China's annual business volume of express deliveries has exceeded 70 billion pieces for the first time as of November 16, according to the State Post Bureau.

An express worker processes packages at a delivery station in Qinhuangdao, Hebei province, on Feb 24. (Photo by Cao Jianxiong / for China Daily)

Demand for express delivery services has been fueled by China’s hot online consumption and the huge consumption potential of the Chinese market.

Data shows that during the Singles Day shopping spree-China's largest e-commerce shopping festival on Nov 11—nearly 5 million merchants and 250,000 brands were active on major e-commerce platforms, serving hundreds of millions of consumers.

Produced by Huang Jingjing and He Xi

Efficient logistics transportation and digital and intelligent express network also boasted the fast development in the sector. This year, China’s express delivery industry completed the digitization of packages. Every parcel has a “digital ID card”, which can be identified, tracked, and dispatched throughout the entire process.

The 70 billion express business volume also benefitted from the increase in environmental protection awareness from society. Significant progress has been made to promote greener and more sustainable express packaging as well as to reduce over package.

China's courier sector is expected to handle more than 80 billion parcels this year, according to the bureau.

(Compiled by Liu Kechen; Edited by Yang Yang)