Employees distribute parcels at an airmail distribution center of China Post in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, on Nov 10, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua)

More than 70 billion packages have been delivered in China so far this year, setting a new annual record, the State Post Bureau, the country's delivery service regulator, said on Monday.

Some 63.52 billion packages were shipped in China last year. The bureau estimates about 80 billion packages will be delivered this year.

Demand for express delivery services has risen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the imposition of travel restrictions.

During this month's Singles Day shopping spree — China's largest e-commerce shopping festival on Nov 11 — surging online sales boosted the number of packages being delivered.

From Nov 1 to 11, nearly 4 billion packages were handled across China. On Nov 11, 675 million packages were delivered — the most ever for one day and a year-on-year increase of 26 percent.