Rain, hail or dental work, the postman always delivers

Accidents will happen

Navigating steep, rugged trails－even when it's rainy, windy or snowy－means accidents are an occupational hazard.

On a wet afternoon in September 2005, Zhang, was rushing to deliver a heavy parcel to Miaohou village when he slipped and rolled down a 30-meter slope.

He had three front teeth knocked out after his face hit a rock and splattered it with blood. Zhang said his lips were swollen like two thick pieces of toast and he almost fainted from the pain. But it was getting dark and he didn't want to be alone in the wild as it was too risky.

Enduring the severe pain, Zhang picked up the letters scattered around the blood-stained rock and kept walking until he arrived at the village.

While most postal workers would be given time to recuperate after such an ordeal, there was no substitute to do Zhang's job.

"If I had taken leave, who would have delivered letters for the 25,000 villagers?," he said. "No one wanted to take the risk of going into the wild. So, I chose not to take leave."

At the end of that year he was ordered to have his teeth fixed, when the county director of the State Post Bureau saw Zhang's mangled mouth. In order to ensure the mail was delivered, Zhang requested that a dentist treat him at home so he didn't have to travel to a city for the dental work.

Similar accidents have been repeated over the decades, but Zhang has never considered quitting his job.

Well aware of the dangers, he worries about children who travel the same paths as he does when they go to school. Zhang has adjusted his schedule so he can escort some of the students to school in the morning and back home in the afternoon.

"I am a veteran, I have experienced training in the melting pot of the army. I joined the Party when I was in the army. I will not forget the purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly. I will continue to move forward until the day I can't walk," he said.