ROUTE
China to Iran by road: TIR trucking, Wuqia to Tehran Customs in 21–23 days
chinairantrucks runs sealed TIR trailers from consolidation hubs in China to the bonded customs yards of Tehran. This is first-hand linehaul — our own dispatch coordination at the exit gateway and in Tehran, the load under one TIR carnet, which keeps unsealings and transloads to a minimum: a direct truck is transloaded once, at Bukhara — delivered warehouse-to-customs, not door-to-door. The consignee's licensed broker clears the cargo at destination.
- Wuqia line, counted from the Wuqia crossing and currently: direct truck 21–23 days to Tehran West Customs (Gomrok Gharb), 18–21 days to Mashhad Customs
- Domestic leg, consolidation hub to Wuqia: typically within 7 days (estimate, confirmed per booking), counted as a separate leg
- Two live corridors: Wuqia (border post Irkeshtam) via Kyrgyzstan, and Khorgos via Kazakhstan — transit time on the Khorgos line is quoted on request
- Iran entry at Sarakhs; published destinations are Mashhad and Tehran
- Trade terms CPT / DAP Tehran Customs — the buyer's broker pays duty and collects
- Weekly departures, Tuesday and Friday, from Yiwu and Shenzhen (Pinghu)
- FTL and LCL consolidation from 1 CBM or 100 kg; load ceiling ≤96 CBM and ≤25 T per vehicle
- CMR transit insurance, cover up to USD 250,000 per trailer load
What “hub-to-customs” means
We consolidate at Yiwu (Suxi), Shenzhen (Pinghu), Guangzhou (Baiyun) and Shanghai. Cargo can also be handed to us at the supervised zone at the exit gateway.
The trailer moves under one TIR carnet, which means fewer unsealings and fewer transloads across the transit countries — fewer, not none. A direct truck is transloaded once, at Bukhara; a transshipment truck at Osh and again at Bukhara.
Delivery is to Tehran West Customs (Gomrok Gharb), Shahriyar Customs, or Aprin Dry Port. It is not to your address.
On arrival a warehouse entry receipt — Ghabz-e Anbar — is issued to your broker, who pays import duty in Iran's ASYCUDA system and releases the goods.
We do not perform Iran customs clearance. That is the consignee's licensed broker.
The route, stage by stage
The line is published as two legs, and they are never added into one headline figure.
Domestic leg — origin hub to the exit gateway. The Yiwu and Shenzhen (Pinghu) warehouses receive the cargo, check the packing list against the invoice, palletise and load 13.6 m curtainsiders, and file the export pre-manifest. The run out to Wuqia is typically within 7 days — an operator estimate, confirmed per booking, and counted as its own leg.
At the gateway — export clearance and sealing. The convoy clears Chinese export customs at the exit gateway. Customs verifies the load and applies the TIR seal plus a tamper-evident electronic lock. The day counts below start here, at the Wuqia crossing.
Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. On the Wuqia line the truck crosses into Kyrgyzstan, then Uzbekistan. A direct truck is transloaded once, at Bukhara. A transshipment truck is transloaded at Osh and again at Bukhara, and sometimes once more at the Iranian border; it costs less and takes longer. Two drivers rotate on the transit legs.
Turkmenistan and Sarakhs. Across Turkmenistan (Farap–Mary) and into north-east Iran at the Sarakhs road crossing. Customs checks the seal, the shipment is recorded in Iran's ASYCUDA system, and a bonded in-country transit permit is issued.
Mashhad and Tehran. Counted from the Wuqia crossing and currently: a direct truck runs 18–21 days to Mashhad Customs and 21–23 days to Tehran; a transshipment truck 24–28 and 26–30 days. Delivery is into the Gomrok Gharb bonded warehouse, Shahriyar Customs or Aprin Dry Port. The goods are unloaded, the Ghabz-e Anbar is issued, and clearance passes to your broker. These ranges move with border conditions and are not a guaranteed transit.
The Wuqia line crosses 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. The Khorgos line runs via Kazakhstan and never adds it, and no day count is published for that line. Turgart and Alashankou are not operated.
What we carry
General cargo, FTL and LCL: auto parts, electronics, machinery, building materials, consumer goods.
Class 9 lithium batteries — UN 3480 (cells and packs) and UN 3481 (batteries packed with equipment), plus industrial BESS and LiFePO4 packs. Trailers with fire-retardant partitions, to ADR standards. A complete 16-section MSDS and UN packaging documents are required.
