Postal service reaches the grassroots in Xinjiang’s pastoral pilot county

Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Fan Qiongyan) news: On the morning of September 2, 2026, a straight rural road stretched across the grassland, lined with tall, upright poplars on both sides, leading to scattered herder camps and remote village clusters. Alayguli Nulihazi, a delivery courier with the Hoboksar Mongolian Autonomous County branch of China Post, packed her parcels and checked her vehicle. That day, she would drive over a hundred kilometers to deliver the eagerly awaited parcels to herders in the hinterland.

Photo taken on August 20, 2026 shows a postal minivan travels along the road to Xiargu Village in Moteg Township, Hoboksar Mongolian Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Ba Dawajawu)

Located at the junction of Tacheng Prefecture, Karamay City, and Altay Prefecture in Xinjiang, Hoboksar has a long border, a sparse population, and vast distances—a typical pastoral county with dispersed settlements. In the past, rural delivery services here faced long radii and extended routes, making last-mile coverage a persistent challenge. This year, the State Post Bureau and China Post Group designated 17 counties as national pilot counties for “Delivery to Villages” express service backstopped by China Post, and Hoboksar became the only such demonstration county in Xinjiang.

At the sound of the familiar horn, the postal minivan pulled up as scheduled in front of the Daolante Village Integrated Convenience Service Station in Chagankul Township.

"In the past, villagers had to travel 30 kilometers round trip to the county just to pick up a parcel. The 'last mile' of delivery to villages was a real headache. Now, no matter which courier company's parcel it is, postal couriers bring it right to the village, and sending and receiving parcels is very convenient," said Liu Shiwei, first secretary of the village work team, deeply impressed by the change.

With postal vans, couriers, and village-level service stations, small parcels are gradually opening up a "lifeline" for people's livelihoods in the pastoral areas. Wang Jiheng, deputy general manager of the county branch of China Post, explained that to assume the backstopping responsibility, the company has built a three-tier delivery logistics network covering the county, two towns, six townships, and 54 administrative villages. More than half of the villages now receive deliveries five times a week, and the rest receive at least three weekly deliveries.

"Even for Chaganader Village in Tiebukenwusan Township, nearly 100 kilometers from the sorting center, the cooperative express service reaches every grazing point deep in the grasslands," Wang Jiheng added.

Photo taken on September 1, 2026 shows a villager of Xiargu Village picks up postal items at a community service point in Hoboksar Mongolian Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Ba Dawajawu)

Receiving a text message notification, on September 1, Zhang Yonghu, a villager from Xiargu Village in Moteg Township, walked into the village service station. He looked up and saw a sign reading "Postal Parcel Pickup/Drop-off" on the top shelf of a metal bookcase, clearly showing business hours, service details, and management rules. Within half a minute, he found his parcel.

"In the past, herders stationed at remote grazing sites had to travel 60 or 70 kilometers round trip just to pick up a parcel, and sending items was equally inconvenient. Now, with the service station right in the village, the postal service truly warms the hearts of herders," Zhang said with satisfaction. Today, herders can have daily necessities and children's teaching and tutoring materials delivered straight to their doorsteps; come winter, their beef, mutton, and handmade dairy products can be shipped on postal trucks to customers across the country.

At noon, on the road to Chaganader Village, 46 kilometers from the county seat, a green postal minivan rolled along slowly. The backstopping service is not just written in policy documents—it is measured by the couriers' wheels, mile after mile, embodying the tangible warmth of public service. Covering hundreds of kilometers in a single day is routine; spring sandstorms and winter snowstorms that close roads are all part of the daily reality of pastoral delivery.

Alayguli said that regardless of heat or cold, rain or snow, the delivery vans travel year-round on the rugged pastoral roads, picking up local agricultural specialty products, delivering daily supplies, distributing school textbooks, and transporting spring farming materials. To ensure timely delivery, she and her colleagues work year-round without rest. But seeing the smiles on herders' faces when their eagerly awaited parcels arrive makes all the hardship worthwhile, she added.

By June this year, the county has achieved express delivery coverage of all villages by all courier companies, and even parcels destined for remote mining areas 260 kilometers away can be delivered directly. At the county-level mail sorting center, located in Heshtologai Town, 44 kilometers from the county seat, parcels from all courier companies are sorted and transferred together, then routed through the universal postal service network down to township outlets, village shops, and village committee service stations—finally cracking the long-standing problem of express coverage in remote pastoral areas.

In the first seven months of 2026, the county's mail volume exceeded 200,000 items, up eight percent year-on-year. Postal vans roll steadily across the grassland roads, parcels shuttle back and forth between urban and rural areas, weaving a tangible convenience logistics network across the vast pastoral region—and with stable, reliable delivery services, they uphold the daily convenience and livelihood of frontier communities.

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