This Day, That Year

Item from May 22, 1996, in China Daily: Postal deliveries are set to get faster as China Postal Airlines gets its first aircraft off the ground.

It is also the first time the Yun-8, produced by the Shaanxi Aircraft Manufacturing Co, has been used solely in civil aviation.

In the past two decades, China Postal Airlines has grown rapidly. It now operates more than 30 Boeing aircraft.

In 2015, the company signed a contract to buy seven Boeing 757-200s that the airline plans to convert into freighters. The company is also acquiring 10 Next-Generation 737-800 Boeing converted freighters.

The fuel-efficient 757s, which can carry up to 28 metric tons of cargo, will help reduce operating costs for the company and meet the surging demand for deliveries.

China's booming courier service sector is expected to generate 500 billion yuan ($72 billion) in revenue this year, up from 400 billion yuan last year, according to the State Post Bureau.

The country aims to deliver 50 billion express parcels annually, generating 800 billion yuan in revenues by 2020.

To tap the world's fastest growing postal market, many delivery and e-commerce companies are also eyeing drone delivery.

In September, China Post successfully used drones to deliver a parcel to a village in Zhejiang province.

Three months before that, e-commerce giant JD.com delivered its first package via a drone to rural shoppers in Jiangsu province.