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Xiamen's core is an island, and everything about a move here follows from that. Bridges and a tunnel carry the traffic, one neighbourhood bans motor vehicles entirely, and the city has been sending people overseas for so long that the return leg is busier than the outbound one.
We match you to one vetted mover from our network with Fujian experience. Island delivery is not difficult, but it is specific. Bridge access, vehicle size limits and the Gulangyu rule are all things a firm either knows or finds out the hard way.
Containers land at Haicang, on the mainland side of the harbour, or at Dongdu on the island itself. Which one changes whether your goods cross a bridge to reach you. Neither adds much time, but it is worth knowing which applies.
Xiamen is Fujian's main container port and one of the busiest in southern China. The two terminals sit on opposite sides of the harbour. Haicang, on the mainland shore, handles most deep sea traffic. Dongdu is on the island itself.
If your goods clear at Haicang and your address is on the island, the lorry crosses. Several road bridges link the island to the mainland, and the Xiang'an undersea tunnel provides another route from the north east. Vehicle size and weight limits apply on some of these, which occasionally means transhipping into a smaller lorry before the crossing. A mover who works the city plans for that; the cost is modest and the surprise is not.
Distances are short throughout. Even a mainland terminal to an island address is well under an hour outside peak traffic.
There is a commercial point behind Xiamen's freight volume worth knowing if your move is a return leg. This has been an emigration port for centuries, and the Southeast Asian Chinese communities in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia trace back here in large numbers. A good deal of personal shipping through Xiamen runs along those routes rather than towards Europe, and the local firms are thoroughly used to it.
The island and mainland split governs almost everything.
Siming, covering the southern half of the island, is the old centre and holds the universities, the seafront and most of the character. Housing ranges from older mid rise blocks to modern towers. The older streets near the university and around the harbour are narrow, and some blocks predate lifts.
Huli, the northern half of the island, is newer, with the airport and a good deal of modern apartment stock. Access is straightforward and lifts are standard.
Gulangyu deserves its own paragraph. The island sits a few minutes by ferry off Siming, it is UNESCO listed, and it permits no motor vehicles at all. Not delivery vans, not electric buggies, nothing. Everything arrives by ferry and is moved by hand cart along pedestrian lanes, many of which climb. A household delivery there takes a crew a full day where the same volume would take three hours elsewhere, and the quote reflects that. Some movers will decline the address outright.
Jimei, Haicang, Tong'an and Xiang'an on the mainland are where the newer family housing and much of the industry sit. Compounds are modern, roads are wide, and access is as easy as anywhere in China. Families with a full container often end up here for exactly that reason.
Typhoon exposure runs from roughly June to September. Xiamen sits directly in the path more often than the Yangtze Delta ports do, and a held sailing in August is common enough to plan around.
Xiamen prices near the lower end of the mainland range, helped by short distances and an efficient port. The exception is Gulangyu, which is genuinely in a category of its own because the labour multiplies.
Plan for around £250 to £950
University staff, students and single postings taking furnished flats in Siming.
Plan for around £1,150 to £3,100
Apartment moves into Huli or newer Siming towers.
Plan for around £3,300 to £7,800
Family moves, typically to the mainland districts where the houses are larger.
Tell us whether the address is on the island, on the mainland, or on Gulangyu. Those three answers are completely different jobs.
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Clearance takes place at Haicang or Dongdu depending on the sailing. The requirements are the national ones: a valid residence permit, a full valued inventory and your passport details. Because Xiamen handles a lot of family and diaspora shipping, personal effects are routine here rather than an exception.
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.
More outbound traffic from Xiamen goes to Singapore, Malaysia and the wider region than to Europe, which is a straightforward consequence of centuries of family movement in that direction. Those routes run frequently and the local firms know them well.
For Britain, apply for Transfer of Residence relief before the goods leave. Fujian has a long tradition in porcelain, lacquerware and carved furniture, and a lot of it is old enough to fall under the cultural relics rule. Have anything from before 1949 assessed for an export certificate well ahead of packing day.
A move usually means moving money too, whether that is a deposit on a Xiamen 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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Xiamen is Fujian's main gateway and also serves parts of the neighbouring coast where the local terminals take smaller feeder traffic only.
For the full picture on routes, sea freight, rail freight, costs and Chinese customs, start at the China shipping and moving page.
No. Gulangyu permits no motor vehicles of any kind, including delivery vans and electric buggies. Everything arrives by ferry and is moved by hand cart along pedestrian lanes, many of which climb. A delivery there takes a full day where the same volume would take three hours elsewhere, and some movers decline the address.
Haicang on the mainland side handles most deep sea traffic. Dongdu is on the island itself. If your goods clear at Haicang and you live on the island, the lorry crosses by bridge or tunnel. Distances are short either way, well under an hour outside peak traffic.
Size and weight limits apply on some crossings, which occasionally means transhipping into a smaller lorry before the goods reach the island. The cost is modest when it is planned for. It becomes expensive when a firm discovers it on the day with a loaded container.
For the move itself, the mainland districts are easier. Jimei, Haicang, Tong'an and Xiang'an have modern compounds, wide roads and space to unload, and the houses are larger. The island has the character, the seafront and the universities, with correspondingly tighter access in the older parts.
More than the Yangtze Delta ports. The season runs roughly June to September and Xiamen sits in the path more often. A held sailing in August is common enough to plan around. If your date has any flexibility, spring or late autumn is the safer window.
Yes, and those are among the busiest routes out of the city. Xiamen has been an emigration port for centuries and the Southeast Asian connection is long established. Give the destination country when you enquire and coverage for that route is confirmed before pricing.
Six to eight weeks door to door by sea in most cases. That covers roughly thirty five days sailing, clearance at Haicang or Dongdu, the crossing if one is needed, and delivery. Air freight into Gaoqi airport takes about ten to twelve days at considerably higher cost.
A valid residence permit, a complete inventory with values and your passport details. The goods should be used personal effects arriving as a single shipment within the permitted window after you enter the country. The rules are national, so Xiamen is no different from Shanghai.
It can. Xiamen is subtropical and goods may sit at the terminal for a few days in high humidity. Pianos, guitars, artwork and untreated leather benefit from proper crating. Raise it at the survey rather than assuming standard export packing is enough.
Send your collection address, your Xiamen 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.