This aerial photo taken on Dec. 24, 2022 shows a Fuxing high-speed train making a trial run before the opening of the new Chengdu-Kunming Railway in Mianning County, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)
Since 2021, an outlet of Chinese courier giant SF Express, located near an expressway exit in Dechang county, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, has seen its daily parcel volume surge from about 500 to around 7,000. The number of deliveries and staff members at the outlet has also grown severalfold. What was once a small outlet has now become a thriving logistics hub in the area.
"Today, we handle the largest volume of parcels among all SF Express outlets in the prefecture," said Feng Yongchun, a veteran employee at the outlet.
When the outlet first opened in November 2014, it was tucked beneath a residential building and staffed by only a manager, a courier, and Feng, the warehouse keeper. At the time, transportation in Dechang was far from convenient.
"Roads were often impassable. Even taxis avoided townships and towns, let alone couriers," Feng recalled. Parcel demand was limited, and she and her colleagues would often sit outside the store waiting for packages to arrive.
Transportation improvements have brought significant changes to logistics.
The completion of an expressway linking Dechang with Huili city in the prefecture has greatly shortened freight transport times between townships and neighboring cities. An electrified railway connecting Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan, and Kunming in neighboring Yunnan Province has introduced bullet trains to Dechang, cutting travel time to Chengdu to just over three hours. Meanwhile, about 114 kilometers of rural roads have been newly built or upgraded.
"With better transportation, parcel demand gradually increased," said Zhao Hong, manager of the SF Express outlet. Zhao began working in Dechang in March last year. Shortly after, during the strawberry harvest season, the outlet set a record by receiving 83,000 parcels in one day.
Business has grown severalfold. As online shopping for large items such as home appliances and furniture has become increasingly popular, the original store was no longer able to keep up with demand. Zhao relocated the shop to a new site near the expressway exit, offering 1,100 square meters of space.
With improved delivery efficiency, Zhao and his team were able to expand their service coverage. By the end of this year, the outlet will cover every township and town in Dechang county.
Around 7 a.m., parcels from across the country arrive at the outlet, each carrying a glimpse of everyday life. Smart speakers, robotic vacuum cleaners and projectors bring modern convenience, while durians, salmon and cheese — delicacies from afar — enrich local dining tables.
"In the past, clothes and food made up most of the deliveries. Now, the number of large parcels is also increasing," Zhao said, adding, "You can tell how strong local consumption is just by looking at these packages."
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), Dechang county has supported the construction and renovation of 12 comprehensive logistics service stations in towns and townships and 36 service outlets in villages. In August this year, the county launched a postal drone route, delivering mail to remote villages in as little as 20 minutes.
At a blueberry planting base in Dechang, more than 300 mu (20 hectares) of blueberries grown using soilless cultivation are thriving in greenhouses.
Dechang enjoys abundant sunlight and moderate rainfall, making it ideal for ecological agriculture. But before the blueberry project was launched, Deng Xiang, deputy general manager of the planting base, had doubts: even if the blueberries grew well, without reliable transport, the industry could not take off.
Today, those worries are a thing of the past, thanks to increasingly efficient logistics.
"Deliveries within Sichuan take just 24 hours, and 48 hours to other provinces. Fast transport boosts the brand's appeal," Deng said. The base now produces nearly 250,000 kilograms of blueberries annually, which are in high demand in the market.
Zhao noted that the outlet primarily handled ordinary parcels. Today, specialty agricultural products make up the bulk of its shipments.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Dechang has established six secondary delivery routes in towns and townships, launched e-commerce distribution networks covering all administrative villages and nurtured more than 40 online brands for local specialty products. Last year, the online transaction volume of local agricultural products surpassed 800 million yuan (about $112 million).
