ANCHOR: Welcome back to China Horizons. With all the modern transportation options these days, it is hard to imagine having to regularly do a 26-kilometer rugged trek over three mountains, each more than 800 meters above sea level. But this is Hu Longzhao's life. He is a mail carrier in Pan'an County in the mountainous area of Zhejiang Province. Over the last 23 years, he has followed the same route to deliver mail and newspapers to 12 villages. On today's program, our reporter Ning Yan shares with us the life stories of this steadfast mail carrier.

REPORTER: On his daily mountain hiking journey, Hu Longzhao likes singing to drive away his loneliness. This has been his working habit since he started working as a postman in Pan'an County 23 years ago.

Hu Zhaolong starts his delivery trip early every morning. He has to prepare well for the rugged mountain trek of 26 kilometers. It defies belief for many people that someone would undertake such a long craggy route every day. For Hu Zhaolong, it is only an ordinary passage to finish his deliveries to 12 nearby villages.

"I have been on this duty for over 20 years. It is just my job. Plus, I consider this trek as a method of physical exercise. You see, I really enjoy it."

On this trip, Hu Longzhao brought Chen Gentao a postal remittance from his son. Chen Gentao's son works in Guangdong in southern China. Every time he receives the remittance, the old man asks Hu Longzhao to help him deal with the money. This time is no exception.

Hu: "Here's your money, about 7,000 yuan. How would you like to deal with it? Cash or deposit?"

Chen: "Could you do me a favor and deposit it as before? I can use it to furnish my house later this year."

Chen Gentao is not the only person who appreciates Hu's help. In the remote mountainous areas, transportation is one of the toughest barriers keeping residents from the outside world. It is little wonder many locals count on Hu Longzhao's trips for taking care of their affairs at the bank or buying important items in the town 26 kilometers away from the villages. Hu Longzhao recalls during the past two years, he has helped locals with their cash remittances and made deposits of more than 50,000 yuan.

Fifty-eight-year-old Hu Yuejing is one of the frequent recipients of the help. When asked if she feels comfortable entrusting Hu Longzhao with her money, Hu Yuejing has this to say:

"I never worry about Longzhao taking care of my money. Anytime I ask him to do me a favor, he says ok. You know what, it is a custom that many of the villagers ask Longzhao for help with banking matters."

As for Hu Longzhao, he pretty enjoys doing such favors and even jokes the bank should award him for bringing the remittances from the villagers.

Apart from helping locals take care of their remittances, Hu Longzhao also shows his kindness when he learns a villager has certain difficulties. Once, Cai Yunxiang, who is in her 80's, became seriously ill, but all her children live far away. When an anxious daughter searched for names she could turn to for help, Hu Longzhao was on the top of the list. Hu recalls:

"It was on a snowy day when Granny Cai caught a heavy cold. All three of her children were not around. Her daughter gave me a call. I reassured her that I would take care of her mother."

Above all, Hu Longzhao also plays the role of a messenger by bringing news of the latest developments in the outside world to the remote villages. Thanks to his efforts, 59-year-old Zhou Fengxiang in Lingjiao Village found his fortune planting tea trees.

"I used to plant corn like other farmers. Once, Hu Longzhao delivered a newspaper and told me planting tea makes good money, especially some new types of leaves."
Zhou Fengxiang began to plant tea. For years, with Hu Longzhao's help, Zhou has been famed as a big tea grower in Jiuhe township.

"More than 10,000 yuan have been paid as wages to the workers I employ. As for my net profit, it isn't a small figure."

Hu Longzhao says nowadays information and communication are the keys for rural residents to realize wealth.

"Farmers are keen on information on agriculture."

With a ready mind to help, Hu Longzhao has taken on the responsibility to pass on news on technological developments to rural residents in his daily work.

During the past 23 years, he has walked more than 200 thousand kilometers on the job, meaning he has walked around the earth the equivalent of five times. Despite all this walking, however, Hu Longzhao has only been out of Pan'an County four times. Each time was a trip to receive an award.

Hu Longzhao says he owes most to his wife and two daughters. He wishes to take his family to enjoy a tour in Yiwu, a small town nearby.

"I've been married for 18 years. I've never even had a chance to take my wife to travel. My wife used to ask me if we could travel around and visit some scenic spots. I promised her after my retirement, I would realize her dream." 
 

Thank you, Ning Yan, for this touching story. China Horizons will be back in a moment.