KUNMING, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- High-speed trains in southwest China's Yunnan Province are fully prepared to help local specialties get to other parts of the country as the Chinese online population celebrates the shopping bonanza on Sunday.
China's Singles' Day sales on TMall hit 10 billion yuan (about 1.44 billion U.S. dollars) at just two minutes and five seconds after midnight on Sunday. According to Alibaba, owner of TMall, more than 19,000 overseas brands from 75 countries and regions have participated in this year's shopping spree in China.
To cater to huge demand, transportation authorities in Kunming, capital of Yunnan, arranged six high-speed trains every day as well as adding extra coaches to regular trains to make sure that local goods ordered during the bonanza will be delivered across the country in a timely manner.
Yunnan is famous for its flower cakes and tea. Average daily freight is expected to hit 6 tonnes.
The e-commerce giant launched the annual online shopping promotion on Nov. 11, 2009, a day celebrated by many Chinese young people as Single's Day. The date was chosen because 11-11 resembles four "bare sticks," a Chinese term for a bachelor.
Sales of Tmall's first shopping festival totaled about 52 million yuan. Alibaba's Single's Day sales reached 168.2 billion yuan last year.
