"Double 11" shopping festival sees China handling record-high single-day parcel volume

China's express delivery sector handled a total of 13.938 billion parcels during the peak days of the "Double 11" shopping festival, with the highest single-day volume surging to a record-breaking 777 million, according to data released by the State Post Bureau on Wednesday.

The national postal authority said that between October 21 and November 11, courier companies handled an average of 634 million parcels per day, 1.18 times the normal daily volume, which underscores the sector's expanding capacity amid growing e-commerce activity.

First held in 2009, "Double 11" has continued to stimulate robust consumer spending in one of the world's largest consumption markets.

While delivery volumes surged, return logistics also saw substantial growth and picked up speed, particularly for bulky items that previously faced complicated return procedures. The industry has responded by implementing digital systems that streamline the process through intelligent platforms coordinating home pickups and direct warehouse routing.

This digital transformation is revolutionizing the returns experience for both businesses and consumers.

"Customers can simply apply for a return or exchange on the platform with one click. We then provide door-to-door pickup and ship the items directly back to our warehouse, bypassing any transfer handling. This significantly improves efficiency and ensures the quality of returned products." said Jiang Nan, business manager at Hebei Samate Children's Toys.

The surge in both outbound and return volumes reflects the changing landscape of e-commerce logistics.

"During this year's major e-commerce promotion period, outbound orders increased by approximately 42 percent, while return orders grew by about 21 percent. Through deep collaboration with major platforms and utilizing our intelligent transport transfer system and smart routing to directly match destination stations, we ensure safe shipment with full-process visual monitoring," noted Feng Zhiqiang, operations head at a major courier's Xingtai branch.

Industry experts see broader implications in these developments beyond just record numbers.

"The continuous expansion of the express delivery market scale highlights the crucial role of the postal and courier industry in expanding domestic demand, stimulating consumption, and boosting steady economic growth. By expanding into rural markets, the industry has established efficient two-way flows between urban and rural areas, effectively stimulating service demand in the countryside. Furthermore, through deep integration with advanced manufacturing, the express delivery supply chain is transforming toward high-end and intelligent development," said Liu Jiang, director of strategic planning department at the State Post Bureau's Development Research Center.

"Double 11" shopping festival sees China handling record-high single-day parcel volume

"Double 11" shopping festival sees China handling record-high single-day parcel volume

"Double 11" shopping festival sees China handling record-high single-day parcel volume

Axis powers during World War II should offer sincere reflection and apology, a Greek mayor said after Greece successfully repatriated a rare collection of 262 World War II-era photographs.

Greek officials traveled to Belgium to negotiate with the seller and brought the photographs back to Greece, after they were put up for sale online by a Belgian collector, said the Greek Culture Ministry.

The images were taken by Wehrmacht lieutenant Hermann Heuer, who served in Greece from 1943 to 1944, during World War II, and part of the collection documents the mass execution of Greek communists by Nazi troops in Kaisariani, east of Athens.

During World War II, German occupation in Greece met with fierce resistance. On May 1, 1944, German forces executed 200 Greeks at the Kaisariani firing range in retaliation for the killing of a German general by resistance fighters.

A memorial and a museum were set up after the war in Kaisariani to commemorate those who died in the mass execution.

"The photos really shocked us all because they were real documents from the day of the execution. We are shocked for many reasons. An important reason is that the 200 communists were singing with their heads held high before the execution in the photos, and they were not mourning because they were fighters," said Ilias Stamelos, mayor of Kaisariani.

The newly recovered photographs have drawn renewed attention to the historical trauma still felt in the community, as the images provide a direct visual record of the final moments of those executed.

In 1987, then German President Richard von Weizsaecker visited Greece and made a special stop in Kaisariani, reflecting on the profound suffering inflicted on the Greek people by Germany during World War II.

Ilias said that, like Germany, Japan, another Axis power during the war, should also be held accountable for the massive harm it caused to multiple countries and should offer sincere reflection and apology for its wartime aggression.

"And I think it's a common demand, because those responsible for the deaths in the World War II need to pay for what happened. It's known to all that back then it was Germany, Japan and Italy, the allies in this war, that each played different roles in the war, yet they do have common responsibilities," said the mayor.

Historic photos of Nazi mass execution of Greeks returned to Greece, mayor calls for historical accountability