Staff members of the Wenzhou Customs check parcels at the local international mail supervision center on May 16. The items were trucked from Wenzhou to Ningbo via truck on May 16 and aired to Osaka in Japan two days later. [Photo/66wz.com]

An international temporary mail route connecting Wenzhou and Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province with Osaka in Japan opened on May 16, with the first delivery being shipped out from Wenzhou, local media outlets reported.

A total of 10,000 metric tons of goods, mainly auto parts, food and daily necessities, were trucked from the Wenzhou International Mail Exchange Bureau to Ningbo Lishe International Airport on May 16, transported to Osaka by air on May 18, and arrived in the city the same day.

"Due to the recent COVID-19 resurgence, traditional international mail channels, especially those in Shanghai and Hangzhou, were temporarily shut down or short of service capacity, greatly affecting the efficiency of international shipping," said an officer from Wenzhou Customs.

"The opening of the new route was aimed at efficiently handling international mail that was unable to be delivered due to the epidemic so as to ensure the delivery needs of the public and promote stable and high-quality foreign trade," the officer added.