Shipping Company from Saudi Arabia to China | 0568829975 ◈ Sea Freight to Shanghai & Car Shipping

Working as a dedicated shipping company from Saudi Arabia to China, Al Rahwan picks up furniture, cartons, commercial goods and eligible cars in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and every other Saudi city, then moves them by sea in full or shared containers, sailing out of Jeddah Islamic Port on the Red Sea or Dammam’s King Abdulaziz Port towards Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen (Yantian and Shekou), Qingdao and Guangzhou, or by air from Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam airports to Shanghai Pudong, Guangzhou Baiyun, Shenzhen and Beijing. Port-to-port sea transit takes roughly 3 to 6 weeks depending on the port and the shipping line, and door to door about 25 to 45 days, whereas an air consignment needs only 2 to 5 days between airports. Small parcels sent by express courier start from SAR 115; for furniture, containers, cars and commercial cargo, request an itemised quote built on volume, weight and the destination city in China. Call 0568829975 to book a collection date and the right shipping method.

Use this page as your full guide if you are moving anything out of the Kingdom and into China, whether you are a Chinese employee whose contract has ended and who is taking the contents of his home back, a resident about to start work in Shanghai or Shenzhen, a Saudi student on a scholarship at a Chinese university, or a company sending samples and products to a trade fair in Guangzhou. It covers the available modes and how they compare, the ports and airports on both sides, transit times by port, how volumetric weight is calculated for air freight, how furniture is prepared and export-packed, the limits on car shipping, the documents for each type of shipment, clearance through Fasah and Chinese customs, delivery across Chinese cities, and the mistakes that come up again and again on this route.

Al Rahwan International Shipping runs land, sea and air services that reach the whole world, and China is among its longest voyages and the one that needs the most detail; it is a sprawling industrial country where each province has its own port, airport and customs office. Al Rahwan’s phone and WhatsApp lines are staffed daily from 7 am until 11 pm, and one conversation is usually enough to settle which option fits: a container of your own, space in a shared one, or a flight.

Can You Ship from Saudi Arabia to China, and By What Means?

Yes, and you have three options: sea, air and express courier, since no overland road is practical for moving goods between the two countries. The sea carries furniture, containers and heavy cargo: boxes are lifted onto vessels at Jeddah or Dammam and discharged at one of China’s big ports on the eastern or southern coast. Air handles parcels, samples and urgent equipment, flying out of the Riyadh (King Khalid), Jeddah (King Abdulaziz) and Dammam (King Fahd) airports.

What many people overlook is that China is not a single destination. A shipment bound for Beijing arrives at a different port from one bound for Shenzhen, a home being furnished in Hangzhou is usually served from Ningbo or Shanghai, and an office in Dongguan or Foshan is served from the Pearl River Delta ports. That is why the first thing Al Rahwan asks at booking is the final city in China, then the type of shipment, then how urgent it is; the port, the line and the mode are chosen on those three answers.

Shipping to China from Saudi Cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Beyond

Whichever Saudi city you live in, the Al Rahwan team comes to your address to pick up the shipment, which is then trucked to the port or airport best suited to its destination in China. Residents of Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, Taif and Yanbu usually ship by sea from Jeddah Islamic Port, which sits on the Red Sea and receives lines heading east to Asia. Residents of Dammam, Khobar, Dhahran, Jubail and Al-Ahsa are closer to King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, which faces the Arabian Gulf and offers the quickest listed sailings to Shanghai.

Riyadh has no seaport, so the container is loaded on a truck bound for Dammam or Jeddah depending on the booked line and sailing date, and it can pass through the Riyadh Dry Port, which is linked by railway to Dammam port. For air freight, Riyadh shipments leave from King Khalid International Airport, which has direct flights to Shenzhen and Guangzhou of about 8 hours. Shipments from Qassim, Hail and the central region are consolidated in Riyadh or sent on to Dammam, while those from Abha, Jazan and Tabuk usually go to Jeddah.

Comparing Shipping Modes from Saudi Arabia to China

If you own a whole household or enough goods to fill a box, a container of your own works out cheapest; for part of a home or a stack of cartons, shared LCL costs less; when every day counts more than the bill, fly it; and anything small enough to carry by hand belongs with the courier. The table below summarises the differences the decision rests on; every transit time in it is an approximate range, because sailing and flight schedules shift from season to season.

