E-commerce fights its way to old Silk Road depot on Pamirs

URUMQI - Just as any other youth who aspires to change the world, Li Yue volunteered to venture into an unprecedented enterprise -- starting an express delivery station in Taxkorgan, China's westernmost county on the Pamir Plateau.

He soon discovered that it was quite a world of change.

Taxkorgan has a long history as a trade depot on the ancient Silk Road. The old caravan passage, however, is now less traveled and left beleaguered by glaciers and snow mountains. The absence of express delivery only adds to the embarrassment of the former trade stop in the e-commerce era.

People's living standards in Taxkorgan have long been impeded by its challenging geography. Over the past decades, everyday necessities were subject to high prices and poor diversity, and there was no tap water or electricity for a long time.

Li's ambition was to make a difference, but his original excitement took a head-on blow as soon as he arrived. The headaches and upset stomach he suffered from the 4,000-meter altitude made it difficult for him to carry on with work.

"Apparently, it is not easy to be a 'Visitor on the Icy Mountain,'" Li joked, referring to a Chinese hit film depicting the story of border defense and a romance that took place near Taxkorgan.