Economic Watch: China's delivery services at full throttle to meet festival shopping boom

BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- When Wang Lijun returned to his hometown in Hebei for the Spring Festival this year, he didn't carry the usual load of holiday goods, as his New Year purchases -- juicy navel oranges from Jiangxi and wild vegetables from the northeast -- had already arrived at his doorstep via express delivery.

"Returning home for the Spring Festival used to be physically exhausting, but now it's a breeze," said the 50-year-old man, who spent eight months constructing cliffside roads deep in the Taihang Mountains.

Wang's shipments were just a fraction of the billions of parcels crisscrossing China as people shop for gourmet treats, festive goods and gifts for Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan. 29 this year. With e-commerce now an integral part of daily life, the holiday season has become one of the busiest times for the country's delivery network.

At Sanya Phoenix International Airport, a major hub in China's tropical island province of Hainan, packages of mangoes, dragon fruits and coconuts are flown across the country to eager holiday shoppers.

"Over 70 percent of the air-shipped parcels are fruits, and during peak times, more than 70 tonnes are dispatched daily," said Zhao He from the YTO Express branch at the airport. Even in the snow-covered northeastern regions, deliveries can arrive in as little as 24 hours.

Data from JD.com, a leading e-commerce platform, showed that Chinese consumers are enjoying a greater variety of specialties from across the country for the festival. For instance, the sales of local products from the coastal city of Shanghai have surged by 277 percent year on year in the inland Qinghai Province on the platform.

Driven by the holiday shopping frenzy, China's express delivery network has been operating at high capacity since the beginning of this year, according to the State Post Bureau.

During the first three days of the Spring Festival travel rush, which kicked off in mid-January, the daily average of express deliveries handled nationwide exceeded 670 million, a 29 percent jump from the same period in 2024, according to the bureau.

Festive shopping gained momentum as China tapped into its growing domestic consumption potential, driven by the rise of online retail and the rapid expansion of its delivery network. In 2024, the country's courier sector handled 174.5 billion parcels, with 974 million Chinese people shopping online by year-end.

In the distribution center of Yunda Express in Shanghai, the pre-holiday delivery is in full swing. To handle the surge in parcels, the company has activated all of its smart sorting lines in the center, expanded its fleet of vehicles and upgraded the equipment.

"We are also considering hiring more temporary workers to meet the business demand," said Yang Shuai, who is in charge of the center.

Logistics companies may face further challenges as many delivery workers, like all fellow Chinese, are returning to their hometowns for the Spring Festival, leading to a seasonal manpower shortage.

According to Ye Wenhui, manager of ZTO Express's Fengxian branch in Shanghai, only 30 percent of the couriers in the branch will stay on their post during the eight-day holiday which starts on Tuesday.

To boost staffing, couriers will be paid three times their usual pay during the holiday, with bonuses that guarantee daily incomes of 400 to 600 yuan (about 56 to 84 U.S. dollars) for delivering 200 to 300 packages. They'll also be able to take time off once their colleagues return.

Ye said that innovative solutions have been put in place to address the staff shortage, such as setting up unattended pickup stations and adding delivery lockers to courier stores.

Cainiao Network, the logistics arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, has further alleviated labor shortages by deploying unmanned delivery vehicles.

These automated systems would handle the most labor-intensive transportation tasks, allowing on-site workers to focus on sorting and last-mile deliveries. A dedicated operation team has been established to ensure smooth functionality of unmanned vehicles during the holiday period.

According to a Cainiao delivery manager in east China's Hangzhou, this year, six unmanned vehicles will handle the transportation work, allowing 60 percent of the staff to enjoy their Spring Festival holiday, significantly higher than about 30 percent in past years.

Wang Lei, manager of a YTO Express branch in Shanghai's Xuhui District, said that a decline in delivery volumes is expected in the first three days of the holiday. "But it will surge afterward as people ship local specialties back to the metropolitan cities like Shanghai where they reside and work." ■