So its final. We are moving to China. After soul searching we have agreed to move to Wenzhou.

Since we plan to be there for at least a few years (visa complications not withstanding) we want to not just bring life's necessities but make it home for the period that we are there.

We want to bring all our kitchen stuff, our Kitchen Aid stand mixers, food processors, Lifetime cookware and memories like a lifetime of photo albums & comfort books etc. This stuff is heavy.

Any suggestions for how to pick a shipping / moving company to China?
When you folks move for an extended period of time, do you make the effort to make it your home or is it just a place you live for a few months/years?

What things should I also consider in bringing / not bringing?

We have lived abroad before but the difference then was we knew it was temporary and relatively a short period of time so we can endure thus we never bothered to make it a home.