From Xinjiang with love, fabulous food, thanks to parcel power

Thanks to the growth of China's parcel delivery network, people in the westernmost part of the country can now sell local agricultural products such as mutton and fruit in the rest of China, greatly improving their lives, a political adviser says.

"Every village in our county now has a parcel delivery station," said Aymusar Tohutong, a CPPCC National Committee member in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and the vice-head of the Wuqia county committee of the CPPCC. She made the remarks in an interview at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday.

"In our county, generations of herders have made their living through grazing and farming, producing rich and flavorful beef and lamb, sweet fruits and highland snow chrysanthemums. However, until a few years ago, because of a lack of a reliable logistics network, these treasures struggled to make their way out of the mountains and into broader markets."

Wuqia county is in China's extreme west, neighboring Kyrgyzstan. The county's mountainous topography made its logistical challenges. Particularly daunting and poor transportation made it difficult for residents to sell their agricultural and livestock products beyond local markets. However, with the implementation of a national rural express delivery project, logistics services have been extended to every village, bringing tangible benefits to local people, Aymusar Tohtahong said.

A local herder who produces high-quality beef and mutton had to sell it locally at low prices because of the lack of express logistics, she said. That has changed with the development of the rural parcel delivery system. Now, every village in the county has a parcel delivery station. Agricultural and livestock products from the county can reach customers across the country through express delivery and e-commerce platforms.

"Last year our mutton was air-freighted to various cities nationwide, and our sales doubled," Aymusar said. "Late-ripening apricots are also in high demand beyond Xinjiang."

The expansion of express delivery services has boosted the local economy and improved people's lives, she said.

"With fast and reliable logistics, farmers and herders are earning more, and you can see that people are a lot happier."

Wuqia county's story mirrors China's rapid development in parcel delivery, which has grown significantly over the past 15 years, one of the highlights being the development of the rural logistics system.

The State Post Bureau of China says that over the past 10 years, the country's rural logistics system has been transformed from being next to non-existent to being highly sophisticated, providing millions of rural residents with faster and more accessible delivery services.

Nearly 98 percent of townships across the country are now serviced by delivery stations, and many rural communities enjoy direct access to express delivery.

China had 337,800 parcel delivery stations in villages last year, and what is regarded as the "last-mile" problem in rural parcel delivery is now being tackled.