拆快递 (opening packages) is almost a national hobby in China thanks to the massive e-commerce culture. 拆 is also used figuratively: 拆台 (chāitái) = to undermine someone; 拆穿 (chāichuān) = to expose/debunk.
culture
The character 拆 painted in a circle on buildings (usually in red) is a famous sight — it means the building is marked for demolition. 拆迁 (chāiqiān) = demolition and relocation.
Left hand radical — the indexing component. Marks 拆 as a hand-action: pulling, tearing, dismantling with the fingers. Same radical drives most physical-action verbs: 推 (push), 拉 (pull), 抓 (grab), 拼 (assemble), 抱 (hug).
Right 斥 supplies a near-sound (chì → chāi) and a faint hint of meaning — to push away, drive off. Together with the hand radical: a hand pushing apart, taking down, tearing open. Phono-semantic alignment is unusually tight.