Solar and power engineering: mono PV modules, industrial inverters, step-up transformers, on air-suspension trailers.
Out-of-gauge machinery: injection machines, CNC centres, presses, excavators, on 17.5 m step-frame low-beds.
Chemical materials and industrial resins with a valid MSDS.
Complete vehicles and EVs are handled on a project basis, three ways: road TIR on flatbed or frame trailers (same corridor, currently 21–23 days from the Wuqia crossing), an arranged car-carrier block train (JSQ) or ro-ro, or brokered to a dedicated vehicle line. EVs carry a traction battery and are declared as Class 9 special cargo. Turnkey plant projects are quoted separately. See vehicle export.
Road versus sea and air
Road under TIR: currently 21–23 days from the Wuqia crossing to the Tehran customs bonded warehouse, one transload at Bukhara, plus the domestic leg to Wuqia (within about 7 days).
Ocean via Bandar Abbas: 35–55 days to the container yard, then a separate inland leg to Tehran, with multiple port handlings.
Air to Tehran (IKA): 5–8 days, but severe limits on large single-cell batteries and out-of-gauge pieces, and the highest cost per kilo.
For batteries, chemicals and heavy machinery, road is usually the only mode that takes the cargo at a workable rate.
Fleet, tracking and insurance
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 specification. On the Central Asia transit legs the tractor and driver may be a vetted transit-country partner carrier.
Beidou-3 and GPS dual-mode telematics, hourly position logs, and electronic door-seal open/close status.
CMR transit insurance, liability cover up to USD 250,000 per trailer load, from origin loading to unloading at Tehran Customs.
Registered TIR international road-transport operator, with our own dispatch coordination at the exit gateway and in Tehran.
Schedules and how to book
Weekly departures, Tuesday and Friday, from the Yiwu and Shenzhen (Pinghu) facilities.
LCL consolidation from 1 CBM or 100 kg; FTL on 13.6 m curtainsiders, or 17.5 m low-beds for out-of-gauge.
For a quote, send three things: the origin hub; the destination customs (Tehran West Customs, Aprin, or Mashhad); and the cargo data — HS code, gross weight in kg, and volume in CBM.
FAQ
Do you deliver door-to-door or DDP inside Iran?
No. We run cross-border linehaul only, on CPT / DAP terms, from China hubs to Tehran West Customs (Gomrok Gharb), Aprin Dry Port, or Shahriyar Customs. The consignee's licensed broker pays import duty and collects the goods.
How long is the transit to Tehran Customs?
Counted from the Wuqia border crossing: a direct truck currently takes 21 to 23 calendar days to the Tehran West Customs bonded warehouse and a transshipment truck 26 to 30 days; to Mashhad it is 18 to 21 days direct and 24 to 28 days with transshipment. A direct truck transloads once, at Bukhara; a transshipment truck transloads at Osh and again at Bukhara. The domestic leg from the Yiwu or Shenzhen warehouse to Wuqia is typically within 7 days and is counted separately. Transit time on the Khorgos line is quoted on request. These are current operating ranges, not a guaranteed transit.
Can you move standalone lithium-ion batteries (UN 3480)?
Yes. Under the TIR and ADR conventions, road freight can carry UN 3480 / 3481 Class 9 lithium batteries, energy storage systems and industrial raw materials, with a valid 16-section MSDS and UN packaging documentation.
What is the minimum volume for LCL?
One cubic metre (CBM) or 100 kg, at the Yiwu and Shenzhen (Pinghu) facilities, on the weekly Tuesday and Friday consolidation to Tehran Customs.
Which border crossings do you use?
Two corridors are live. Wuqia, whose Chinese border post is Irkeshtam, crosses into Kyrgyzstan and then Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan; Khorgos crosses into Kazakhstan and then Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Both enter Iran at Sarakhs. Turgart and Alashankou are not operated.
Who pays Iranian import duty?
The consignee, through their licensed customs broker, in Iran's ASYCUDA system, after the goods reach the bonded warehouse and the Ghabz-e Anbar is issued.
Related: 21–23 days from Wuqia to Tehran · How TIR works on the China–Iran corridor · How the Wuqia and Khorgos lines differ · Transit time from Wuqia, leg by leg · What China–Iran road freight depends on · How to request a China–Iran trucking quote