Having done it a few times I will suggest that you try to be patient and a little tolerant when you  carry out this transaction.

1. Take your item to the post office. They have boxes there of various sizes. Do not pack or wrap the item before you go to the post office as they will only ask you to undo all your good work and will want to inspect the goods.

2. You have 3 types of delivery - slow, very slow and eternity. Price difference isn't much so opt for slow. There is a fourth called never. In that case assume loss ok?

3. Box / wrap / pack the item there. If it's a little fragile make sure you have your own bubble wrap or padding. The Post Office will supply the tape.

4. Fill out the consignment note which is in English and Chinese.

5. Pay the required amount and put your faith in the system.The charge is based on weight not the cubic measurement of the parcel.

If there is somebody at the post office that speaks English - great. If not, I suggest you take someone with you. It will help.

You say you are returning home in January. Hope your parcel arrives before you do. Stuff I have sent to Australia have been delivered in time spans ranging from 5 weeks (fastest) to 3 months and one parcel inexplicably lost forever. Good luck.

i went to a post office last December to mail some gifts to family and friends. in my innocence, i thought the 'post office' on campus actually meant a place i could post letters and parcels. They wanted to direct me to the largest one in the city (Changsha) to post these gifts but i stood my ground (with the help of a local friend) and explained that if the students could post things from the place, so should i be able to. The woman insisted she see inside all the packages first before reluctantly agreeing to accept them. Long story short, bring a local friend and leave the package open. Alternatively when i had to send a lot of personal items home, i used DHL. Both were expensive to use, but everything arrived at the intended destinations. I know other posters will be able to advise on cheaper options.

Be prepared for your gift being examined first!

I think China's postal system is an absolute joke and totally overpriced. Also, the fastest a letter or parcel will arrive, using the express service which costs more, is "give or take one week". That's literally what one person at a post office told me. I once also sent a package to Europe using the cheapest option shipping, and it literally took 3 months to arrive. I would recommend UPS. It's actually not that much more expensive than the normal post, and they guarantee delivery within 3 working days. So far, I've had only good experiences with UPS.

I've done many times, I usually use TNT express, just call them and ask the price, they'll ask you the size and weight  of your package ,then give you a price , if you think it's reasonable  they'll come to your door and pick it up, you can pay by either cash or credit card, usually it cost few hundred kuai. good luck.

I don't like UPS, haven't used them in years, they had exorbitant brokerage fees.

I've never sent anything by China Post, but received them, they seemed cheap enough and fast for small objects, Not the same for getting things delivered in China. Big parcels will be expensive, small stuff not.