The rule of thumb Al Rahwan uses with its customers is simple: if the shipment is a few cubic metres or less and not urgent, start with LCL; if it is approaching half a container, compare both prices, because a full container may be better value and quicker to clear; and if it weighs under a hundred kilos and you need it within a week, fly it. Heavy furniture should not go by air except for a single valuable or essential piece, because the volumetric weight of furniture pushes the cost up sharply.

Sea Freight from Saudi Arabia to China: Ports and Transit Times

Sea freight takes roughly 3 to 6 weeks port to port, depending on the departure port, the arrival port and the number of calls. The quickest listed sailing from Dammam to Shanghai is about 16 days, the usual run on that lane is 16 to 22 days, and a full container to Shanghai or Ningbo can stretch to 30 days depending on the calls. From Jeddah, the fastest sailing to Shanghai takes about 19 days with frequent departures, and Shekou in Shenzhen is reached in about 25 days with one stop, but indirect Jeddah services can approach six weeks, so do not plan around the shortest figure.

These times exclude Chinese customs clearance and the inland leg to the final city, which is why door-to-door sea shipping is reckoned at about 25 to 45 days. Sometimes the service is not direct and the container is transshipped at an intermediate port such as Jebel Ali, Hamad in Qatar or Singapore; this adds days but may allow an earlier sailing. Al Rahwan tells you before booking whether the voyage is direct or involves transshipment, and never promises a fixed arrival date, because the sea gives that guarantee to no one.

Which Saudi Port Should Your Shipment Leave From: Jeddah or Dammam?

Dammam is the quicker option to Shanghai on the listed services, because ships leave the Arabian Gulf heading straight east, whereas ships from Jeddah first cross the southern Red Sea before entering the Indian Ocean. That does not make Dammam always the better choice: if your goods are in Jeddah, Makkah or Madinah, trucking them to Dammam adds days and cost that can outweigh the sailing difference, and Jeddah has frequent departures to Shanghai and Shekou. The rule Al Rahwan follows is the west ships from Jeddah, the east from Dammam, and Riyadh and Qassim from whichever port has the nearest suitable sailing to the arrival port.

The Chinese city also plays a part. Lines serving Shenzhen, Shekou and Nansha in the south are not necessarily the ones heading to Tianjin and Qingdao in the north, and some sailings from Jeddah call at southern ports first. That is why you are asked for the full delivery address before booking, not just the country name.

Chinese Ports That Receive Shipments from the Kingdom

Cargo from the Gulf and the Red Sea mostly arrives at Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen (Yantian and Shekou) and Qingdao, with Xiamen also among the receiving ports. The port is chosen by the final city: Shanghai serves the city itself and the Yangtze River Delta, including Suzhou and Hangzhou; Ningbo-Zhoushan, close by, serves Yiwu and Zhejiang; the Shenzhen ports and Nansha in Guangzhou serve the Pearl River Delta, including Foshan and Dongguan; Tianjin is the sea gateway to Beijing; and Qingdao serves Shandong province.

A Container of Your Own, or Space in a Shared One?

With a full container (FCL) nobody else shares the space: it is loaded at your home or warehouse, sealed, and not opened until arrival except for customs inspection, so it is handled less and suits the contents of a whole home or a commercial load. With shared LCL, your goods go to a consolidation warehouse and are loaded with other customers’ shipments bound for the same port; the container is then unpacked at a warehouse in China and each shipment is released to its owner. The cost is lower because you pay only for your volume, but transit is a little longer because of the consolidation and devanning stages.

Because LCL cargo is handled more than once, Al Rahwan makes sure every item is wrapped, numbered and marked with the consignee’s name, and that small items are grouped on stretch-wrapped pallets rather than left as loose cartons. Glass, marble and artwork are best placed in purpose-built wooden crates whatever the mode.

Air Freight from Saudi Arabia to China

Air freight to China arrives within 2 to 5 days airport to airport, and within 5 to 10 days door to door after clearance and delivery. Cargo from the capital is flown out of King Khalid airport, Jeddah consignments use King Abdulaziz airport, and Eastern Province loads depart King Fahd airport, landing at Shanghai Pudong (PVG), Guangzhou Baiyun (CAN), Shenzhen Bao’an (SZX) or Beijing (PEK). A direct flight from Riyadh to Shenzhen or Guangzhou takes about 8 hours, and dedicated freighter services operate to Guangzhou.

