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Letter-Post ItemsMainland China Letter-Post Items

Last updated:2023/08/31 Print

Definition and Types of Mail

Mainland China Letter-Post Items refers to mail sent from Taiwan to the Mainland area (excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Outer Mongolia), or from the Mainland area to Taiwan.
Mainland China Letter-Post Items includes the following types: letters, postcards, aerograms, printed matter, newsprint, literature for the blind, and small packages.
Mainland China Mail can be divided into airmail and surface mail according to its mode of transportation.
Depending on the way of receiving and handling, Mainland China Letter-Post Items can be divided into regular mail and special-handling mail. Regular mail has no tracking number and can be delivered directly into the mailbox (AIRMAIL) for posting, but no postal tracking service is provided.
Special-handling mail can be divided into registered mail and registered mail requiring advice of receipt.
    (Note: Currently, we only provide special-handling service for airmail, while only regular mail service is accepted for surface mail, we do not provide special-handling service.)

Posting for delivery

All types of Mainland China Letter-Post Items sent to Mainland China do not provide insurance and name and address change services, and mail that has already left the Outbound Sorting and Packaging Bureau of Chunghwa Post will not be accepted for withdrawal.

Weight and Size Limits

Weight limit:
Letters, printed matter, newsprint, small packages shall be less than 2 kg per mailpiece. Note: Printed matter such as books and brochures can be extended to 5 kg.
Literature for the blind shall be less than 7 kg per mailpiece.
The weight of each special bag for printed matter shall not be less than 10 kg, with a limit of 25 kg.
Size limitation:
Please refer to the domestic mail service description.

Estimated days of arrival

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the arrival days are expected to be significantly delayed.

Mainland China Airmail takes 7-15 working days to reach from the date of posting.
Mainland China Surface Mail takes 30-45 working days to reach from the date of vessel departure.
The estimated arrival days do not include security check, customs inspection and customs custody days; the arrival days refer to the dispatch time to major cities, and additional transit days are required for suburban or remote areas.
In case of delayed or canceled flights (sailings) due to weather conditions or during peak mail periods in mainland China (such as the Spring Festival, Tomb Sweeping Festival, Labor Day long holidays, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Mainland China National Day long holidays, Double 11 Online Shopping Promotion Period, and so on), the estimated arrival time will be delayed.

Important Notes

The sender shall confirm the import regulations of the Mainland area before sending his/her shipment. If the shipment fails to comply with the regulations and is detained or subject to import duties or prohibited by the Mainland Customs, it will be the responsibility of the sender and the postage will not be refunded.
To cooperate with the mainland's system to send customs declaration by SMS and delivery contact, the recipient's phone number should be filled in to receive SMS and keep the communication smooth, please minimize giving the fixed telephone number (landline number).
Please do not post fragile items (such as glass, porcelain, etc.), if you insist on posting them, the responsibility for any damage will be yours.
Customs Regulations for Mailing to the Mainland Area
  1. The Mainland Customs' inspection of the contents of imported mail is based on the principle of "individual's reasonable personal use".
  2. The upper range value of mail sent to the Mainland area is limited to RMB 800 per shipment (i.e. the duty-paid value of the contents). However, this limit is not a criterion for the determination of duty-free. If the declared value is not truthful or exceeds the above limit, the sender shall be responsible for any taxable or returnable item as assessed by the Mainland Customs.
  3. Any personal belonging imported into the Mainland area may be subject to customs duty. For the mail item that generates customs duty, the mail item will be released for delivery by the Mainland Customs after the duty has been paid.
  4. Following the results of the Mainland Customs' inspection, if the mailpiece needs to be declared, taxed or shipped back to the sender, the Mainland's Postal Administration will notify by SMS or issue a Customs Declaration Notice, the period of retention of the mailpiece by the Mainland Customs varies from 15 days to 3 months (the actual situation depends on the local customs regulations). If the sender/receiver fails to comply with the notification, the mailpiece will be sent back to the sender, which will take 1 week by air and 1 month by surface transportation. The actual transportation return period of the mailpiece depends on the transportation arrangement of the Mainland's Postal Administration and has nothing to do with the committed delivery time of our Company.
  5. When the mail is requested to be returned or goes through the import customs clearance by the Mainland Customs, the "recipient" must declare and present a copy of his/her identity document (if the recipient is a company, an application form with the company's large and small seals must be submitted separately) before the relevant procedures can be completed. Please note that if the mailpiece is returned by customs, the postage paid will not be refunded.

