I've heard pinyin addressed parcels parcels from abroad (PAPFAs) frequently get lost by the Kunming postal services.

Is this still true?
Is there a reliable way to get PAPFAs in Kunming?
What experiences have people in Kunming had with PAPFAs?
If parcels go astray, what's the procedure for tracing them/claiming for the loss?

I have found that the best way is to get someone to write the address in both pinyin/english and chinese. Then scan or fax it to the sender who should then cut it out and paste it on the parcel.

I have done it this way on numerous occasions and had success each time.

Sure - getting a parcel addressed in chinese chars is the best way. But it's not always possible. eg Amazon & many online stores can't do it.

So if anyone has answers to the original questions, they'd be greatly appreciated...

No experiences of receipt of parcels addressed in pinyin???

While in Kunming many parcels were shipped to me from the US, Japan and Hong Kong. UPS and FedEx proved to be most reliable because, for the most part, they either had trained staff people or competent local agents that could make sense of the pinyin. China Post is hit or miss, at best. They try very hard and the post office on Beijing Lu, three block south of DongFengDong Lu, is the main office that handles packages from the US and other countries. They have many staff members who speak some English and they try very hard to be helpful. One of the biggest problems is government and administrative in nature: there are no consistent address systems. Just try to find a house or business with the address....almost impossible. Numbering schemes vary, are inconsistent or even nonsensical. The same is true street names.

The solution? make arrangements with someone who has a "landmark" street address: a well known hotel, business or office to use there address as a package receiving address. Otherwise stick to UPS and FedEx and you shouldn't have any problems.

one suggestion... make sure your phone number is included on the package with the address... we recently got a phone call from the post office, they had a package for us that we were not expecting, sent by a friend who did not use the tape on label with characters that we usually have people use when sending us things. They instead used an address that did not even have our complex address in pinyin, but rather the English translation of the characters(--- garden). But, it had our phone number, and after telling the post office the proper address, we received the package... may not work every time but I was certainly surprised that it worked for us!

Thanks Ahmet / aandt.

aandt - how did the post office know it was a phone number - did they just guess because it looked like a normal one?

Does anyone know if the post office at DongFengDong Lu does Post Restante reliably?

Or have any other ideas?