Achieving “Express Delivery to Every Village” Has Become a Reality, With Over 100 Million Packages Delivered Daily to Rural Areas

**Interview with Experts on Rural Express Services**

**Data Source:** National Postal Service of China
**Visual Aid by:** Zhang Fangman

Since the implementation of the “Express Delivery to Rural Areas” initiative in 2014, the logistics system for rural express services in China has been continually improving, bringing new opportunities for rural development. As a result, the accessibility of express delivery services in these areas has significantly increased. The postal and express service networks have deepened their reach into rural areas, effectively facilitating economic circulation between urban and rural regions, contributing to poverty alleviation efforts, and aiding overall rural revitalization.

**The Acceleration of Delivery Services**
The time it takes for deliveries has drastically reduced — shifting from three to five days, to next-day, and now same-day deliveries. Currently, around 500 million packages are processed daily, with more than 100 million of those deliveries occurring in rural regions.

**The Personal Touch of Service**
Efforts in remote areas, such as achieving “free shipping” in Xinjiang and record-breaking volumes of deliveries in Tibet, have improved the quality and efficiency of delivery services. These advancements have opened new income channels for farmers and enriched the shopping options for rural consumers, effectively unleashing the potential for rural consumption.

Rural express logistics serve as a crucial pathway for agricultural products to reach urban markets and consumer goods to enter rural areas. As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the “Express Delivery to Rural Areas” initiative, I spoke with experts to uncover the achievements made in rural logistics over the past decade and to explore how we can further strengthen this system to promote comprehensive rural revitalization.

**Expanding Service Networks**
**Fostering Greater Agricultural Benefits**
“The development of rural express logistics in China has gone through several stages, from ‘Express Delivery to Rural Areas’ to ‘Express Delivery to Villages,’ eventually leading to a more comprehensive rural logistics system,” said Lin Hu, Director of the Market Regulation Department at the National Postal Service.

With a growing demand for online shopping in rural areas and an increasing need for agricultural products to be distributed to cities, the National Postal Service launched the “Express Delivery to Rural Areas” initiative in 2014. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, express delivery points in towns expanded rapidly. As deliveries to townships became the norm, more rural residents expressed the desire for packages to be delivered directly to their villages, leading to the launch of the “Express Delivery to Villages” initiative in 2020.

Entering the 14th Five-Year Plan, rural express logistics gained heightened attention. In 2021, the publication of guidelines aimed at accelerating the construction of rural logistics systems marked a new phase for rural express development.

“In the past decade, our rural express logistics system has evolved from non-existent to increasingly comprehensive, achieving both social and economic benefits,” Lin noted.

The service network has expanded significantly, with deeper penetration into rural areas. The rate of service reach in volume has surged from 4.7% in 2014, to 36.2% in 2020, 56.5% in 2022, and anticipated at 72.1% in 2024. This progress reflects the ongoing improvement of service networks in towns and villages. A representative from SF Express mentioned, “We continuously invest in rural markets, further enhancing our service points in high-volume villages.” SF Express is now processing 2.87 million packages daily at its township facilities, with coverage extending to over 94% of townships.

The rural express network is rapidly reaching deeper into these areas. With express service points in nearly 98% of townships, the goal of having a postal distribution center in every county and service points in every township has mostly been realized as of 2024. Recent surveys indicate that approximately 337,800 comprehensive service stations have been established in rural areas, effectively addressing the “last mile” delivery challenge.

**A Growing Market with Rich Benefits for Farmers**
In Guangshan County, Henan, known for its down jackets, numerous service points are facilitating the distribution of these products from the mountains. “We have over a hundred express service points set up, promoting local down jacket sales,” explained the local head of YTO Express. This year, YTO is processing an average of over 10,000 down jackets daily.

During the peak harvest of kiwis in Shaanxi’s Zhouzhi County, Zhongtong Express reported an average of over 100,000 parcels dispatched daily. In Zhejiang’s Quzhou City, Zhongtong’s Jiangshan service point experienced a peak of 20,000 packages daily. “With smoother channels for product distribution and an active rural express market, we anticipate that kiwi shipments will exceed 20 million this year,” a Zhongtong representative stated. For the first eight months of this year, Zhongtong Express community in rural regions reached over 9.3 billion packages, showing a year-on-year increase of approximately 44% in rural outbound parcels.

Over the past decade, the express industry has injected vitality into modern agriculture. In 2023, 143 projects aimed at modern agricultural services exceeded ten million packages in business volume. This year, the National Postal Service has introduced 100 demonstration zones for coordinated development of rural e-commerce and express delivery, along with 300 projects dedicated to modern agricultural services, ensuring smoother economic exchanges between urban and rural regions.

