If you buy from Chinese online stores, a lot of your packages arrive through China Post, often via a service called ePacket. It is inexpensive and reasonably trackable, but the journey is long and the tracking number changes hands partway. This guide explains how China Post and ePacket work, how to read the number, and how the handoff to the US Postal Service plays out.
What China Post and ePacket are
China Post is China's national postal operator. ePacket is a specific cross-border service, originally created to speed up lightweight parcels between China and destination countries like the United States, with online tracking included. Many low-cost items from Chinese marketplaces ship on ePacket or on similar China Post air parcel services.
The defining feature for US shoppers is the handoff. A China Post or ePacket parcel is carried out of China, flown to the US, cleared through customs, and then injected into the US Postal Service for final delivery. Your same tracking number is designed to keep working through that transition, so the last scans in your history usually come from USPS.
Reading the tracking number
China Post international items almost always use the S10 format, defined by the Universal Postal Union: two letters, nine digits, and a two-letter country code. For items from China the suffix is CN, for example LZ123456789CN or RB987654321CN. The leading letters hint at the service class (for instance, R often indicates a registered item), though you do not need to decode them to track.
Because the same number is meant to work end to end, you can paste it into the PackageTrackNow search box and follow both the China Post leg and the USPS leg on one page. That saves you from checking a Chinese tracking site and then re-entering the number on the USPS site once it lands. You can also open the China Post tracking page directly.
Where to find the number
- In your marketplace order details under shipping or logistics.
- In a shipping notification email from the seller.
- Occasionally the seller provides a separate local US tracking number for the final leg; if the S10 number goes quiet, check the order page for a second number.
Realistic delivery times
ePacket is affordable, not fast. Plan for these rough windows, which vary with customs and season:
- ePacket to the US — commonly one to three weeks door to door, sometimes faster, sometimes longer around Chinese New Year and major sale events.
- China Post ordinary air parcel — often two to five weeks, with fewer scans along the way.
- Registered mail — similar timing but with more reliable scanning and a signature on delivery.
Long silent gaps are normal on these services, especially while an item is leaving China, in the air, or sitting in US customs. A week with no update does not mean the package is lost.
Understanding the scan timeline
A typical China Post or ePacket history moves through recognizable stages:
- Posted / Accepted — the item entered the China Post network at the origin city.
- Departure from outward office of exchange — it left the international sorting center in China (Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen are common).
- In transit / Arrived at destination country — it reached the US.
- Customs clearance — going through US import processing; this step can pause with no updates.
- Handed over to USPS / USPS awaiting item, then In Transit — the Postal Service takes over the last mile.
- Out for delivery, then Delivered — final USPS scans.
The moment where the China Post scans stop and USPS scans begin is exactly where the handoff happens. If you are watching on a Chinese tracking site only, it can look like the package vanished; in reality it just moved to a different postal system.
When a China Post package stalls
- Give it time. These services are slow by design. Wait until you are well past the seller's estimated arrival window before worrying.
- Expect a customs pause. A quiet stretch during "customs clearance" or right after arrival in the US is normal.
- Look for the USPS leg. If the S10 number stopped updating after reaching the US, the USPS scans may already be flowing on the same number, or under a separate US number in your order page.
- Contact the seller, not the carrier. For a marketplace order, the seller arranged the shipping and is your route to a reship or refund. Chinese postal customer service is not practical for a US buyer.
- Use buyer protection. Marketplaces set a delivery deadline; if it passes with no delivery, open a dispute before the protection window closes.
Following the whole journey on PackageTrackNow
Because PackageTrackNow is an independent aggregator, not China Post or USPS, it is built to follow a number across the handoff and show the China Post and USPS events together. Paste your CN number into the tracker and watch the full chain in one place. If your order actually shipped through a marketplace logistics network rather than the postal system, our guides on tracking AliExpress orders and tracking Temu and Shein orders cover those routes, and the courier directory lists the carriers involved.
The takeaway
A China Post or ePacket number ending in CN is a cross-border parcel that will finish its trip on USPS, so expect a two- to three-week window, a customs pause, and a handoff where the scans switch postal systems. Track it on a tool that follows both legs, be patient through the quiet stretches, and turn to the seller and the marketplace's buyer protection if the deadline passes.