China Post tracking status
China Post tracking not updating: why, and what to do
The short answer
Keep an eye on itChina Post tracking often goes quiet after it leaves China, so weeks with nothing new can be normal. China Post publishes no limit for this, and a stall can also mean a lost package.
When to act: If there is no new scan after 21 days, file a complaint and we send it to China Post.
Also shown as: “Acceptance” · “Posting/collection” · “Arrived at sorting center” · “Processed Through Facility”
What to do now
- 1
Note the date of the last line and count 21 days from there.
- 2
Enter the same number on your own post's tracking page, which may show newer scans.
- 3
Look at how your number starts, because a German guide says unregistered mail often starts with U and has little tracking.
- 4
Find the latest delivery date on your order page and write it down, and check that the dates and the country in the history fit your order.
- 5
Keep screenshots of the tracking history and your order number.
- 6
Still not sorted? File your complaint here. We write it with you and send it to China Post, so you do not have to chase it yourself.
No update for days with another courier
- USPS: Tracking not updating
- Amazon: Shipped, no tracking updates
- DHL: Tracking not updating
- OnTrac: Tracking not updating
- LaserShip: Tracking not updating
- GOFO: Tracking not updating
- UniUni: Tracking not updating
- SpeedX: Tracking not updating
- Veho: Tracking not updating
- GLS: Tracking not updating
- Yanwen: Tracking not updating
- YunExpress: Tracking not updating
- Cainiao: Tracking not updating
- Royal Mail: Tracking not working
- Evri: Tracking not updating or not working
- DPD: Tracking not updating
- Yodel: No update or parcel missing
- InPost: Tracking not updating
- Parcelforce: Tracking not updating or parcel late
- APC Overnight: Tracking not updating
- DX: Tracking not updating
- ArrowXL: Tracking not updating
- Canada Post: Tracking not updating
- Purolator: Tracking not updating
- Canpar: Tracking not updating
- Intelcom: Tracking not updating
- Australia Post: Tracking not updating
- Aramex: Tracking not updating
- CouriersPlease: Tracking not updating
- Sendle: Tracking not updating
- Team Global Express: Tracking not updating
- NZ Post: Tracking not updating
- An Post: Tracking not updating
What is going on
China Post's English pages give no transit time or stall limit that we could read. One buyer's list on a Canadian forum, from a slow period for mail some years ago, shows ePacket orders taking 10, 20 and 44 days, China Post Registered 27 days, and one ePacket order still missing after 65 days. Another buyer said ePacket was more reliable than regular China Post but still took longer than its estimated month.
The service matters. e-Packet, often written ePacket, is listed by China Post's EMS arm as an international service, next to an Untracked Packet, and one buyer reports an ePacket showing up in their own post's tracking after 8 days. One poster says Registered Air Mail could not be followed after it was handed over to the airline, and a German guide says unregistered mail, often with a number starting with U, has no reliable tracking. In the US you may see USPS's own line 'Origin Post is Preparing Shipment', which it uses for mail from many countries: it means USPS has had notice of the package and has not scanned it. A stall does not prove a loss, and China Post leaves formal inquiries to the sender.
Why it happens
- The package is in the air or between countries
- It is waiting at customs in China or in your country
- China Post has no data from your country's post yet
- The service has little tracking once it leaves China
- A missed scan
- The seller split the order and this number covers only one part
- The package was lost in transit
What usually happens next
Expect 'Arrival at inward office of exchange', or a first scan from the post in your country. Marketplace limits keep running in the meantime: AliExpress's Buyer Protection is tied to the guaranteed delivery window on the order page, and Amazon's guarantee covers third-party seller orders whose last possible delivery date is 90 days or less ago.
Other China Post statuses
- Departure from outward office of exchangeKeep an eye on it
- Customs clearance completedKeep an eye on it
- Arrival at inward office of exchangeNormal
- Delivered but not receivedTake action
Who is responsible for a late or missing package from China Post?
A late or missing order from an online seller is in most cases the seller's to put right, because the seller picked China Post and is its customer. China Post's English contact page also leaves formal inquiries on international items to the sender, so as we read it a buyer abroad relies on the seller for that. On a marketplace, its rules come first: AliExpress's Buyer Protection covers an item that did not arrive or was lost in transit, within the guaranteed delivery window on the order page, and Amazon's A-to-z Guarantee covers orders from third-party sellers whose last possible delivery date is 90 days or less ago. A UK order also has section 29 of the Consumer Rights Act, under which goods from a business stay at the seller's risk until you have them, unless you hired a carrier the seller did not offer.
If you posted the package yourself in China, your contract is with China Post, and it says the sender goes to the local post office for a formal inquiry. We found no English terms giving a standard cover amount.
Questions about “Tracking not updating”
How long does China Post take to the US?
China Post gives no time on its English pages that we could read, and we found no reliable figure for the US. On one buyer's list from Canada, in a slow period, ePacket orders took 10 to 44 days and one was still missing after 65.
Why does China Post take so long?
A package passes export customs, a flight and import customs before the post in your country takes it, and tracking can stay quiet in between. China Post does not give a reason on its English pages.
What is ePacket?
e-Packet, often written ePacket, is an international China Post service listed by its EMS arm. One buyer calls it more reliable than regular China Post, and it can show up in your own post's tracking.
My Amazon order names China Post as the carrier. What does that mean?
The store is showing the carrier the seller gave it, which does not prove China Post has scanned the package yet. A German guide says the name can change later, for example to CNE. Look for a first scan such as 'Posting/collection' or 'Acceptance'.
Why has my China Post tracking stopped updating?
Usually the package is between countries, or your own post has not scanned it yet. It can also mean it is lost. After 21 days with nothing new, file a complaint and we send it to China Post.
Based on
- China Post: Contact us (tracking sites, formal inquiries go through the sender)
- China Post Express and Logistics (EMS): English site, e-Packet and Untracked Packet under International Service
- RedFlagDeals forum: one buyer's list of shipping times from China
- RedFlagDeals forum: buyers on ePacket and China Post Small Packet
- RedFlagDeals forum: an ePacket appearing in tracking after 8 days
- GIGA: China Post tracking on Amazon orders (German guide)
- AliExpress: Buyer Protection (item that did not arrive within the guaranteed delivery window)
- Amazon Help: A-to-z Guarantee (orders from third-party sellers, 90 days)
- PINE64 forum: a China Post EMS tracking history shown in USPS tracking
- Reddit r/Aliexpress: a China Post history next to Canada Post scans
- Reddit r/USPS: USPS's 'Origin Post is Preparing Shipment' on a package from Japan
- Reddit r/USPS: USPS's 'Origin Post is Preparing Shipment' on a package from Spain
- Reddit r/USPS: USPS's 'Origin Post is Preparing Shipment' on packages from Poland
- Reddit r/amazon: Amazon naming China Post as the carrier
- legislation.gov.uk: Consumer Rights Act, section 29 (goods stay at the seller's risk until they reach you)