How to Track a Parcel From China to Pakistan

What tracking number will I get?

It depends on who ships the parcel.

• AliExpress Standard Shipping or Cainiao numbers usually start with LP or a two-letter code and are tracked on Cainiao's site or 17track.
• China Post and ePacket numbers end in CN. They track on China Post and on Pakistan Post once they arrive.
• Courier numbers (DHL, FedEx, UPS, Aramex) are tracked on the courier's own site and are the most detailed.
• Air freight through a forwarder gives you a shipment or order reference rather than a postal number. You see milestones: received at warehouse, departed China, arrived Pakistan, cleared, out for delivery.

If a seller sends you a Chinese domestic tracking number (SF Express, YTO, ZTO), that only covers the leg to the warehouse inside China. It will not show anything after the parcel leaves China.

Which sites track parcels from China?

• 17track.net recognises most postal and courier formats and is the easiest single place to start.
• global.cainiao.com for AliExpress and Cainiao numbers.
• The China Post or EMS site for CN numbers.
• Pakistan Post's tracking page (ep.gov.pk at the time of writing) for CN numbers once the parcel has arrived in Pakistan.
• The courier's own site for DHL, FedEx, UPS or Aramex, and the local courier's site (TCS, Leopards, M&P and others) for the final delivery leg.

Why does tracking stop after the parcel leaves China?

This is the most common question Pakistani buyers ask. The last Chinese scan is usually departed country of origin or handed to airline. After that, the parcel is in the air or in a transit hub, and neither of those generates a scan that reaches your tracking page. The next scan comes from the receiving country, and for postal parcels that means Pakistan Post's international mail office, which scans in batches. A gap of one to three weeks with no update is normal for postal shipping. It does not mean the parcel is lost.

Courier parcels have far fewer gaps because the courier scans every handover in its own network. Air freight through a forwarder has fewer scans than courier but each milestone is meaningful.

Pakistan Post vs courier scans

Pakistan Post handles the final leg for China Post, ePacket and many Cainiao parcels. Its scans are sparse. Common ones are received at office of exchange, sent to customs, released from customs and out for delivery. Postal customs assessment happens at the office of exchange, and if duty is due you are notified and asked to pay before release or at delivery. Couriers scan at every point and call you if duty is due. Air freight forwarders report milestones through their own system, and a service passes those to you on WhatsApp.

What do the common tracking statuses mean?

What does held at customs really mean?

It means the parcel has reached the customs area at the airport or the postal office of exchange and has not yet been released. The usual reasons are that duty has been assessed and is waiting to be paid, that customs wants an invoice or proof of value, or that the item needs a closer look because it is electronics, branded, a phone, or contains a battery. For a few days this is routine. If it goes on longer, someone needs to act. Read what to do when a parcel is stuck at customs in Pakistan.

When should I start to worry?

• No scan at all for more than 5 days after the seller says they dispatched. Ask the seller for the real number.
• Postal parcel with no update for more than 30 days after departed country of origin. Open a dispute on the platform before the protection window closes. See how AliExpress orders go wrong in Pakistan.
• Courier or air freight parcel held at customs for more than a week with no contact. Call the carrier or the service.
• Status shows delivered but you have nothing. Call the local courier the same day with the tracking number.

How is tracking different with a duty-paid service?

You do not chase numbers across four websites. The service tells you when the seller dispatches, when the parcel reaches the China warehouse, when it flies, when it clears customs and when it is out for delivery, and gives you the local courier's number for the last leg. Because customs is already included in the one price you paid, held at customs is the service's job to resolve, not yours. That is how we run every order. For the full sequence of stages, see the day-by-day import timeline.