Sending suitcases ahead means a courier or a hotel service moves them from one city to the next, while you travel with a small bag. It suits travellers who face stairs, long platforms or parents who tire easily, and it asks for planning a few days in advance.
If your trip is one base and a couple of easy day trips, you probably do not need it. If you change cities more than once, it can be the difference between a calm arrival and a hard one.
Who can arrange it?
The easiest route is your hotel. Ask when you book whether the front desk can send bags to your next hotel, and what they need from you.
A courier counter or a luggage service is the second route. Look for one near your hotel and ask about delivery time, cost and what items are refused. Compare two services and read the receipt before you hand anything over.
Our luggage-friendly hotel guide shows how to pick hotels whose stairs and lifts help this plan.
What does the receiving hotel need?
Write the details in Chinese and in English, and send them by message before the bags leave.
- Your name, spelt as it is on your passport.
- The date you arrive and the number of bags.
- The delivery address and the hotel’s phone number.
- A request that the front desk holds the bags until you check in.
The receiving hotel can only help if it knows the bags are coming. Ask them to confirm by reply.
How much time should you allow?
Allow days, not hours. Delivery times vary with distance and service, so ask for an estimate, then add a cushion. Send bags the day before you travel if the route allows it.
Put a small bag with you for the first night. It should hold medicine, a change of clothes, a charger and your passport, which you need to buy train tickets and to pass the gates[1].
Is forwarding better than carrying?
Compare it with the rail limit before you pay for it. Adults may carry 20 kg and children 10 kg, with each item at most 130 cm on C, D and G trains, though bags are rarely weighed[2]. If your family sits comfortably under that, you may not need a courier.
If you are close to the limit, or someone cannot carry a bag up steps, sending ahead can be worth the cost. The mobility-friendly transport guide helps you judge where the hard stretches are.
What should you check before it leaves?
- Take photos of each bag, closed and labelled.
- Keep the receipt and the tracking details if there are any.
- Lock the bag, and ask whether the service wants it unlocked for inspection.
- Tell your next hotel the delivery date.
Plan the day the bags are in transit with care.
If you only need to leave a bag for a few hours, read how to leave bags at stations and airports. For flights, read the baggage allowance guide.
The getting around topic page lists the rest of the planning steps.