Nanjing sits three hundred kilometres up the Yangtze from Shanghai, which gives it something almost no other large Chinese city has: a genuine choice between road and river for the last leg. It also has the longest surviving city wall in the world and summers that have earned it a place among China's furnace cities.
We match you with one vetted mover from our network covering Jiangsu. The river option is the detail that separates firms here. Not every mover will offer it, and for a large shipment with a flexible date it can change the figure noticeably.
Containers normally clear at Shanghai and travel on, either by road on the expressway or by barge up the Yangtze to Longtan, Nanjing's own container terminal. Occasionally a direct river service is available. Which applies depends on the volume and the timing.
Nanjing is an inland city with a working deep river port, which is an unusual combination. Ocean vessels do reach it, though most household goods clear at Shanghai first and travel the last three hundred kilometres domestically.
By road is the default. The expressway from Shanghai runs the distance in around four hours in normal traffic. It is predictable, it is quick, and for most shipments it is what your mover will quote without being asked.
By river is the alternative. Barges run up the Yangtze to Longtan, the container terminal downstream of the city. It is slower, typically adding a few days, and cheaper for volume. For a sole use container on an open timetable it can be worth asking about. For a shared load with a fixed delivery date it usually is not.
Neither option is complicated. The reason to know about both is that the price difference is real and only one of them will normally appear on a quote.
Nanjing's large university population shapes a good deal of the traffic. The city holds several major institutions with substantial international enrolment, which means a steady flow of smaller shipments in September and out again in June, and a moving trade that is used to handling boxes rather than only containers.
Nanjing's housing splits between a planned modern district and a much older core, with the city wall running through the middle of the picture.
Hexi New Town in Jianye is the modern central business district, built out on the river flats in the last twenty five years. Towers, service lifts, planned compounds, room to park. It is the straightforward delivery in Nanjing and where most corporate housing sits.
Gulou is the university district and the historic academic centre. A mix of older campus housing, mid rise blocks from the 1980s and 1990s, and some newer infill. Lifts are common in the newer stock and absent in the older. The streets here are where the plane trees matter.
Those trees are worth explaining, because they catch people out. Nanjing's older roads are lined with mature London plane trees whose canopies meet overhead. They are protected, they are a genuine point of civic pride, and they limit the height of a vehicle that can pass beneath them on some streets. A high sided lorry sometimes cannot take the direct route and has to approach from another direction, or transfer to a smaller vehicle.
Xuanwu, around the lake and the eastern wall, mixes conservation area, government buildings and residential blocks. Access varies street by street and the wall itself constrains some approaches.
Qixia in the north east, out towards Longtan, is more industrial with newer residential development and easy access.
The summer heat deserves planning around. Nanjing is one of the cities traditionally called a furnace, and July and August are genuinely punishing. Crews need more breaks, days run longer and a delivery to a fourth floor walk up in August is a serious job.
Nanjing prices above Shanghai for the same volume, because of the three hundred kilometre domestic leg, and below the deep inland cities. The two levers are which final leg you use and which month you deliver in.
Plan for around £300 to £1,100
Students and academic staff, of which Nanjing has a great many.
Plan for around £1,350 to £3,500
Apartment moves into Hexi or the newer Gulou stock.
Plan for around £3,600 to £8,600
Family postings, and the band where the river option is worth pricing.
Tell us the district, the floor and the month. In Nanjing the season is a genuine cost line.
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Clearance usually happens at Shanghai before the domestic leg, so your paperwork goes to a different city from your address. Occasionally a direct river service clears at Nanjing itself. Either way you need a valid residence permit, a full valued inventory and your passport details.
The national rules are the same across mainland China, so the detail on permits, restricted goods and the cultural relics rule is set out in full on the China removals and shipping page. Read that before you start packing, particularly the section on items made before 1949.
Departures cluster around the academic calendar more than in most Chinese cities, which means June and July are busy and capacity tightens. Book early if you are moving in that window.
Apply for Transfer of Residence relief with HMRC before the goods leave. Nanjing was an imperial capital more than once and the antique trade reflects that, so anything old should be assessed for the cultural relics rule well before packing. Pieces from before 1949 need an export certificate.
A move usually means moving money too, whether that is a deposit on a Nanjing flat or funds coming back the other way. We have helped customers with currency exchange in any currency through trusted partners for many years, and our partners can help with the money side of your move. Mention it on the form and it gets included.
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Most of these clear at Shanghai before a domestic leg. Nanjing is unusual in also having a working river terminal of its own.
For the full picture on routes, sea freight, rail freight, costs and Chinese customs, start at the China shipping and moving page.
Yes. Barges run from Shanghai up the river to Longtan, Nanjing's container terminal downstream of the city. It is slower than the road, typically adding a few days, and cheaper for volume. For a sole use container on an open timetable it is worth asking about.
Seven to nine weeks door to door by sea, depending on which final leg is used. That covers roughly thirty five days sailing, clearance at Shanghai, and then either four hours on the expressway or a slower barge run up the river.
Nanjing's older streets are lined with mature London plane trees whose canopies meet overhead. They are protected and much loved, and on some roads they limit the height of a vehicle that can pass beneath. A high sided lorry may have to approach from another direction or transfer to a smaller van.
Hexi New Town in Jianye. It was built out on the river flats over the last twenty five years, so the towers have service lifts, the compounds were planned and there is space to park. Gulou, the university belt, is a mix of older and newer stock.
Yes. Nanjing is one of the cities traditionally called a furnace and July and August are punishing. Crews need more breaks, the day runs longer and a fourth floor walk up in August is a serious job. If your date can move, spring or autumn is better for everyone.
Usually at Shanghai, before the domestic leg to Nanjing. That means your paperwork goes to a different city from your address, which is normal and not a problem. A direct river service occasionally clears at Nanjing itself. Ask which applies to your booking.
Yes, and Nanjing sees a great many of them. The city holds several major universities with large international enrolment, so there is a steady flow of boxes and part loads in September and out again in June. The local trade handles that as routine work.
A valid residence permit, a full inventory with values and your passport details. The goods should be used personal effects arriving as one shipment within the permitted window after you enter the country. These are national requirements rather than local ones.
More than in a newer city. Nanjing was an imperial capital more than once and the antique trade reflects that. Anything made before 1949 needs an export certificate before it can leave the country. Have older furniture, ceramics and scrolls assessed well ahead of packing day.
Send your collection address, your Nanjing district, a rough idea of the volume and your date. A vetted mover from our network checks the route, the access and the paperwork, then comes back to you with the price.
Send your move detailsWe match international moving enquiries with vetted moving companies in the AGM Group network, each holding FIDI FAIM certification and BAR Overseas membership.
We are not a removal firm ourselves. We find you the one that suits your route, and you deal with them directly from there.