China saw over 700 million packages collected by postal and express delivery enterprises on Monday, marking a historic high for the country's annual "Double 11" shopping spree, data from the State Post Bureau has shown.
Landing on Nov 11 each year, the "Double 11" annual online shopping festival has become one of the world's largest e-commerce events since it was first launched 15 years ago.
Figures released on Tuesday showed a total of 701 million packages were collected by delivery services across China on Monday, up 151 percent compared to the usual daily volume and marking a year-on-year increase of 9.7 percent. Since entering the peak season ahead of the online shopping rush, the scale of the express delivery market has continued to expand, with the average daily business volume exceeding 580 million packages since October 21.
Since then, a total of 12.783 billion express packages have been processed nationwide, with the average daily processing volume being 125 percent of the daily business volume.
Among them, the express delivery business volume reached 729 million packages on October 22, setting a new single-day record. The continued expansion of the express delivery market reflects the steady demand among online consumers.
The peak season, which began in the weeks leading up to the Double 11 festival, is likely to last all the way through until late January ahead of the Chinese New Year.
Postal and express delivery enterprises have assigned extra staff, rearranged working hours, and adopted unmanned delivery devices during the busy period to ensure the swift and safe delivery of all packages.
In the first years after its creation in 2009, the "Double 11" typically saw frenzied spree of online consumption on Nov 11 each year. Over time, the festival has extended, evolving from a one-day shopping extravaganza into a month-long event.
China's express delivery volume reaches record high during "Double 11" shopping spree
Scenic spots across China have all seen surging tourist flow during the Qingming Festival holiday as people are going outdoors to enjoy good springtime.
Falling on April 5 this year, the Qingming Festival, or the Tomb-Sweeping Day, is a traditional Chinese festival for honoring the deceased and paying tributes to ancestors. The three-day holiday from Saturday to Monday also provides a short break for Chinese citizens to enjoy outdoor activities and sightseeing in pleasant springtime temperatures.
At the Fenghuanggou scenic spot in Nanchang City, east China's Jiangxi Province, a vast field of hydrangeas bloom across the hillsides. The colorful hydrangeas spread out in well-arranged patchwork, making visitors feel as if they have stepped into a dreamlike world of flowers.
Tourists stroll among the blossoms, with some slowing down to quietly take in the scenery and others raising cameras to capture memories, relaxing both body and mind amidst the fragrance of flowers and the spring sunshine.
"Walking through a sea of flowers like this and seeing such beautiful blossoms make me feel the vitality of spring while completely escaping the hustle and bustle of the city," said Xu Geyu, a tourist.
Continuing on from the hydrangea sea, the scenic spot's cherry blossom is also in the best viewing period. Unlike ordinary cherry blossom groves, the cherry trees here are interplanted among tea bushes that stretch across the mountainsides, creating distinct layers and forming a unique landscape.
This year, the scenic spot has leveraged its sericulture and other specialty ecological industries to create new business models that integrate agriculture and tourism, providing a variety of mulberry-leaf-flavored snacks and drinks for tourists.
"We tried mulberry-flavored coffee and mulberry-leaf-flavored ice cream -- both were delicious. They are the flavors that we've never tasted before. I think they are quite special," said Ye Zitong, another tourist.
Meanwhile, the Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park in central China's Hunan Province has also welcomed a peak in visitors. With fine weather and wild mountain flowers in full bloom, the scenic spot has become a popular destination for flower viewing and mountaineering, brimming with the liveliness and vitality of spring.
In springtime, The Tianmen Mountain features layered peaks covered in a profusion of flowers. Pink-white and bright red blossoms dot the dramatic mountain ridges, creating a stunning spring landscape painting.
"I feel it's quite magnificent. It's even more magnificent and beautiful after I climbed 999 steps to the Tianmen Cave. It's also very cool there. I really love it," said Ai Sichen, another tourist.
According to the preliminary statistics from the scenic spot, on the first day of the Qingming Festival holiday, the park welcomed over 20,000 visitors.
Furthermore, at the Hukou Waterfall scenic spot on the Yellow River at the border of the northern province of Shanxi and the northwestern province of Shaanxi, the roaring Yellow River water plunges dramatically. Illuminated by sunlight, a rainbow appears spanning both banks, creating a magnificent spring scene that draws many tourists.
Scenic spots across China see surging tourist flow during Qingming Festival holiday
