Residents of Huizhou, Zhuhai and Zhongshan, all in Guangdong province, have to show their ID cards to use parcel delivery services, as the three cities trial a system requiring real names from Thursday.

Wang Junke, an official with the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, said the trial would prevent toxic parcels being sent and make parcel deliveries much safer.

In November, a parcel contaminated by toxic chemicals, caused the death of a person in Shandong. The chemicals had leaked from other parcels that had been placed alongside.

The policy may be adopted throughout Guangdong province in 2014.

According to the Guangdong Logistics Industry Association, people sending parcels only have to swipe their ID cards to do so, with the process expected to take only 3 seconds.