**Enhanced Infrastructure and Clarity in Development Pathways**
What has led to the remarkable improvement in the accessibility of rural express services over the past decade? On one hand, it stems from the continuous enhancement of rural infrastructure.

“The construction of public infrastructure in rural areas has been steadily advancing, with water, electricity, roads, and online services now effectively reaching every administrative village in the country,” Lin noted. Local governments are accelerating the establishment of logistics and e-commerce networks, making the rural logistics “micro-cycle” more efficient.

Major express companies are also investing significantly in their infrastructure. Yunda has introduced nearly a thousand intelligent sorting systems in county-level offices, while JD Logistics is deploying hundreds of automated handling robots in Tibet, continually improving service quality in rural areas.

On the other hand, a clearer pathway for the development of rural express logistics has emerged. In the Haixi Mongolian-Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai, for instance, herdsman Ma Xiaofeng uses e-commerce live streaming to sell specialty products nationwide. “Postal Savings Bank of China helped solve my funding issues, smoothing logistics within the region. This year, my sales are projected to surpass 3 million yuan,” Ma shared.

“Through the collaboration between postal services and banking, as well as express and postal cooperation, we’ve enhanced our rural network service capabilities,” a representative from China Post explained. As of September 2023, China Post has established 460,000 village-level stations, with over 33,000 triple-use stations in county, township, and village settings.

By collaborating with shops and supermarkets, SF Express has set up over 100,000 village-level service points. Utilizing joint distribution models with other companies, Cainiao Network has established more than 1,600 shared delivery centers at the county level. Additionally, through partnerships with transportation enterprises, China Post has implemented over 5,000 integrated postal routes. Over the past decade, postal and express companies have strengthened their networks while also maturing shared distribution experiences, exploring a variety of models that include integrating passenger and cargo transport, thereby further reducing logistics costs and enhancing delivery efficiency.

**Elevating Delivery Capabilities to Meet Demands**
Over the last ten years, the groundwork laid by the “Express Delivery to Rural Areas” initiative has been solidified. With a gradually refined logistics system in place across county, township, and village levels, the challenges of delivering consumer goods to rural areas have been effectively addressed, marking significant progress in the construction of an open, efficient rural logistics system.

Improvements to the delivery system and increased capabilities are solidifying the foundation of rural express services. With the opening of JD’s logistics park in Lhasa in 2017, online shopping deliveries to Tibet were made available in a day. In 2020, Tibet’s central warehouse for public logistics further accelerated the process for distributing agricultural products. By 2023, the volume of packages in Nakchu City’s Sengqi District in Tibet had doubled. “We will continue to expedite the construction of warehousing, transfer, and distribution centers to establish a modern, multi-layered logistics network,” according to a JD Logistics representative.

The express industry has now crossed into a new era, dealing with over a trillion packages annually and generating more than a trillion yuan in revenue. Moving forward, efforts will focus on establishing complete supply chains across county, township, and village tiers of rural logistics, promoting the construction of local express service stations and smart parcel lockers as part of new developments.

Improving market conditions and introducing innovative models will enhance rural express services. Yunda has rolled out its “Intelligent Orange Network” service, providing additional value through product traceability and logistics analysis to facilitate more convenient agricultural product distribution; while the “Mama Jingxuan” program under YTO has launched multiple live streams aimed at supporting farmers through their delivery services.

“New models of circulation and consumption are creating impactful brands while attracting a new wave of e-commerce and logistics talents back to rural areas for employment and entrepreneurship,” said Lin. The focus remains on continuing to build modern agricultural brands in postal express services, offering professional delivery solutions to boost agricultural product sales, while enhancing oversight on irregular practices to ensure a fair and healthy logistics marketplace.

Lastly, we aim to harness technology applications and reduce logistics costs to boost efficiency in rural express services. Zhongtong plans to implement around 5,000 smart parcel lockers in Hubei by the year’s end, covering all villages and townships within the province to further elevate logistics efficiency. SF Express has incorporated unmanned delivery vehicles to streamline transport processes, ultimately enhancing the capacity for delivering agricultural products.

“The rise of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, will significantly enhance delivery efficiency and lower logistics costs,” Lin concluded. Efforts will focus on promoting advanced technologies across rural logistics networks, facilities, and services, enhancing the informatization of rural logistics systems through data sharing and interconnected services.

**Reported by Han Xin in the People’s Daily, October 22, 2024, Page 07.**