Hi, I posted a package (a computer part - no batteries or anything else that's not allowed!) to Shenzhen for repair from the UK. Royal mail tracking just shows:

Status: It's on its way
Your item, posted on 03/10/15 with reference RU825164069GB has arrived in BEIJING CHINA and is being processed for delivery.

The tracking on here says:
07-Oct-2015 09:03 Arrival Import customs BEIJING TR

Does this mean it's just been sitting in customs for a week? Does it update after clearing customs or just jump to "delivered" when it gets there? How long is "normal" from arrival in Beijing to Shenzhen?

Thanks!

Quote from jezcooke on October 14, 2015, 21:20
...
The tracking on here says:
07-Oct-2015 09:03 Arrival Import customs BEIJING TR

Does this mean it's just been sitting in customs for a week? Does it update after clearing customs or just jump to "delivered" when it gets there? How long is "normal" from arrival in Beijing to Shenzhen?

There's already been a delivery attempt on your item. You can get better details from this link:
http://track-chinapost.com/track_chinapost.php?code=RU825164069GB

2015-10-12 17:09:01.0 CN 51805502 arrive 投递西丽 delivery office
2015-10-13 18:57:26.0 CN 51805502 投递西丽 attempt delivery
2015-10-14 07:09:43.0 CN 51805502 投递西丽 正在投递
2015-10-14 19:04:21.0 CN 51805502 投递西丽 attempt delivery

Quote from shadowspar on October 14, 2015, 22:44

Quote from jezcooke on October 14, 2015, 21:20
...
The tracking on here says:
07-Oct-2015 09:03 Arrival Import customs BEIJING TR

Does this mean it's just been sitting in customs for a week? Does it update after clearing customs or just jump to "delivered" when it gets there? How long is "normal" from arrival in Beijing to Shenzhen?

There's already been a delivery attempt on your item. You can get better details from this link:
http://track-chinapost.com/track_chinapost.php?code=RU825164069GB

2015-10-12 17:09:01.0 CN 51805502 arrive 投递西丽 delivery office
2015-10-13 18:57:26.0 CN 51805502 投递西丽 attempt delivery
2015-10-14 07:09:43.0 CN 51805502 投递西丽 正在投递
2015-10-14 19:04:21.0 CN 51805502 投递西丽 attempt delivery

Thank you very much, that link is very helpful! By the way could you tell me what "正在投递" means, Google translate says "It is delivered" but it says it twice on the current tracking with "attempt delivery" afterwards so I guess it isn't actually delivered yet? I will contact the recipient anyway.

Quote from chinapostvolunteer on October 15, 2015, 07:04
"正在投递" means attempt delivery.

OK, thank you!

Quote from boxter1 on October 15, 2015, 12:04
Latvia, fastest delivery 8days, longest 28, average 20. So you say my parcels are making new history in china post? 😀

Heh, it's entirely possible, things seem to be notably slower than normal for everybody right now. But really...when you take a look around you: the fastest/average/slowest times for Latvia are 9/20/28 days, respectively. Lithuania is notably slower, at 12/23/43 days, as is Estonia, at 17/24/31. But keep going north and south, and you find that Finland is considerably faster, at 6/11/36 days...and at 6/10/16 days, Poland is so much faster that you might get your parcel sooner by mailing it there and walking to meet it instead.

The moral of the story: postal delivery times are bizarre, and there's not always much point in trying to make sense of them. All we can really do is wait patiently, and raise an objection when a parcel is so far behind schedule that it seems to be lost.