How To Send Festive Presents Overseas From Beijing

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I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I'm constantly finding awesome souvenirs here in Beijing and spending the year picking up little trinkets and knick-knacks that remind me of my family and friends, who are scattered across three continents. But with overseas travel knocked cleanly off the books by the latest wave of COVID cases, I sadly won’t be handing those gifts out in person anytime soon. Nevertheless, I’m still determined to get those presents to their respective recipients before the end of the year.

At this point, our options for courier services have dwindled to the ones that will take no more than 30 days, which are mostly express services that cost an arm and a leg. This, unfortunately, cannot be helped, so if you’re still reading, you're clearly desperate enough to pay the price. No judgement though, as there's a reason I'm writing this article.

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While DHL and UPS may be the first names that come to mind for international couriers, there is an option that will cost you a little less than the full arm and leg as the aforementioned choices.

I happily and easily employed SF Express to send parcels to Japan, Australia, and Singapore last year around this time and will be using them again this year for several reasons.

Even though the packages to Japan and Australia cost nearly RMB 300, they arrived in time and intact.

Plus, they pick the package up within the hour. It was so easy I literally did not have to lift a finger.

Here are the steps to send your parcel through SF Express:

If you are new to SF Express, search SF or 顺丰速运+ in the WeChat search bar under Mini-Programs and click the icon circled below.

If you’ve never used the program before, you’ll need to give it permission to access your mobile number and associated details, then input your address (for the pick-up point). Next, you’ll need to choose the option circled below, which says Send International 寄国际 , and then select 寄快递.

This is probably the second hardest part of the whole process – you’ll have to input the overseas address you wish to send the package to. Make sure you get it right…

Now comes the hardest part – you have to detail the contents of your package under the various categories provided. The first category on the left are the most commonly used categories, and the second refers to anti-COVID goods (such as masks and medical gloves, etc.), and the third category says Others. If you have breakables, it's worth noting that you should choose the first category, then select the last option on the bottom left which says Decorative Glass Ornaments 装饰用玻璃摆件.

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Note that if you choose the third category "Others", you’ll be asked to manually describe the contents. Luckily, they do accept English input.

If you have multiple items, you will have to input each and every one of them… Once you are done, scroll to the bottom and click Next Step 下一步.

At this point, you will be given the price options and expected delivery date. Here, you can also click on the pick-up time to change it. The second option from the top lets you choose how to pay for the package, which includes an option for the receiver to pay for postage. Once you are done selecting the options you want, choose to pay and expect a call from your courier within the time frame you selected!

You can track your package anytime by returning to the app and choosing the second option that looks like a magnifying glass at the bottom.

We may not be able to celebrate the holidays in person with everyone we want this year, but at least they will know we were thinking of them when they receive our gifts in the mail, because who doesn’t like to receive a package in the mail?!

Images: Unsplash, Vivienne Tseng-Rush

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