Postal worker delivers better lives

Reflecting on his experiences of delivering parcels by motorcycle in the past, Lhalung Dorje has noticed that almost every household now has a vehicle.

The local households' improved living standards are also shown by the increasing number of packages from online orders.

"The period before the Spring Festival is our peak season and we usually handle 4,000 to 5,000 parcels daily. It's common to work until 1 or 2 in the morning," he says, adding that the items are becoming more diverse, including guitars, cosmetics and pet food.

Additionally, he can sense the education level on the rise, as he has delivered more college admission notices in recent years.

His own two daughters were admitted to college a couple of years ago.

"I delivered the notices for them myself," Lhalung Dorje says with pride.

He has come to see that his bag carries "a better life" for the locals.

Liu Zongpeng, general manager of China Post's operations in Ruo'ergai, says Lhalung Dorje's good deeds have been known to many of the county's residents.

"Most of them call him 'brother'," Liu says.

He often works overtime to deliver medicines for the senior residents and keeps shovels and oxygen tanks in the postal vehicles for travelers he meets who might have their car break down or suffer altitude sickness.

"It's not too much to say his service has covered all the local villages (in the county) and serves as a bridge between the local herdsmen and the outside world," Liu says.

Local herdsman Lokhor still feels indebted to Lhalung Dorje, who helped him sell more than 80 yaks in 2022 when the pandemic cut the county off from the outside.

"It was November and I couldn't go out and the buyers couldn't come in, and the yaks were losing weight," Lokhor says.

His whole family was counting on the sales of the yaks, with a mortgage to pay and children to feed.

After learning of Lokhor's plight, Lhalung Dorje made inquiries for potential buyers during his work trips and eventually connected him to a local pastoral company.

Lhalung Dorje says he has come to realize there's a lot more he could do as the country's rural vitalization strategy was fully implemented.

He is now in charge of the overall postal service quality across the county, as well as the cooperation agreements with private delivery service providers in the area.

He has also been invited to government organs and institutes of higher learning to give lectures about his experiences of rural development and his work.

To better live up to his responsibilities as a national model worker, Lhalung Dorje has used his spare time to pick up new skills and has finished administrative management studies at the Open University of China.

"I was born and raised here. I love this land very much and I hope to contribute to the development of my hometown," he says.