I don't about China either, but my move from the UK to US had the following lessons:

- You have more stuff than you can possibly imagine. Prepare to sell/give away/junk over half of it.
- Start selling/giving away/junking now, if not sooner.
- Think about shipping - I decided not to ship furniture, as most of it was cheap and I could replace it for the same cost as shipping it.
- Start packing as soon as you can - I boxed up books, photos, ornaments I wanted to bring months ahead of time.
- Be ruthless, you don't need half the stuff you have.

Looking back, there is nothing that I left behind that I miss now. All I miss is the money I spent on so much useless junk! Things I did bring such as family pictures and familar books made the new place feel much more like home, very quickly.

When i arrived i was blessed with supportive inlaws, who had rounded up an old car (which i still have!), old sofa, some hand me down pots and pans, bedding, towels - the necessities of life, in other words! That kept us going until we could replace the stuff we left behind.