Advisers call for greater protection of couriers' rights

A delivery driver loads his electric cart in Lanzhou, Gansu province, in December. CHEN BIN/XINHUA

An old Chinese saying states that when a person wakes up in the morning and opens the door to embrace a new day, seven items are necessary and unavoidable in his or her life: firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea.

The saying has been "updated "recently, and it is now widely accepted that the seven items have been integrated into one thing — a parcel.

The adjusted saying illustrates the importance of parcels in Chinese people's lives nowadays.

Although the delivery industry has boomed in the past decade, and many people rely heavily on parcels to maintain their normal lives, it is easy to forget the most important part of the network — the millions of couriers who transport the items to their recipients.