A single parcel can reflect an entire era of change. In 2006, the postal system reform began with the separation of government and enterprise functions, leading to the establishment of provincial postal管理部门 and propelling China's postal express industry onto a fast track of market-oriented development. Over the past two decades, from revising the postal law and securing the legal status of express delivery to deepening reforms and optimizing the market environment, the evolution has been remarkable. The story also includes promoting express delivery to townships and villages, building a robust rural logistics network, and guiding the industry to serve modern agriculture and manufacturing, all through effective regulation.
China's annual express delivery volume has surged from a mere one billion parcels to nearly 200 billion, maintaining the world's top spot for over a decade, making the dream of smooth logistics a reality in daily life. Though parcels are small, they matter greatly to people's livelihoods; the management may be quiet, but its impact on development is profound. From this point, we launch a series of reports titled "Two Decades of Progress, Painting a New Picture," looking back on reform efforts, sharing stories of development, and showcasing how the postal express industry has kept pace with the times and resonated with people's needs over the last twenty years.
In the early morning at Hongxing Village, Liujiazi Town, Zhangwu County, a postal delivery vehicle pulls up steadily at the Guojun Wholesale and Retail Supermarket. The store owner, Sister Xin, greets the driver and helps unload the parcels. "Ever since our village got a delivery point, folks from neighboring villages are envious and even have their packages sent here—it's much easier than going to town," she says with a smile. This scene is a vivid example of Liaoning's rural delivery logistics network development. From filling gaps in township post offices to "express delivery to villages" and establishing comprehensive service stations, the Liaoning Provincial Postal Administration has persistently worked to weave a network connecting counties, villages, and cities, injecting strong momentum into rural revitalization.
The Evolution from Filling Gaps to Full Coverage
Looking back to 2011, Liaoning still had 141 townships without post offices, causing significant hardship for residents in remote areas who struggled to send or receive mail. After the national initiative to fill these gaps was launched, the administration acted swiftly to treat this as a key step toward equalizing basic urban-rural services. Funding was the initial hurdle, with 18.33 million yuan from the state and 14.1 million yuan from the province secured. Yet progress stalled because the postal enterprise was slow to take over the sites. Facing this, the administration issued a handover plan in 2014, set clear standards, and applied tailored solutions for each site, with the director taking overall responsibility and deputy directors handling specific tasks. They collaborated with provincial authorities to solve water, electricity, heating, and road issues at 85 facilities, even resorting to legal measures to speed things up.
By March 2015, all 141 rebuilt sites achieved their goals of completion, handover, and operation, a four-year effort that not only filled physical gaps but also forged a "Liaoning experience" based on government guidance, departmental coordination, and legal safeguards. Following this, the "express delivery to towns" initiative was launched in 2019 to support poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, aiming for township-wide network coverage by the end of 2020 and promoting models like "one platform, multiple brands" and "express + e-commerce + local specialties + farmers."
The year 2022 was a landmark. The provincial government issued a plan to accelerate rural delivery logistics construction, setting a clear target for full village access by the end of 2025 and outlining a systematic approach to perfect the rural network, shared terminal distribution, and cold-chain logistics. This solidified the top-level design for the entire system.
Building Service Stations with Persistence and Precision
The year 2024 marked a milestone for rural delivery logistics in Liaoning. The provincial government included the construction of village-level service stations in its annual list of key livelihood projects, allocating 22 million yuan to subsidize 5,000 yuan for each new station. The administration championed a "three unifications" approach—the postal enterprise leading construction and operation, one station per village, and standardized quality province-wide—with the goal of near-complete coverage by year-end. A three-step strategy was implemented: first, confirming 5,392 construction tasks through coordination; second, setting standards with a demonstration in each county; and third, rolling out the plan across the province. From February onward, leadership conducted field surveys; by April, five teams inspected 140 villages across 14 cities; and in May, management and funding rules were jointly issued.
For instance, the service station owner at Honeypowder Village in Benxi County noted the comprehensive setup: dual-screen machines, monitors, shelves, and fire safety gear, all under a unified registration. This reflects the strict "management" standards. The more significant challenge was effective "operation." A representative from the Yunda express company in Jianping County highlighted the difficulty: "The furthest township is over 160 kilometers from the county seat; delivery fees barely cover costs, so we must cooperate to solve the issue." To address this, the administration forged policies for passenger-cargo-postal integration, established 64 combined routes, signed framework agreements, and secured subsidies for agricultural upward-bound shipments, all with strong backing from provincial leaders.
The ultimate focus was on "quality service." For three consecutive years, campaigns targeted issues like failure to deliver to agreed addresses and illegal fee collection, achieving a dynamic zero-tolerance for overcharging in rural areas, so villagers could finally receive New Year goods at their doorstep. "The village service station stands like a nail, firm and enduring," said a senior official, encapsulating the logic behind this approach. By the end of 2024, Liaoning had built 5,392 stations, exceeding the original target, and by mid-2025, coverage had reached 10,021 of 10,978 administrative villages, a rate of 91.2%.
Enhancing Livelihoods and Boosting Local Brands
Key highlights of the rural network include Panjin's passenger-cargo-postal integration and Faku's smart logistics. Panjin built two county-level distribution centers with over 40 million yuan in investment, bringing in postal and express companies like Yunda, Shentong, and J&T. This cut average rural delivery costs by about 0.3 yuan per parcel, boosted sorting efficiency by over 50%, and reduced labor costs by roughly 20%. This model spread quickly, and by mid-2025, Liaoning operated 80 such routes, moving over 12 million parcels annually. Panjin also added 100 rural stations to its 2025 livelihood projects, investing over 6 million yuan in electric vehicles and route adjustments.
In Faku County, drone delivery created a three-tier system from county to village, marking the first rural drone delivery in Northeast China, with efficiency up over 70% and costs down 40%. Unmanned vehicles now cover over 40 villages, delivering an average of 1,500 parcels daily with doubled efficiency and reduced costs. During the "14th Five-Year" period, Liaoning ran nearly 80 unmanned vehicles and tested two drone routes.
The true measure of success is whether farmers benefit. As a major agricultural province, Liaoning needs a fluid delivery channel for its "Liao" brand products. The administration has long prioritized serving modern agriculture, cultivating seven projects with over ten million parcels each and supporting 200 million parcels in total by the end of the plan period. In the first half of 2025, over 240 demonstration projects were established, moving more than 100 million agricultural products and supporting 8 billion yuan in agricultural output.
Looking to the future, the "15th Five-Year" period focuses on deepening agricultural coordination, fully advancing village delivery, and building projects around the province's specialty industries. The standout initiative is the "Liao Products Out of Liao" project, which aims to create a specialized supply chain spanning from fields to markets nationwide and abroad. This includes expanding cold-chain facilities, enhancing the land-sea-air network with 20 cargo aircraft, processing over 100 million fresh products annually, and opening five sea routes. The goal is to cultivate 20 projects with over 10 million parcels and 50 with over one million, reaching 300 million parcels total and supporting over 30 billion yuan in sales.
As 2026 begins the new planning period, the administration has set goals to increase service coverage for "Tongda" enterprises to villages by 5 to 10 percentage points, raise the village station ratio to over 83%, and outlined 12 tasks across three key directions: consolidating the system, leveraging the postal service's foundational role, and deepening agricultural integration. On this new journey, the focus remains on weaving a tighter network, threading between urban and rural areas, and contributing even more to rural revitalization and Liaoning's comprehensive resurgence.