You can ship stuff: but you will be taxed heavily in customs (they are no longer 'personal effects'), and it might take longer than waiting for residency if it gets caught up in the inspection process, all the while paying demurrage charges. I'm surprised you don't have residency already sorted out, since my understanding was that one can't get paid for work in china without a z visa.

Do note, however, that the shipping process can be started before you get residency: you just need it by the time the goods get to beijing, which will be at least 4-6 weeks (our container from boston took 3 months!).

It's easy enough to bring essentials into one's luggage: I came back with 2 suitcases of stuff last week, including a lot of chocolate hobnobs which appear impossible to find over here (at least westside!). Problem is: neither my wife and I are able to exercise self-control, so that may be the last time we do that!

Also note that shipping some edibles, such as herbs etc, can trigger an inspection (at least that was what our shipping agent told us), so we just took some essentials in our luggage: both when we arrived, and me on this most recent trip.

tb