BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's courier sector has witnessed more parcels delivered this year since the Spring Festival travel rush began on Jan. 21, according to the State Post Bureau (SPB).

From Jan. 21 to Feb. 10, 1.61 billion parcels were delivered nationwide, up 33 percent from the travel rush period last year, said the SPB.

During the Spring Festival holidays from Feb. 4 to Feb. 10, 52.93 million parcels were delivered.

The weeklong holiday is generally a slack period as most delivery couriers go back in their hometowns to see their families.

This year, many courier firms mobilized enough couriers and logistic facilities through bonuses and promotions to cope with the country's rising demand for online consumption.

With an average annual growth of 42 percent in the past decade, China's courier sector has topped the world for five straight years in terms of business volume.

The sector raked in 603.84 billion yuan (about 89.1 billion U.S. dollars) of revenue in 2018, up 21.8 percent year on year.

The country plans to extend the courier network and improve systems, services, and international connections by 2020 with a target to realize 800 billion yuan in annual revenue.