Wei Xiaobo: The mountain postman

Wei Xiaobo is no ordinary postman. Most city-based deliverers have only the traffic and barking dogs to be careful of, but Wei has vast mountains to climb and deadly drops to keep him on his toes, as he winds through his route in mountainous Neixiang county, Henan province.

Wei Xiaobo tramps over hill and dale to deliver posts. [Photo by Wang Weigang / Nanyang Evening News]

The 41-year-old postman has the daunting responsibility of providing and maintaining vital postal communication to the region's 30,000 inhabitants in 16 administrative villages in all weathers, all year round.

During his 16 years connecting these people, he has gone through no less than four motorcycles and 100 pairs of shoes as he has ridden and clambered along winding roads and mountain passes.

Wei is a familiar face to the residents on his route and can be regularly seen wearing a Lei Feng hat, green uniform and black kneecaps. To make sure he gets through his daily deliveries in time, Wei needs to wake at the crack of dawn and ride his motorbike with surgical precision as he passes through the thin, winding and sometimes treacherous roads.

Wei Xiaobo often works till night. [Photo by Wang Weigang / Nanyang Evening News]