Rain, hail or dental work, the postman always delivers

Dedicated worker overcomes challenges of remote mountain routes

Zhang Linchang is no ordinary postman.

The 55-year-old has to trek dozens of kilometers every day on foot, negotiating dense forests and dangerous paths to deliver letters and parcels to inaccessible villages in the mountains of Guizhou province.

Over the past three decades, Zhang has come across snakes, boars, yellow weasels and other wild animals in the line of duty as he trudged along valley riverbanks and crossed streams to reach the villages.

Zhang is the only postman in Jinping township, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture, where the postal service is severely limited because of the steep mountain paths and the scattered population.

He started the job after being discharged from military service in 1987. "Before I took the job, I was told that no one was able to stick to it for more than three years as the 90-km postal route is dangerous and intimidating," he said.

His postal round covers 200 square kilometers and 23 villages, and it takes him four days to deliver all the mail. To make his job possible, Zhang puts the mail into two large bags, which he attaches to the ends of a yoke that he carries across his back.

Without anyone to keep him company, he said keeping boredom at bay was a major problem he had to deal with. "I can't be any happier when I come across a bunch of villagers who I can talk to for a while after walking by myself for half a day," he said. "They often invite me for tea and food at their homes."

When it gets dark, he asks the local township government or villagers if he can stay the night before setting off early in the morning.