Among the millions of travelers crisscrossing China during the just concluded National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, many were able to travel light — sending the local specialties and souvenirs they bought along the way home through the country's fast-growing parcel delivery network. For many of them, the packages might even have arrived earlier than the travelers themselves.

According to the State Post Bureau, the nation's postal and courier industry handled 7.23 billion parcels during the eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, which ended on Wednesday, maintaining stable operations amid a surge in tourism and holiday consumption. The daily average parcel volume exceeded 900 million, reflecting robust consumer demand and the growing vitality of the country's holiday economy.

"During the holiday, the courier sector deepened the integration of online and offline consumption as well as diverse business formats — from commerce and tourism to culture, sports and health — while supporting innovations in multi-scenario consumption," said Liu Jiang, director of the strategic planning department at the Development and Research Center of the bureau.

"These efforts have continued to expand the industry's development space, contributing to a stable consumer market and the overall positive momentum of the economy," he added.

According to the bureau, courier companies embraced new "express delivery plus culture and tourism" models, setting up service outlets, smart lockers and self-service boxes at railway stations, airports, hotels and scenic areas. The move offered travelers greater convenience while turning tourism flows into new consumption momentum, the bureau said.

In popular destinations such as Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Sanya in Hainan province and Lhasa in Xizang autonomous region, shipments of local specialties rose sharply during the holiday. Working with merchants, courier companies helped create a "travel-purchase-ship" consumption loop. At scenic spots like Qiandao Lake in Hangzhou, Gulangyu Island in Xiamen and Beijing Road in Guangzhou, themed courier stores and parcel lockers catered to tourists' needs for shipping souvenirs and luggage.

Beijing resident Li Jing, who traveled with her family to Shanxi province during the holiday, said she bought some local specialties as gifts for her colleagues and friends.

"The packages arrived home the same day we did — courier services are so convenient now," she said. "Many shops in scenic areas can ship directly, and some even offer free delivery if you spend a certain amount. In the past, I always found it troublesome to carry souvenirs when traveling, but now it's incredibly easy."

This year's "golden week" sparked strong travel and consumption momentum nationwide. By optimizing operations and diversifying services, courier firms helped enrich travel experiences and unlock new consumption potential, according to the bureau.

Ahead of the holiday, shipments of popular festive goods — including mooncakes, hairy crabs, seafood, meats and fresh fruits — surged. To ensure freshness and efficiency, companies added collection points and cold-chain warehouses in provinces such as Guangdong, Guizhou, Jiangsu and Hubei, allowing goods to be dispatched directly from production sites. They also optimized trunk routes, boosted air freight capacity, and adjusted transport resources dynamically to meet the seasonal rush.

On the last leg of delivery, companies adopted multi-warehouse coordination and intelligent dispatching systems, realizing "nearby delivery" to speed up service.

According to the bureau, China's postal and courier sector has been continuously enhancing service capacity and deepening integration with the cultural and tourism industries. By innovating diversified consumption scenarios, it is injecting new vitality into the holiday economy and supporting stable consumption growth.