15 photos that show what goes on behind the scenes of Singles' Day, China's biggest shopping festival that beats Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales combined

Matthew LohNov 11, 2021, 15:04 IST

Workers distribute express parcels at a logistics centre of China Post during Alibaba Group's Singles' Day global shopping festival on November 11, 2016 in Ganyu, Jiangsu Province of China.Visual China Group/Getty Images

Singles' Day is China's spending event of the year, with sales reaching a record $115 billion in 2020.
As consumers shop, ecommerce employees and delivery companies work overtime to keep the spree going.

Singles' Day proper started in China on Thursday, marking the beginning of the country's largest online spending fest.

While this year's event included a discount period on November 1, the true 24-hour sales frenzy traditionally launches on November 11, when consumers flood online shopping platforms like Alibaba's Taobao and its rival JD.com.

Despite a crackdown this year from Beijing on lavish spending and consumer waste, reports creeping in from local media indicate Singles' Day is still going strong, with 382 brands each hitting $15 million in sales since the start of this year's event.

Here are some photos that show how China moves billions of packages to hundreds of cities on its biggest spending day.

Singles' Day sends China's logistics and delivery companies into overdrive. China shipped nearly four billion packages during last year's festival.

Visual China Group/Getty Images

Alibaba traditionally gathers employees at a data center in its Hangzhou headquarters to watch soaring sales volumes.

Visual China Group/Getty Images

Alibaba would traditionally boast its sales numbers in real-time to the public, though it's not doing so this year.

Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

On Singles' Day, delivery company employees often work through the night, like these office workers in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, in 2017.

STR/AFP via Getty Images

Livestreaming has been embraced by Alibaba, which promotes presenters who peddle products on broadcasted discount frenzies.

Tian Ming/VCG via Getty Images

But the real chaos occurs at the distribution centers, where Singles' Day is the overtime event of the year for workers.

Visual China Group/Getty Images

Not all packages are sorted through big distribution plants - sometimes deliverymen have to sift through the orders on the street.

Tingshu Wang/REUTERS

Delivery workers, who are paid around 16 cents per order, have been increasingly overwhelmed by the sheer number of parcels on Singles' Day, according to Chinese media.

Visual China Group/Getty Images

Express delivery, known as "Kuai Di" in China, and one-day waiting times have become an almost everyday expectation for Chinese consumers.

Visual China Group/Getty Images

Delivery trucks hauling hundreds of packages through the winter snow are a common sight in Chinese cities after Singles' Day.

Visual China Group/Getty Images

In 2016, delivery companies began using bullet trains to send goods to more than 500 cities when Singles' Day quotas started ballooning year after year.

Visual China Group/Getty Images

Many deliverymen regularly use electric rickshaws to ferry items between neighborhoods. When Singles' Day arrives, they fill their rides to the brim.

NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images

The rickshaw cab and the carton behind provide delivery guys with more space to stuff their vehicles with goods.

Tingshu Wang/Reuters

And it wouldn't be Singles' Day in China without deliverymen whizzing through the streets on electric bikes, which are a main staple of the delivery industry there.

JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images

Some consumers, mainly college students, choose to receive their parcels at designated pick-up points, forming massive queues on Singles' Day.

Visual China Group/Getty Images

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15 photos that show what goes on behind the scenes of Singles' Day, China's biggest shopping festival that beats Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales combined

Singles' Day sends China's logistics and delivery companies into overdrive. China shipped nearly four billion packages during last year's festival.

Alibaba traditionally gathers employees at a data center in its Hangzhou headquarters to watch soaring sales volumes.

Alibaba would traditionally boast its sales numbers in real-time to the public, though it's not doing so this year.

On Singles' Day, delivery company employees often work through the night, like these office workers in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, in 2017.

Livestreaming has been embraced by Alibaba, which promotes presenters who peddle products on broadcasted discount frenzies.

But the real chaos occurs at the distribution centers, where Singles' Day is the overtime event of the year for workers.

Not all packages are sorted through big distribution plants - sometimes deliverymen have to sift through the orders on the street.

Delivery workers, who are paid around 16 cents per order, have been increasingly overwhelmed by the sheer number of parcels on Singles' Day, according to Chinese media.

Express delivery, known as "Kuai Di" in China, and one-day waiting times have become an almost everyday expectation for Chinese consumers.

Delivery trucks hauling hundreds of packages through the winter snow are a common sight in Chinese cities after Singles' Day.

In 2016, delivery companies began using bullet trains to send goods to more than 500 cities when Singles' Day quotas started ballooning year after year.

Many deliverymen regularly use electric rickshaws to ferry items between neighborhoods. When Singles' Day arrives, they fill their rides to the brim.

The rickshaw cab and the carton behind provide delivery guys with more space to stuff their vehicles with goods.

And it wouldn't be Singles' Day in China without deliverymen whizzing through the streets on electric bikes, which are a main staple of the delivery industry there.

Some consumers, mainly college students, choose to receive their parcels at designated pick-up points, forming massive queues on Singles' Day.