Mo Fuyuan drives a mail delivery van in Longli county in the Qiannan Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefecture, Guizhou province. WANG LIXIN/FOR CHINA DAILY

Urbanization has made deliveries easier for Mo Fuyuan, who has been hauling mail to residents in mountains since 1995

Postal routes wind deep into the mountains in some rural parts of Longli county, which is in the Qiannan Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefecture in Guizhou province. Mo Fuyuan has been delivering letters and parcels there since 1995, connecting villagers to the outside world.

"I like seeing the smiles on faces when people get their mail," said the 44-year-old postman, who works for the China Post branch in Longli.

"That way, I barely notice that 28 years have passed," he said.

Mo, who has broken four bicycles and six motorcycles driving along the area's muddy roads over the years, has also seen the area develop.

"In recent years, China has been putting a new urbanization strategy in place and has accelerated the region's integration with the development of the provincial capital Guiyang. Rural areas are improving more and more," he said.

Thanks to the expanding network of concrete and asphalt roads, as well as expressways, he can deliver mail by car, and even the farthest villages are now less than two hours away.

Back when there were no highways, he would have to go on foot along trails through the mountains. Sometimes, Mo would walk an entire day just to deliver a single letter.

On other days, it would take him six or seven hours by bike to reach a village 100 kilometers from the county town.