China is located in eastern Asia, between North Korea and Vietnam. It is one of the largest countries in Asia. People in different regions across the country write address formats in different ways.  This can confuse the postal service provider who might deliver the package at the wrong place. This can lead to poor customer experience and impact your business’s reputation. 

Moreover, different types of addresses have specific requirements. Take, for instance, the military address format requires a military unit number instead of a street address. The street address is important for shipping to a residential address in Chinese mail. This is why properly formatting addresses is important. However, writing the write address can be complex. We will help you learn how to structure address format for shipping to different types of addresses to navigate these complexities. You will also get to learn more about the country such as postal information.

Recipient Name

Start with the name and title of the recipient. You can add appropriate titles like Xiansheng for Mr. and Nushi for Mrs in front of the name. If you are sending the mail to a business, you’d write the company name, followed by the recipient’s name and their department. To ensure that the internal mail distribution system sends the mail to the right desk or office, write ATTN. in front of the recipient’s name.

Street Address

Write the street name and the house number or building number in the shipping address. In case there is a sub-building, write it before the building number without any separating punctuation.

District, City, and Province

When you address a package make sure to write the name of the suburb, district, city, and province in which the person lives. In case they live in a municipality, write the name of that as well.

Postal Code and Locality

Postal codes are called youn bian in China and are six-digit numbers.  Write the locality name after the postal code or ZIP code when you are addressing packages.

Country Name

Write the country name in the last line of the address on the package. In case of international shipping to Mainland China, write the destination country name in capital letters.

Space

Leave at least ½ to 2-inch space on the right side of the address.  China’s courier service workers use this space to write the delivery information such as the name and postal code in their native languages.

USPS Guidelines

According to USPS, when sending international mail to China, it is mandatory to write the address in English. However, if you using any other courier service, you can incorporate Chinese or pinyin characters while writing addresses for shipping but always write the city, province, and country names in English.

Ink Color

If you write the address by hand, always use blank or blue ink. Never use red ink color as it is considered inauspicious.

Address Placement

The address should be written on the bottom right-hand corner of the envelope.

Address Line Alignment

The address lines should be left aligned.

Return Address

While completely optional, it is advisable to write the return address in the correct format on the top left corner of the envelope or the back of the envelope. This way in case the mail delivery is unsuccessful, the carrier can return it to you. The return address format includes all the elements of the shipping address format.

Residential Address Format

Write the recipient’s name, street address or PO box, district, city, province, postal code, and country name.

Rural Address Format

In rural areas, there are no official street numbers and names. In such cases, the recipient’s name is followed by the name of the village or the settlement, followed by the nearest larger town, city, province, postal code, and country.

Business Address Format

Write the name of the company in the first line, followed by the recipient name and department in the second and third lines respectively. All the other address elements will remain in the same place as the residential address.

International Address Format for NGOs And Organizations

Write the name of the organization in the first line and the specific department in the second line so that the package can be delivered successfully to the right desk. The rest of the address component will remain in the same place as the residential address.

PO Box Address Format

Instead of the street address, write PO Box and then the unique PO box number.

Military Address Format

Mail addressed to military personnel in China is handled by the China Military Mail which is managed by the China Post. Start with the rank and full name of the person, followed by their military unit number, PO box number, postal code, city, and country.

Government Office Address Format

Write the name of the office and the department before the street address or PO box number. All the other address components will remain in the same place as the residential address.

Address Format for Multiple Recipients

If you are sending mail to multiple people in the same household or a business, write each name in a separate line. For a business, write the name in a separate line followed by the company name and the specific department.

Address  Format for Courier Services

If you are sending mail through courier services like DHL, or FedEx, write the contact details of the recipient in the last line. This will help ensure accurate deliveries.

The national postal system of China is Chinese Post which was established in 1877. It is responsible for managing domestic and international mail services. It is one of the largest postal service providers in the world with over 80,000 offices. It offers a wide range of services like letter post, parcel, express delivery, logistics, eCommerce, and insurance.

Sending direct mail to the wrong address reduces your chances of increasing sales, building relationships with prospects, or maybe nurturing networks with clients or customers. A simple typing error, spelling mistake, or formatting mistake can also affect your brand’s reputation. Hence, keeping the correct data in your database and watching for incorrect or incomplete data entering your system is essential. 

All of these problems can be solved when you have a perfect address verification solution, like PostGrid, in place. Autocomplete, verify, validate, and standardize addresses across 250+ countries & territories to local postal standards for better deliverability, up-to-date records, and eliminating return mail with PostGrid. Be it a single address at a time or verifying over 1 million addresses in one go our solution will assist in ensuring correct deliveries to China mailing addresses.

If you want to send mail to countries other than China but don’t know the proper address format for shipping, we have got you covered. You can check out our international address format page and learn about address format for countries across the world.