China's delivery services hit full throttle for festival shopping boom

Daily avg volume exceeded 670 mln units in first 3 days of travel rush

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

"Returning home for Spring Festival used to be physically exhausting, but now it's a breeze," said the 50-year-old, who spent eight months building cliff-side 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 fell 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.