China–Iran TIR Road Freight
21–23 days Wuqia to Tehran Customs

Live corridors and transit times: the Wuqia line and the Khorgos line

A direct truck runs Wuqia → Bukhara (one transload) → Iran. A transshipment truck runs Wuqia → Osh (transload) → Bukhara (transload) → Iran, or transloads again at the Iranian border. Fewer transloads means a shorter and more predictable transit; transshipment costs less and takes longer.

Day counts are measured from the Wuqia border crossing, move with border conditions, and describe how the line is currently running — they are not a guaranteed transit. The domestic leg from the consolidation hub to Wuqia is typically within 7 days (estimate, confirmed per booking) and is counted separately.
Wuqia line routing: Xinjiang — Kyrgyzstan — Uzbekistan — Turkmenistan — Iran. Kyrgyzstan levies a 0.4% transit tax on the cargo-invoice value — a tax, not freight; it is excluded from the quotation and paid by the customer.
Khorgos line routing: Xinjiang — Kazakhstan — Uzbekistan — Turkmenistan — Iran. The 0.4% never applies here; transit time on request.
Load ceiling per vehicle: ≤96 CBM and ≤25 T; any over-limit portion is quoted separately. Turgart and Alashankou are not operated.

Technical & Economic Comparison: China-to-Iran Logistics Modes

Step-by-Step Overland Transit: China Consolidation Hubs to Tehran Customs

1. Domestic leg · typically within 7 days

   Origin hub consolidation and export clearance

   Consolidation at Yiwu (Suxi), Shenzhen (Pinghu), Guangzhou (Baiyun) and Shanghai. Packing list and invoice check, palletising and securing into 13.6 m curtainsiders, export declaration filing and manifest pre-recording. This leg is an estimate confirmed per booking and is not included in the day counts below.

2. The count starts here

   Export clearance and sealing at Wuqia (or exit via Khorgos)

   Export release at the crossing. Customs verifies the load and applies the TIR seal and a tamper-evident e-seal, and the TIR carnet is endorsed. Published transit times are counted from this moment. The Khorgos routing runs Xinjiang — Kazakhstan — Uzbekistan — Turkmenistan — Iran; transit time on request.

3. Kyrgyzstan

   Kyrgyz transit; a transshipment truck transloads at Osh

   The Wuqia line enters the Central Asia corridor through Kyrgyzstan, which levies a 0.4% transit tax on the cargo-invoice value — a tax, not freight; it is excluded from the quotation and paid by the customer. A transshipment truck makes its first transload at Osh; a direct truck does not transload here.

4. Bukhara

   Transload at Bukhara

   A direct truck transloads exactly once on the whole run, at Bukhara; a transshipment truck makes its second transload here. The carnet and seal keep unsealings and transloads to a minimum rather than removing them — fewer transloads means less handling and a more predictable transit.

5. Turkmenistan → Iran

   Turkmenistan transit and entry at Sarakhs

   Across the Turkmen road network to the Sarakhs crossing in north-east Iran. Customs verifies seal integrity, the movement is recorded in Iran's ASYCUDA system and bonded transit is opened. Some loads transload once more at the Iranian border.

6. Delivery

   Mashhad or Tehran West Customs; warehouse entry receipt issued

   Counted from the Wuqia crossing, a direct truck currently runs 18–21 days to Mashhad and 21–23 days to Tehran; a transshipment truck 24–28 and 26–30 days. On arrival at Tehran West Customs (Gomrok Gharb) or Aprin Dry Port a warehouse entry receipt (Ghabz-e Anbar) is issued to the consignee's licensed broker for duty payment and release. These are current operating ranges, not a guaranteed transit.

Authorized Cargo Classifications & Handling Protocols

• Lithium battery & energy storage systems

  UN 3480 (lithium-ion cells/packs), UN 3481 (batteries packed with equipment), industrial BESS containers, and solar LiFePO4 packs. Trailers with fire-retardant partitions to ADR safety standards.

• Photovoltaic & power engineering cargo

  Tier-1 mono solar modules, high-capacity industrial inverters, step-up transformers, and cable trays on pneumatic air-suspension trailers.

• Heavy machinery & out-of-gauge equipment

  CNC milling centers, plastic injection machines, industrial press lines, and hydraulic excavators on 17.5 m step-frame low-bed trailers.

• Chemical materials & industrial resins

  Polymer masterbatches, industrial paint additives, polyurethane prepolymers, and cosmetic raw materials with a complete 16-section MSDS.

Operational Infrastructure & Carrier Verification

• Carrier entity: registered TIR cross-border road carrier with its own dispatch coordination at Khorgos Port and in Tehran; on the Central Asia transit legs we work with vetted transit-country partner carriers under one TIR carnet, which keeps unsealing and transloading to a minimum — a direct truck transloads once, at Bukhara.
• Fleet: 45+ owned and contracted 480–540 HP curtainsider tractor-trailers (13.6 m tilt), plus 17.5 m step-frame low-beds for out-of-gauge, built to IRU transit technical specifications.
• Telematics: dual-mode Beidou / GPS satellite monitoring with hourly coordinate logs and container-door electronic seal status.
• Cargo insurance: comprehensive CMR transit insurance with liability cover up to USD 250,000 per trailer load.

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