Air suits trade samples, urgent spare parts, electronic equipment, documents and official papers, and it also suits the traveller who needs part of his belongings as soon as he lands in China while the rest follows by sea. In that case Al Rahwan arranges both shipments together: a few cartons by air with what you need for the first weeks, and the furniture and large appliances in the container.

Working Out Volumetric Weight on Air Cargo

On a plane you are not billed on actual weight alone; the airline sets it against the volumetric weight and takes the larger. The volumetric figure comes from a single sum: measure the box in centimetres, multiply its length by its width by its height, then divide by 6000. That is why a bulky, feather-light carton is billed for the room it occupies, while a compact, dense one is billed on its true weight.

This example shows why Al Rahwan recommends compressing clothes and bedding in vacuum bags before air shipping, and choosing cartons sized to their contents with no empty space. The four cartons above are charged at 80 kg although they really weigh 56 kg, so 24 kg is paid on air inside the boxes. Medicines, liquids and cosmetics, for their part, are not accepted in household goods flown to China, so take them out of the air cartons before packing.

Express Courier for Small Parcels and Documents

For a single document, a gift or a small spare part there is no need to book full air freight: express courier collects the parcel from your door and delivers it to the recipient’s door within about 3 to 7 days, with a tracking number showing every movement. A small parcel by express courier with Al Rahwan is from SAR 115, and heavier or larger parcels are priced once the weight and dimensions are known. Recipient details are written in English with a working Chinese phone number, and adding the address in Chinese characters where available makes the courier’s job in China much easier.

Relocating Furniture and Personal Belongings to China from the Kingdom

Home furniture bound for China normally travels by sea, a full container for an entire household or LCL for a few rooms and cartons, and takes about 25 to 45 days door to door plus clearance time. Clearing these shipments in China requires the owner to hold a passport with a residence permit and work permit if he is a foreign national, or a passport showing residence abroad if he is a returning Chinese citizen, so the sailing is timed around your residence papers and the container is not left idle at the port.

Those who most often request this service from the Kingdom are Chinese staff on construction, energy and trade projects whose contracts have ended, residents who have moved to work for companies in China, scholarship students and families who will live there for a long period. Each case has its own documents, but the packing is the same: the shipment will cross thousands of miles of ocean and face humidity, temperature swings and crane handling, so the wrapping that does for a local house move falls well short here.

Shipping for Scholarship Students and Relocating Families

A student starting at a Chinese university does not need a container; a few cartons and suitcases sent by air or LCL to the university residence are usually enough. A family settling for several years needs a different calculation: flats in the big Chinese cities are generally smaller than homes in the Kingdom, so there is little sense in shipping a full majlis or a dining room that will have no space. During the survey, the Al Rahwan team helps you separate what is worth shipping, such as treasured pieces, good appliances and valuable rugs, from what is cheaper to buy in China than to ship.

Steps for Export-Packing Furniture to China

1. Survey and inventory: the crew comes to your home, or works from your photos and video, to list every piece, gauge the volume in cubic metres, and mark which pieces come apart and which go into a wooden crate.
2. Sorting: separate what will be shipped from what will be sold or left, and remove prohibited items such as fresh food, plants and soil so they are not found later inside the cartons.
3. Dismantling and numbering: beds, wardrobes and big tables come apart, with their screws bagged, numbered and taped to the piece they belong to.
4. Layered wrapping: fabric blankets, foam and stretch film for surfaces, cardboard corners for edges, and moisture-absorbing sachets with wooden and leather items.
5. Wooden crates: for mirrors, glass, marble and antiques, using treated and fumigated timber in line with export packing requirements.
6. Inventory list: every carton has a number and an English description, and electrical appliances are listed with model, serial number and size, as Chinese customs requires.
7. Loading: the heaviest pieces go in first along the floor with lighter ones stacked above, gaps are packed and the load strapped so it stays put as the ship rolls.

The inventory is the single most important document in the whole shipment. The Chinese customs officer compares the list with what he sees if the container is opened for inspection, and any electronic item missing its model and serial number can hold up release. That is why the Al Rahwan team writes the list while packing, not afterwards, photographs appliances and their labels, and hands you a copy before the container is closed.

