Hi!
my son will shortly finish his stint as a language teacher in Harbin and is wondering about the best and safest way of transferring the money he's saved back to the UK or US.
any suggestions please?

If it has all been earned legit and taxes paid etc., then he should able to do it as a bank transfer from one of the main Chinese banks to his in the UK. Be a it of paper work but i'm sure his school will help.

I'm fairly sure he could change to pounds and then carry it as cash as long as he can account for it in the same was as above - might be a hassle declaring cash on the way out though. The no need to declare amount is 5000 USD.