China's express delivery volume reaches record high during "Double 11" shopping spree

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

A new direct passenger flight route from Ningbo City of east China's Zhejiang Province to Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh opened on Wednesday, which also marked the first international flight out of the city's airport in 2025.

The new flight departs from the Ningbo Lishe International Airport at 13:30 and takes just under four and a half hours to reach the Cambodian capital. Operated by Cambodian airlines, it is scheduled to fly every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with the return flight departing Phnom Penh at 07:40 local time on the same days.

The direct route provides an important travel option for tourists, especially those from Ningbo and the surrounding areas. Pang Cuili, a Ningbo resident who had to transit in Shanghai for a midnight arrival in Phnom Penh, said the new service now offers much greater convenience.

"We'll fly at 13:30 and arrive at around 16:50. It’s very convenient [timing] for us to check into the hotel after arriving," she said.

As the capital and largest city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh has long been an important international aviation hub in Southeast Asia, with the new route giving a further boost to the economic and cultural exchanges between Ningbo and ASEAN countries.

"Today marks the first flight of Ningbo Airport's regular direct passenger service to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The opening of this route is also an important move for the airport to help implement the Belt and Road Initiative, enriching international passenger transport routes, and further speeding up the recovery of the international market," said Chen Qiaoyu, manager of the Market Development Department at the Ningbo Lishe International Airport.

As Cambodia Airlines' first route out of Ningbo Airport, the new service also signals the airline's broader plans to connect various parts of China with Cambodia in the coming year.

Ningbo airport launches first direct flight to Phnom Penh