Clearing household goods in China normally takes about 10 to 15 working days for a sea shipment and 3 to 5 working days for an air one, and it can run longer in some cities once the weight exceeds a set threshold. Practice varies from city to city: what is required in Shanghai may not be asked in the same form in Guangzhou, which is why the destination agent contacts port customs before the container arrives and tells you which papers are still missing.

Car Shipping from Saudi Arabia to China

Shipping a car to China is possible logistically, but importing it is tightly restricted: China generally does not accept used-car imports, and personal import is limited to specific categories such as certain eligible foreign experts and residents and diplomats, after customs approves an import permit and provided the car meets Chinese environmental and safety standards. For diplomatic shipments, cars more than 10 years old are prohibited. Al Rahwan therefore confirms the customer’s eligibility and that the permit has been issued before booking any shipment, because a car arriving without approval may be refused at the port.

If the car is eligible, the usual method on this route is a container: the car rides from your city to the port covered and strapped down on a long transporter with several decks, then goes into the container with its wheels on wooden chocks and straps tensioned to the container floor. Ahead of loading, photos are taken of all four sides, the mileage reading is noted, fuel is reduced to the minimum and personal items are removed except what regulations allow. Roll-on/roll-off ships, which the car is driven onto, depend on line availability at the time of shipping and are confirmed at booking.

China receives imported cars through ports designated for vehicle import services, including Shanghai, Tianjin New Port, Dalian and Guangzhou Huangpu, so it is not enough for a port simply to be close to your city. On the Saudi side, the vehicle registration (istimara) and the owner’s ID are required, the plates are surrendered and an export declaration is issued, and a car still under finance cannot leave without written consent from the lending bank. On the Chinese side, the import permit, documents proving the car’s age and value, a written application to customs, the import declaration and the invoice are required.

Sending Boxes, Suitcases and Parcels to China from the Kingdom

Cartons and suitcases go to China in three ways: express courier for a small parcel, from SAR 115 and arriving in about 3 to 7 days; air freight for several cartons you need within days; and shared sea freight for a large number of non-urgent cartons, which becomes the best value once the volume passes a cubic metre or so. The Al Rahwan crew picks the boxes up at your house or company housing, weighs and measures each one while you watch, then tells you which mode is most economical.

Anyone leaving the Kingdom after many years usually finds that what he wants to take exceeds the airline baggage allowance: winter clothes, books, favourite kitchenware and gifts for the family. Shipping suitcases and cartons separately is then far cheaper than excess-baggage charges at the airport, provided each suitcase is locked and stretch-wrapped and every piece is marked with your name, your phone number in China and the destination city.

• Use double-wall cartons and avoid used grocery boxes, which weaken in sea humidity.
• Keep each carton to 25 to 30 kilograms so it is easy to lift and less likely to split.
• Put a contents list inside every carton and another taped to the outside.
• Do not put loose batteries, perfumes or liquids in air-freight cartons.
• Photograph the contents of valuable cartons before sealing them; a photo settles any later dispute.

Shipping Commercial Goods from Saudi Arabia to China

Trade cargo heads to China by sea, in a full or shared container when quantities are large, and by plane when it is a sample or a rush order. No commercial consignment moves without three core papers: an invoice issued to the buyer, a packing list, and the transport document, meaning an ocean bill of lading or an air waybill, plus a Harmonized System (HS) code against each line. Food, cosmetics and animal products undergo additional checks by the inspection and quarantine function within Chinese customs, and may need a permit or inspection certificate before release.

Al Rahwan works with Saudi exporters sending product samples to importers in Guangzhou and Shanghai, companies sending exhibition materials and stands to China’s trade-fair cities, and workshops returning equipment or spare parts to their factories in China for servicing. Each has its own method: a small sample by air or courier, exhibition materials timed to arrive days before opening, and heavy equipment in a container with a packing list stating the weight and dimensions of every case.

Agree the international delivery terms (Incoterms) with the Chinese buyer from the outset: does your responsibility end when the goods are loaded at Dammam or Jeddah, do you pay freight to the arrival port, or all the way to the buyer’s warehouse? That agreement decides who pays for what and who carries the risk at each stage, and avoids disputes that are common when the point is left vague.