Prohibited Items

According to the provisions of the Universal Postal Union Convention, the following items are prohibited from being posted:
Items Contents
Sharp metals and so on Any item whose nature or packaging may injure staff members or deface other mail or postal equipment. Metallic clasps and needles used to seal mail shall not have sharp edges and shall not interfere with the execution of postal services.
Valuables and so on Antiques, works of art, jewelry, paintings, platinum, gold or silver, whether processed or unprocessed, coins and marketable securities, and so forth. *Marketable securities include bank bills, banknotes, bearer bonds, cheques, corporate bonds, dividend certificates, promissory notes, share certificates, stock certificates, traveler's cheques, treasury bills, bills of lading, and so forth.
Items prohibited for import by the country of destination Items whose importation or circulation is prohibited by the laws of the country to which they are sent.
Live animals Live animals are not allowed to be sent by post.
Obscene materials Obscene materials or items harmful to society's morals.
Dangerous goods Explosive, flammable or other dangerous goods, radioactive materials.
Narcotics Drugs and other narcotic substances.
Other items prohibited from posting for delivery Items prohibited by government or customs laws and regulations, counterfeit goods and infringing products.

Note: The "Regulations Governing the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air" was promulgated and implemented on February 25th, 2008, and anyone found violating the transport of dangerous goods by air is punishable by a fine of more than NTD 20,000 but less than NTD 100,000 as per the Civil Aviation Act.

Items Prohibited from Posting to the Mainland Area

Items Prohibited from Posting to the Mainland Area
  1. All kinds of weapons, imitation weapons (such as replica toy guns, etc.), knives, swords and clubs, ammunition and explosives (including high-pressure spray cans), flammable, explosive, corrosive, radioactive, toxic and other dangerous goods and perishable biological substances.
  2. Currency, marketable securities, counterfeit currency and marketable securities of all kinds.
  3. Mobile phones, lithium batteries, portable chargers, tablet PCs, notebooks and related products with built-in lithium batteries.
  4. Artworks, crystal, jade artifacts, gold, silver and other precious metals and their products.
  5. Printed matter, roll films, photographs, records, videos, audiotapes, videotapes, audio-visual discs, computer storage media and other items that are harmful to the political, economic, cultural and socialist morals of the Mainland area.
  6. All kinds of indecent publications, promotional products and printed materials that endanger social safety and stability.
  7. Perishable goods. Such as fruits, vegetables, fresh food, and so on.
  8. Traditional Chinese Medicine materials
  9. Agricultural, fish, meat and their products and products with visible egg yolk (such as egg yolk pastry). (10) All kinds of live animals, plants (including seeds), animal and plant products with dangerous germs, pests and other harmful organisms.
  10. Articles that impair public health. Such as corpses (including bone-ash), animal organs, limbs and trunk, animal skin hide, animal bones, and so on.
  11. Endangered and precious animals and other products (such as leather and fur of endangered and rare animals), plants (all, including specimens) and their seeds and propagation materials.
  12. Opium (including poppy hull, flowers, bracts, leaves, and so on), morphine, heroin, marijuana, coca leaves, and other addictive narcotics and psychotropic substances.
  13. All kinds of potent poisons and infectious substances. Such as pesticides, thallium, cyanide, arsenic trioxide, tear gas, and so on.
  14. Food, medicine and other items that are harmful to human and animal health, coming from epidemic zones and can transmit diseases.
  15. Improperly packaged items that may endanger personal safety or contaminate or damage other mail or equipment.
  16. Items whose packaging cannot ensure the safety of the contents, and shock-prone and fragile items that are not adapted for postal delivery., such as measuring meters, video tubes, television sets, cameras, video recorders, light bulbs, hot water bottles, glassware, porcelainware and so forth.
  17. Works of art, historical artifacts, and other prohibited cultural objects
  18. Wood, stone, and their products.
  19. Soil.
  20. All kinds of powder, crystalline products and liquid products whose ingredients cannot be identified.
  21. Products containing alcohol, such as wine, perfume, lotion, and so forth.
  22. Counterfeited, faked, unbranded, unmodelled items or electronic products.
  23. Other items that are prohibited from circulation or delivery by law.
The inspection of incoming mail in the Mainland area is under the authority of the Mainland Customs, and there are many types of prohibited items in the Mainland area, so please confirm in advance before sending your mailpiece.
Except for products prohibited from being sent by mail, pharmaceuticals for personal use can be sent to the Mainland area within the scope of reasonable self-use (but the Mainland Customs still has the right to review, inspect, approve and reject). Please refer to the FAQs on the Company's website for relevant instructions.