, I cleaned the apartment and then took my children to the zoo one last time so they could say goodbye to the animals. That way, we didn’t stay in the apartment and make a mess again.
After that, we took a cab to the train station, where we waited to board our bullet train to Siping.
This was just one of many moves, but I have to say that moving within China is much more convenient than moving in Europe—or moving countries—because of the easy and affordable shipping services that pick up boxes right at your door. Of course, if you don’t have many things to move, that’s less of an issue even in Europe, but moving out of a furnished apartment can be exhausting, and any simple, reasonably priced service like this is truly appreciated.
Have you ever moved within China?