Paperwork for a China Shipment, Saudi Side and Chinese Side

What you need varies with what you send: household belongings call for a passport carrying a Chinese residence and work permit plus a detailed inventory; trade goods call for an invoice, packing list and HS codes; and a vehicle cannot move without a Chinese import permit issued beforehand. On the Saudi side, every case requires the sender’s ID or iqama, an authorisation for the customs broker to file the export declaration on Fasah, and full consignee details in China.

Do not send incomplete copies or unclear scans of the passport and residence permit; these documents go to destination customs as they are, and any difference in the spelling of the name between the passport and the bill of lading can stop the process. Al Rahwan therefore checks names letter by letter before the bill of lading is issued.

Customs Clearance in Saudi Arabia and China

Clearance starts in the Kingdom with an export declaration that the broker lodges on Fasah, the digital gateway operated under ZATCA (Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority), and finishes in China with the General Administration of Customs (GACC), whose local office at the port of entry carries out inspection and release. The declaration is registered in advance in China through the China International Trade Single Window before the shipment arrives.

In the Kingdom, the broker files the export declaration electronically on your behalf, with the B/L plus either the invoice or the inventory attached, and the container is then either inspected or cleared to load. In China, practice varies by city: each local customs office has its own details on the papers required and the inspection time, and the shipment may be X-rayed or opened and checked against the list. Al Rahwan does not list duty or tax rates or exemption conditions on this page, because they turn on what is being shipped, who is importing it and which city receives it, as well as on whatever rules apply when the goods move; the destination agent spells them out for each case.

Prohibited and Restricted Items for Shipping to China

China prohibits weapons, ammunition and explosives; counterfeit currency and securities; printed matter, films and discs it considers harmful; poisons and narcotics; and animals, plants and their products carrying pests or diseases. Alongside them are items people drop into cartons without noticing, so go through this list before packing, not after.

• Unprocessed or fresh food, meat and dairy products.
• Live plants, soil and seeds.
• Maps showing China’s borders contrary to Chinese law.
• Ivory and products of endangered species.
• Telecommunications equipment and gambling equipment.
• Medicines, liquids and cosmetics in household-goods air shipments.
• Antiques are best registered so they do not cause problems on later re-export.

Dates, Arabic coffee and incense are among the gifts people most want to take from the Kingdom, and as foodstuffs and similar products they may be subject to inspection or restriction, so do not tuck them into furniture or between clothes; mention them to the team before packing so it can decide whether and how they ship and how they are listed. On the Saudi side, some materials need approval before export, so declare the full contents of the shipment from the start.

Insuring Your Shipment to China

Marine insurance is not compulsory in every case, but in practice it is essential on a long voyage through intermediate ports and repeated crane handling. The value of the shipment is declared through the inventory, and damage or loss in transit is covered under the policy terms, which usually exclude items the owner packed himself or items not on the list. It is therefore best for the Al Rahwan team to pack valuable items, for everything to be photographed before sealing, and for the number of pieces to be checked on delivery in China before signing. The cost of insurance is calculated on the declared value and added within the itemised quote.

Tracking Your Shipment from Saudi Arabia to China

Once the cargo is on its way you are given a box number and B/L number for sea freight, the air waybill number for air freight, or the tracking number for express courier, and you follow the shipment with them. For sea freight the tracking shows the sailing date, any transshipment port and the expected arrival date, and the Al Rahwan team sends you a WhatsApp update at every key stage: loading, sailing, arrival, release and delivery date.

Storing Your Goods Before Shipping or After Arrival

Sometimes the house in the Kingdom must be handed back before the ship sails, or the container docks in China while your new flat is still not ready to move into. In either case temporary storage can be arranged on request, in the Kingdom before shipping or in the destination city with the receiving agent, and the goods stay wrapped as they are until delivery. The storage period and cost depend on volume and duration and show up as their own entry on the quote.

