What they say
Editor’s note: Receiving parcels after shopping online has become a norm for many people. Last year, the total volume of parcels delivered nationwide reached over 83 billion, with the tough mission handled by 4 million delivery workers. The Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee invited five representatives of the sector to share their stories.
Ten years ago, we only had four staff members, who were responsible for the delivery of dozens of parcels. The station has now grown into a company with 300-plus delivery workers, 150 machines for parcel sorting and 300 vehicles for delivery. We now process tens of thousands of parcels a day and help the villagers here to sell their products far afield. We can bring a benefit of over 60 million yuan ($9.38 million) to the villagers a year. Zhang Lianbo, 40, director of ZTO Express’s station in Qixingguan district, Bijie, Guizhou province
Different from my peers, I deliver parcels by boat to fishermen living on lakes and mud flats. I’ve paddled my boat a total of 300,000 kilometers in the past 22 years. I’m not only delivering their letters but also daily necessities and tools. I also helped fishermen who used to live on Hongze Lake find jobs when the government banned fishing in the lake in 2019.
57, director and deliveryman of China Post Group’s office in Hongze district, Huai’an, Jiangsu province
The postal route I used to drive was one of China’s most dangerous, with an average altitude of over 3,500 meters. I’ve driven about 1.4 million km in the past 30 years and thankfully not a single accident has happened or a mail run been missed. For me, the responsibility is to protect the mail van and deliver every letter and parcel safely to the people.
Chime Dorje, 58, driver of a mail van for China Post Group’s Garze office, Sichuan province
I once faced difficulty in communicating with the villagers because of the language difference. But thankfully, a Uygur girl helped me, not only teaching me their language but keeping me company when I visited villagers’ homes and promoting our postal policies to them. We then became good friends. I hope that our friendship can pass down through our respective children.
Du Junxia, 38, an official from the postal services bureau in Aksu, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region
It was Chinese New Year’s Eve last year when I got the news that medical staff members at Wuhan’s Jinyintan Hospital could only walk home because of the suspension of transportation (due to the COVID-19 outbreak). I thought I would regret it if I didn’t give them my help. I started to pick them up and ferry them home the next day and, thankfully, our volunteer team expanded to seven people. I did have fears but totally dismissed them when I focused on my work at the time. Wang Yong, 36, manager of SF Express’s Qiaokou branch in Wuhan, Hubei province