China Post tracking: number, statuses and who delivers

China Post tracking number: what it looks like

A China Post number has two letters, nine digits and CN: the international postal format set by the Universal Postal Union (UPU). The first letter says what kind of item it is. With invented digits:

The last of the nine digits is a check digit, so a mistyped digit almost always makes the number invalid. The UPU allows only one such number per item, which is why the same number works on your own post's site once the parcel reaches your country.

Before China Post's tracking page shows anything, it can make you pass a picture check. For some items China Post then asks for the last four digits of a contact phone number on the shipment.

China Post tracking statuses explained

China Post writes its scans in Chinese. Place names go in brackets, here shown as 【…】: a Chinese sorting office or, abroad, the country's name in Chinese, such as 【英国】 for the UK or 【美国】 for the US. In the order a parcel meets them:

The last scans come from your country's post, relayed by China Post, sometimes only after the delivery. Your post's own tracking, with the same number, has the last leg first-hand.

Who delivers China Post parcels in your country

China Post flies the parcel out; in your country the national post takes over, through customs to your door:

• United States: USPS.
• United Kingdom: Royal Mail. It says you can track an item from abroad "once it reaches the UK", if it was sent with a tracking service.
• Ireland: An Post. Its tracking shows the parcel only once An Post has received and scanned it in Ireland, and it warns that another post's tracking can say Ireland while the item is still in transit abroad.
• Canada: Canada Post. Look the number up in its Track tool; if nothing appears, Canada Post asks you to have the sender investigate with their country's post.
• Australia: Australia Post. It says tracking for items from overseas depends on the service used in the sending country, and that customs can take up to 15 days.

Delivery attempts, notice cards and how long a parcel waits at the post office follow your post's rules; see its page and missed a delivery. A parcel left uncollected goes back to the sender. Duties, taxes and handling fees on parcels from outside your country are in parcels held at customs.

China Post tracking not updating, lost or returned

No scans yet. China Post shows nothing until it has scanned the parcel; before that, the shop has only made a label. Ask the shop when it handed the parcel over.

Quiet after it left China. Between the flight and your post's first scan, days can pass without news. Check your own post's tracking with the same number. A number starting with U may never get scans in your country. More in why tracking stops updating and tracking a parcel from China.

Delivered but not there. Your post made the delivery, so start with its tracking and proof of delivery, then the shop. See delivered but not received.

Lost or damaged. China Post says that "for formal inquiry of all international items, the sender shall go to local post office". USPS, Royal Mail, Canada Post and Australia Post also send recipients to the sender, who asks the post in the sending country. So tell the shop or marketplace and ask for a refund or a new parcel; see lost parcels.

Returned. 已退回 means the parcel is going back to the sender. Ask the shop what it will do; see returned to sender.

China Post contact number and customer service

As read on 22 October 2026, China Post's English site lists these lines:

• Logistics and EMS: 8610 11183.
• Postal Business: 8610 11185.

China Post doesn't say which languages they speak. ems.com.cn also has an online customer service link (在线客服), in Chinese. A formal inquiry has to come from the sender, so the shop is quicker. For delivery, redelivery or customs, contact your own post.

Track a China Post parcel with Peek

Peek recognises two letters, nine digits and CN as China Post straight away when the check digit is right. With a wrong one, Peek doesn't take it for China Post, and if you pick China Post it says China Post "doesn't issue numbers like this one": check the number in the shop's email. A ZS, ZC or ZA number fits La Poste too, so paste it all the same: Peek follows more than 3,500 carriers and asks China Post first. If it settles on the wrong carrier, pick China Post with "Change".

Peek reads China Post's own tracking. When China Post asks for phone digits, Peek tries the public preview on ems.com.cn instead; Peek never asks you for them. If the preview refuses too and no tracking service has the parcel, Peek says more information is needed: look the number up on China Post's site with the four digits. China Post gives visitors only its three newest scans, so Peek adds the acceptance date when China Post gives one, and takes a fuller history from tracking services when one has it.

It shows the status, the history with the office of each scan, and the destination country. Scans appear in Chinese as China Post writes them, with times on the local clock of each place: China's, then your country's. China Post gives no expected delivery date, weight or pickup point, and Peek drops the service name, contacts, sender and recipient details, couriers' names and phone numbers, and map coordinates.

Once China Post names your country, Peek also asks your national post with the same number (USPS, Royal Mail, Canada Post or Australia Post) and switches to it once it shows fresh scans, keeping China Post's history. An Post isn't asked, so in Ireland Peek stays with China Post and tracking services. Peek can notify you of "All tracking updates", "Important only" or "Delivery day only". It can't contact China Post, your post or the shop for you.

Questions about China Post tracking

Where is my China Post parcel?

The latest scan tells you. A Chinese office in brackets means it's still in China. From 到达寄达地处理中心 on, it's in your country, and your own post's tracking with the same number shows where.

Why is my China Post tracking not updating?

Most often the parcel is in the air or waiting for customs, between China Post's last scan and your post's first. Check your national post's tracking with the same number. A number starting with U may have no tracking in your country at all.

How long does China Post take to deliver?

It depends on the service the shop paid for and where you are: Canada Post says timelines vary with the sending country and the type of service. Go by the delivery estimate the shop or marketplace gives for your order.

What does 已妥投 mean on China Post tracking?

Delivered. 【英国】已妥投, for example, means delivered in the UK. If you don't have the parcel, start with your own post: see delivered but not received.

Who delivers China Post parcels in the US or UK?

Your national post: USPS in the US, Royal Mail in the UK. They deliver it under the China Post number, since the UPU allows one number per item, and Royal Mail tracks it once it reaches the UK.