Booking Your China Shipment with Al Rahwan

1. Reach Al Rahwan by phone on 0568829975 or on WhatsApp and tell the team your Saudi city, the city you are sending to in China, and what you are shipping.
2. Share pictures or a short video of the items, or ask for an on-site survey for a complete home.
3. Receive an itemised quote: inland transport, packing, freight, clearance and delivery.
4. The mode, the port or airport and the collection date are fixed, and the documents for both sides are prepared.
5. The team arrives on the agreed day, dismantles, wraps, numbers and writes the inventory, then loads the shipment.
6. The export declaration is filed on Fasah, the container or parcels are shipped, and you receive the tracking number.
7. The destination agent handles clearance in China and delivers the shipment to your address.

Because sailings run on fixed dates set by the shipping line, it is best to get in touch a good few weeks before you travel, especially if the shipment is a whole home that needs a day or two of packing, or a car whose papers take time to be issued.

Delivery Across China: Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing and Yiwu

Al Rahwan delivers to the main Chinese cities through the port or airport closest to each, then by truck or delivery van to the address. Priority goes to choosing the arrival port nearest the final city, because inland transport in China can be long and costly if the container lands at a port far from its destination.

In large Chinese residential compounds, entry times usually have to be arranged with building management and the lift booked for moving furniture, so the delivery agent contacts you a day or two in advance. If someone else is receiving the shipment, make sure his number is correct and that he can answer, because the driver will not wait long at the gate.

What Will Your China Shipment Cost?

Shipping from Saudi Arabia to China starts from SAR 115 for a small courier parcel, while sea and air freight for furniture, goods and cars is not priced as a single figure but built from line items: volume in cubic metres or chargeable weight, the container type or LCL, the departure and arrival ports, the packing required, clearance on both sides, and inland transport in both cities. Request an itemised quote, which shows where every riyal goes and lets you drop anything you do not need.

Worked Example: Parcels and Cartons to Three Cities

A Riyadh company wants to send three small parcels of documents and samples to three clients in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Yiwu. Each small parcel by express courier is from SAR 115, so the starting cost is 3 × 115 = SAR 345 for the three parcels. Alongside them, the company wants to ship 4 exhibition cartons, each 60 × 50 × 40 cm and weighing 14 kg, giving a chargeable air weight of 80 kg as in the volumetric table, priced with an itemised quote. By sea, each carton is 0.6 × 0.5 × 0.4 = 0.12 cubic metres, and the four cartons 0.48 cubic metres, a small volume in a shared container that suits anyone not in a hurry.

The example shows how the best-value mode changes with size and urgency: small parcels by courier, a few urgent cartons by air, and a large non-urgent load by sea. What moves the bill is no mystery: air trapped inside half-empty cartons, a discharge port a long way from the delivery city, packing left to the last minute, and incomplete documents that cause waiting charges at the port.

Mistakes People Often Make on a China Shipment

• Shipping furniture before obtaining a Chinese residence permit: the container arrives, cannot be cleared in your name, and storage charges build up.
• A vague inventory: writing “household goods” without detail and forgetting appliance models and serial numbers.
• Choosing a distant port: shipping a home bound for Beijing to a southern port and then trucking it a long way inland.
• Shipping a car without a permit: assuming any car can be imported, when restrictions on used cars and personal imports are strict.
• Packing food or medicines among the goods: which can hold the whole shipment for inspection.
• Large light cartons by air: so volumetric weight is paid on empty space.
• Inconsistent name spelling: between the passport, the bill of lading and the inventory.
• A recipient phone number that does not work: which stalls delivery in the Chinese city.

Why Al Rahwan for Your China Shipment?

Al Rahwan looks after the whole journey, from the house you are leaving in the Kingdom to the address waiting for you in China, so you do not deal with one company for packing, another for freight and a third for clearance. The packing team uses materials suited to long export voyages, writes the inventory the way Chinese customs requires, books the line closest to your city, and sends you stage updates on WhatsApp. The quote is itemised before collection, so you know the cost of every service separately.

China is only one destination on Al Rahwan International Shipping’s map; its land, sea and air network covers every other country too, with planes kept for urgent loads, and that reach is what lets it weigh more than one sea routing for you and choose what suits your timetable and budget. Call 0568829975 between 7 am and 11 pm, send photos of your goods and your Chinese city, and you will know the mode, the transit time and the line items on the same call.

Related Articles and Pages

• Shipping to China: the destination page with routes and services
• Shipping Company from Saudi Arabia to India
• Shipping Company from Saudi Arabia to Malaysia
• Request a shipping quote: send your shipment details and receive an itemised quote

Frequently Asked Questions

How many days does it take to ship to China from Saudi Arabia, by sea and by air?

