In a 4,000-square-kilometer border region, within China's last ethnic enclave to be connected by road, a college graduate who finished his studies several years ago has returned home to deliver packages, serving over 30,000 local residents—a rare sight within the entire logistics industry.
At 8 a.m. on January 1, 2026, the morning mist had yet to lift over the Gaoligong Mountains in Yunnan when Zhong Jiuwang mounted his motorcycle and set off for the Gongshan Station. This station, newly established by JD LOGISTICS in 2025, covers the entire Gongshan County in Nujiang Prefecture, including Dulongjiang Township—the last ethnic minority settlement in China to gain road access. With a total population of just over 30,000, this border county was once an area of deep poverty.
As a deliveryman at the Gongshan Station, Zhong Jiuwang, along with two other Lisu ethnic couriers, is responsible for a delivery area exceeding 4,000 square kilometers—an area equivalent to two Shenzhen cities—characterized by widespread mountainous terrain, making it JD LOGISTICS's most extensive coverage site in the Yunnan border region.
At 11 a.m. on New Year's Day, Zhong Jiuwang drove to deliver the first batch of packages of the new year to Bingzhongluo, a strategic border location, where the red logo of "JD LOGISTICS" on his vehicle stood out prominently in this frontier zone.
Twenty-nine-year-old Zhong Jiuwang is a local Lisu youth. After graduating from Yunnan Minzu University, he worked as a clerk and a quality inspector, and even ventured to Shanghai for employment. In 2025, choosing to return home to care for his family, he became the first employee of the Gongshan Station in July of that year. "JD is quite well-known and offers promising prospects; I'll start step by step as a courier," he admitted. In a border county town, a job that provides social security and housing fund contributions is particularly precious. "It allows me to plan all the way to retirement," he said.
In 2024, the per capita disposable income of rural residents in Gongshan County had just surpassed 10,000 yuan, while that of urban permanent residents was slightly over 30,000 yuan. For a border county that has shaken off poverty and is vigorously promoting rural revitalization, a secure and stable job can retain locally educated young people like Zhong Jiuwang.
Around 12:30 p.m., Zhong Jiuwang arrived in Bingzhongluo Town. The first package he delivered on New Year's Day was a box of fresh cut flowers, shipped from the Dounan Flower Market in Kunming to a local guesthouse. Besides flowers, the items Zhong Jiuwang had to deliver on the first day of the year included televisions, beds, and mobile phones. With the Spring Festival approaching, young migrant workers returning home often prioritize one thing—buying a new bed. By the time they arrive from the big cities, their new bed is already installed.
In the past, transportation was the biggest bottleneck for Gongshan's development, with frequent disruptions to logistics due to landslides and heavy snow blocking mountain passes. The situation improved after the opening of the Nujiang "Beautiful Highway." However, due to the vast, sparsely populated area and scattered villages, delivering to remote mountain hamlets sometimes meant completing only one or two orders in an hour.
Before the station was established, goods purchased by Gongshan users, shipped from JD LOGISTICS's Dali or Kunming warehouses, took at least 3-4 days to arrive. After the station was built, the transport route was straightened, reducing the delivery time to 1-2 days.
A more profound change is reflected in lifestyles. Zhong Jiuwang recalls that in his childhood, eating a bowl of rice noodles was only possible during the weekly market, and buying major appliances required an arduous journey over mountains to the county seat, where choices were limited and prices high. Today, residents deep in the mountains have begun purchasing home appliances and daily necessities online. Data shows that since the establishment of the Gongshan Station, order volume has increased by over 200%.
Bingzhongluo Town in Gongshan County is just over 10 kilometers from the Yunnan-Tibet border. Users from Tibet's Chawalong Township often list their delivery address as Bingzhongluo, just across the river. Dozens of such packages are received monthly; they must first be identified at the Gongshan Station and then arrangements made for a "secondary relay" to complete the delivery. "Customers think they're close to Yunnan, but they actually belong to Tibet. We still have to find a way to deliver," Zhong Jiuwang explained.
Working in this complex terrain, Zhong Jiuwang has developed a "geographic memory method": memorizing a distinctive roof, a protruding rock, or a guesthouse willing to accept packages on behalf of others. "Understanding why a customer always specifies a certain spot, or why a shopkeeper is willing to help—once you figure these things out, efficiency improves, and customer satisfaction increases significantly," he said. The professional knowledge in human resources he acquired in the past also helps him communicate more effectively.
After finishing his deliveries and returning to the county town, night had already fallen. On the first day of the new year, over 200 packages from the Gongshan Station had been successfully delivered. Tomorrow, new packages await their journey across the mountains.
The establishment of the Gongshan Station represents not just an improvement in logistics speed, but also a practical example of how grassroots logistics services bring convenience to remote areas. Zhong Jiuwang's delivery vehicle not only brings a wider array of goods more quickly into the homes of ordinary border families but is also carving out a new path through the Nujiang Gorge, connecting rural areas with modern life.
Comments