(Photo/Thepaper.cn)

A special high-speed train offering free rides home for couriers will depart Shanghai for eastern China's Anhui province on Jan. 16, 2020, a week before Chinese New Year's Eve.

The free trip will be offered by Cainiao, a logistics and supply chain company and China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd.

According to Cainiao, couriers in Shanghai and neighboring regions will be able to board the train free-of-charge after registering on Cainiao's mobile application, and each person can take up to two family members with them.

Shanghai is home to the headquarters of multiple major Chinese express corporations, including ZTO Express, YTO Express and Yunda Express. It is one of the busiest regions in China when it comes to delivery services. Statistics show that Anhui is the largest source of couriers working in Shanghai, which is why the train is heading in that direction.

A Cainiao employee noted that registration started on Dec. 21 and will last till Dec. 25. "We received over 100 applications only a few hours after the registration began," the employee said.

China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd. introduced that the group had been exploring customized passenger services, to guarantee safe trips for migrant workers at this time of year.

Last year, by cooperating with related railway department, Cainiao chartered a high-speed train and sent Beijing couriers back home to 11 destinations in Hebei and Henan – two provinces that are home to most of the couriers in the Chinese capital.

As the largest smart logistics network in China, Cainiao has served over 100 million users this year, and 400,000 couriers are currently working for the network.