Roughly 3 to 6 weeks by sea from port to port: the fastest listed sailing from Dammam to Shanghai is about 16 days and from Jeddah about 19 days, with 25 to 45 days door to door. By air it is 2 to 5 days between airports and 5 to 10 days to the door.

How are China shipping prices from the Kingdom worked out?

SAR 115 is where Al Rahwan’s express courier price begins for a small parcel. Furniture, containers, air cargo and cars are costed line by line from volume or chargeable weight, port, packing, clearance and inland transport, so ask for an itemised quote on 0568829975.

Which shipping company should I use to send goods from the Kingdom to China?

Al Rahwan International Shipping takes charge from your door in whichever Saudi city you live to the delivery address in China: export packing, an inventory laid out the way Chinese customs expects, booking out of Jeddah or Dammam, Fasah clearance and WhatsApp updates, with an itemised quote before pickup.

Which Saudi port do shipments to China leave from: Jeddah or Dammam?

Two main ports serve the route: Jeddah Islamic Port handles the west of the Kingdom, and Dammam’s King Abdulaziz Port the east, with the quickest listed sailing to Shanghai at about 16 days. Cargo from Riyadh and Qassim is trucked to whichever of the two has the nearest suitable sailing.

Which Chinese ports receive shipments from Saudi Arabia?

Five main ports: Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen (Yantian and Shekou), Qingdao and Guangzhou (Nansha), with Xiamen also used and Tianjin serving as Beijing’s sea gateway. The port nearest the final Chinese city is chosen to keep inland transport short.

How do airlines work out the chargeable weight on cargo to China?

6000 is the number to remember: a box’s three measurements in cm, multiplied and then divided by 6000, give its volumetric weight, and the airline bills the bigger of that and the scale reading. A 60 × 50 × 40 cm carton weighing 14 kg is therefore charged as 20 kg, so pack in cartons that fit the contents.

Is it possible to send a car to China from Saudi Arabia?

Car imports into China are tightly restricted: used cars are generally not accepted, and personal import is limited to specific categories with a prior customs permit and compliance with Chinese standards. If you qualify, the car travels in a container to a designated vehicle import port, so confirm eligibility first.

Which papers do I need to send a shipment to China?

Three sets, depending on the cargo: household belongings need a passport with a Chinese residence and work permit and an inventory, trade goods an invoice, packing list and HS codes, and a vehicle an import permit. For the Saudi export leg: ID or iqama plus a Fasah authorisation for the broker.

What items are prohibited from shipping to China?

Weapons, ammunition, explosives, narcotics, poisons and counterfeit currency are banned, along with fresh food, meat, dairy, plants, soil, ivory, telecom equipment and gambling equipment. Medicines, liquids and cosmetics are not accepted in household-goods air shipments.

Can I ship furniture and personal belongings when moving to China?

Yes, furniture travels by sea, in a container of your own or a shared one, within 25 to 45 days door to door, and Chinese clearance requires the owner’s passport with a residence and work permit, so the sailing is timed around the issue of your residence papers.

How does a full container differ from shared LCL on the China route?

A full container (FCL) is booked for you alone and stays sealed until arrival, suiting a whole home or large commercial load. With shared LCL you pay only for your volume per cubic metre, and it takes 20 to 35 days because of consolidation and devanning.

Will Al Rahwan collect from my home in Riyadh and deliver to my address in China?

Yes, in about 25 to 45 days door to door by sea or 5 to 10 days by air. Al Rahwan picks up at your Riyadh home, trucks the container to Dammam or Jeddah or flies the cargo from King Khalid airport, then hands it over at your address in China.

How long does customs clearance take in China?

About 10 to 15 working days for household goods by sea and 3 to 5 working days by air as a rule, and it can be longer in some cities. Practice differs between Chinese customs offices, so the destination agent contacts them before arrival.

Is it possible to follow my China shipment while it is on the way?

Yes: by box number and B/L number on sea freight, by air waybill number on air freight, or by tracking number on express courier. The Al Rahwan team also sends WhatsApp updates at loading, sailing, arrival, release and delivery scheduling.