At 8:22 a.m. on November 18, a Boeing 777F all-cargo aircraft emblazoned with the logo of China Post pierced through the clouds and made a safe and steady landing in the morning sunlight at Nanjing Lukou International Airport. It had flown across continents all the way back from Luxembourg, covering 9300 kilometers in 12 hours, and completing a throbbing pulse of the “Air Silk Road”.

Within the next 24 hours, this all-cargo aircraft of China Postal Airlines would embark on its journey again. When the cargo containers from Europe were unloaded, the domestic mail and goods were loaded onto the plane. From customs clearance, security check, palletizing, load control and loading, the process bars were updated in seconds in the control tower. On the self-managed apron of China Post, about a hundred tonnes of mail and goods were transferred overnight. Then, the flight took off and flew to Luxembourg once again.

The “Nanjing-Luxembourg” air route is the first intercontinental air route independently operated by China Post. This route operates three flights a week with a payload capacity of nearly a hundred tonnes. It enables the “Made-in-China” products to reach the shopping carts in Europe directly.

Against the backdrop of global supply chain restructuring and cross-border e-commerce emerging as a new engine for foreign trade, this air route has secured credible achievements with “postal speed.”

At 8:30 a.m. on November 18, the Boeing 777F all-cargo aircraft of China Postal Airlines, loaded with mail and goods from Luxembourg, is taxiing towards China Post’s self-managed apron after landing at Nanjing Lukou International Airport.

At 9:10 a.m. on November 18, workers are operating the cargo lift to unload the mail and goods from the aircraft.

At 10:15 a.m. on November 18, Captain Yu Yi is inspecting the cargo hold.

At 10:20 a.m. on November 18, security inspectors are screening the X-ray images of the international mail and goods.

At 10:50 a.m. on November 18, workers are palletizing the international mail and goods.

At 3:00 a.m. on November 19, a staff member is working out the load plan in the load control center.

At 3:40 a.m. on November 19, workers are operating the cargo lift to load the mail and goods into the aircraft.

At 5:00 a.m. on November 19, the crew members are giving themselves the thumbs-up sign to boost morale before takeoff and wish for a successful flight.

At 6:20 a.m. on November 19, the Boeing 777F all-cargo aircraft of China Postal Airlines, fully loaded with mail and goods, are departing from Nanjing Lukou International Airport for Luxembourg.