Instead of a human deliveryman, Beijing resident Xiao Wei received his online order for daily necessities in less than 30 minutes from an unmanned delivery vehicle.

The four-wheeled vehicle named "magic bag" is 1.56 meters high, 2.77 meters long, and 1.19 meters wide. Weighing 500 kg, it can carry about 100 kg of goods at a time and run a distance of 100 km on a single charge with a maximum traveling speed of 20 kph.

After customers place orders on the Meituan app, an intelligent distribution system will assign orders to those autonomous vehicles, which will pick up and deliver goods to pick-up stations at the final destinations.

Customers can collect the delivery from the stations without any human contact during the whole process, said Meituan Dianping, China's major online food delivery platform.

"I can check the real-time route of the driverless vehicle. It is fast, convenient and safe as well," said Xiao.

The driverless vehicle is part of Meituan's plan to assist epidemic prevention and control as many residential communities in the country have taken tough measures, such as not allowing the entry of outsiders including couriers.

This is also the first time that Meituan has used unmanned vehicles to complete delivery orders on open roads, the company said.

People have stayed indoors most of the time as part of the efforts to contain the spread of the virus. The delivery giant is experiencing a labor shortage for delivery orders. In Shunyi District, Beijing, its two stations have to serve nearly 100,000 residents in 86 communities.

Meanwhile, according to Meituan, daily sales on its retail grocery service app have surged by 200 to 300 percent in Beijing compared to figures from before the epidemic.

The use of autonomous delivery vehicles significantly alleviates the distribution pressure, said the company.

Like Meituan, many Chinese companies have also launched unmanned delivery services to reduce human contact during the outbreak.

The catering chain brand Xiaoheng Dumplings has cooperated with an unmanned vehicle enterprise to pilot unmanned vehicle delivery services in Beijing. It has six autonomous vehicles in operation in the city, with each delivering up to 40 meals at a time.

Li Heng, the founder of Xiaoheng Dumplings, believes unmanned delivery is the future of the industry as it is cleaner, safer and more efficient. "An unmanned vehicle can deliver 300 to 400 meals a day, while a deliveryman can only deliver dozens of meals," Li said.

Xiaoheng's unmanned vehicles have a heat preservation function. Li said that a new type of vehicle with a freezing function would be introduced in the future to deliver frozen food.

Meituan and Xiaoheng said they will continue the unmanned delivery service in the future. More types of goods, including food, medicine, and daily necessities, will be added to such delivery services, according to Meituan.