After attending the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Sichuan returned to his hometown of Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture on behalf of his Mei Duoji and continued to drive mail trucks between Kardze County and Derge County in Kardze Prefecture. The Sichuan-Tibet Post Road from Chengdu, Sichuan to Lhasa, Tibet is the highest average altitude first-class trunk car mail road in the country, of which the Kangding-Dege Post Road in the Sichuan section is called the "Snow Line Post Road" because of its complex landform, changeable climate, and average altitude above the snow line of 3,500 meters. The post road from Kardze County to Derge County is the highest altitude and the most dangerous section of the "Snow Line Post Road", which passes through the "first danger in Sichuan and Tibet" - Queer Mountain at an altitude of 6,168 meters. Over the past 33 years, Chi Mei Dorji has traveled more than 1.4 million kilometers on this postal route no less than 20 times a month, equivalent to 35 circles around the earth's equator.
Take risks
Qimei Duoji was born in 1963 in Gongya Township, Dege County, Kardze Prefecture, Sichuan Province, with Sichuan-Tibet Highway on his doorstep, and driving a mail truck was his childhood dream.
Qimei Dorji: Every day, there is a postal truck, almost always at the same point in time. At that time, I didn't know much about postal vehicles, but I saw that this car was very neat and beautiful, with a small red flag planted in front, very handsome, and I was eager to drive such a car.
At the age of 18, Kimi Dorji, who had just joined the workforce, used his first salary to buy a copy of "Automobile Construction and Repair", from the body, parts, parts to screws, he repeatedly disassembled and assembled on paper and in his mind, constantly memorizing common faults and solutions. Later, Qimi Dorji began to secretly learn to drive and get a driver's license, he bought an old car to run transportation, and became a well-known driver and auto mechanic in the county. In 1989, the Derg County Post and Telecommunications Office had the first mail truck in history, selecting a driver in the county, and the 26-year-old Qimi Dorjee was selected to drive the only mail car in the county.
Reporter: If the economic benefits of repairing cars at that time may have been higher, why did you join the postal team?
Kimi Dorji: Because of my love for cars, I later learned that the car I liked when I was a child was postal, so I applied. I applied as soon as I went because everyone recognized me.
However, the next thing to meet his beautiful Dorjee is an unexpected test, he is responsible for the Kardze to Derg mail road, the whole distance is 209 kilometers, even if there is no accident, it will take more than 8 hours, and the Queer Mountain on the way is a nightmare for many drivers. With an altitude of 6,168 meters, Queer Mountain is known as "a mountain that eagles can't fly", and there is a local saying that "passing through Queer Mountain in winter, like breaking through the ghost gate". The road surface of the mail truck continues to narrow with the altitude, and when crossing the pass of Queer Mountain at an altitude of 5,050 meters, the narrowest point of the road surface on the mountain is less than 4 meters, with gravel suspension on one side and an abyss on the other, and every acceleration, gear shift, and steering is a game with death.
Reporter: When driving on this road, did you ever have you ever been afraid or worried?
Kimi Dorji: The first time I climbed Queer Mountain, I was very nervous, how nervous it was, the road was very narrow, and the car in front and behind could hardly overtake you. The first time I crossed Queer Mountain, I was very careful and afraid. When I went down the mountain, I used a lot of brakes, and when I got to the foot of the mountain, the brake discs of the car were red, and I stepped on it all the time, and the drivers behind me scolded me at that time, why did I drive so much? Don't come up if you don't dare to open it.
War storm snow
The climate of the western Sichuan plateau is changeable, with heavy rain and hail in summer, and avalanches and wind stirring snow in winter. The snow closed the mountain, and many social vehicles have been stopped, and only mail trucks are still driving in this snowy mountain.
Qimei Dorji: In the event of wind and snow, there is no way to drive, just wait in the car, wait in place, wait for the wind and snow to stop before driving, the heating equipment in the car is also very simple, almost nothing, you stomp your feet in the car, exercise yourself, and heat yourself up.
Both Qimi Dorji and his colleagues have been trapped by heavy snow and suffer from snow blindness. In February 2000, he and his colleagues were hit by an avalanche on Queer Mountain. Although the Daoban is just a kilometer away, in order to protect the safety of the mail truck and mail, they stick to the mail truck and shovel snow little by little. This kilometer, they walked for two days and two nights.
Reporter: If there is such extreme weather, will it not be possible to wait for the weather to improve?
Kimi Dorji: No, no matter what the weather is, as long as there is mail, you have to go. At that time, because communications were not developed, we, the Kardze Tibetans, including Tibet, had to pass on all contacts with the hinterland through our mail trucks, and our responsibility was even greater, and it was the voice of the party, the family letter, and the family's concern for their loved ones.
Reporter: So at that time, others will be very happy to see you coming, because it may bring their information, the concern of their relatives.
Kimi Dorji: That's right. Especially when shipping acceptance letters, families and students can't wait to go to the local post office. He will be very happy to greet me with cold warmth, saying that you have worked hard, which are all comforting words. When I hear those words, I feel very meaningful and valuable, I seem to be sharing their feelings, it's not just driving a car, I'm giving hope to others.
When it was time to go, his wife saw off the mail truck driver who was on duty, which slowly became a tacit understanding on the snow mail line. After driving a mail truck for more than 30 years, Mi Dorji has only spent five Spring Festivals at home with his wife and children.
Kimi Dorji: More people have gone inside, and we drive mail trucks outside, leaving our families and not being able to reunite with them.
Reporter: Have you regretted your choice?
Qimei Dorji: I really have such thoughts about the festival.
Reporter: How did you spend the night on the road?
Kimi Dorji: First of all, when we go out, we will bring us food for the New Year, and there is almost no need to worry about what we eat on the road, but there is still loneliness on the road, and we sing and have fun for ourselves when we pass this loneliness on the road. I also like to listen to songs, especially because we have a local teacher Yadong, and we Tibetans, including Yan Weiwen, Li Guyi, and so on. At that time, when I was lonely on the road or missed my family, the most I should have sung was "Goodbye Mom", every driver of us loves to sing, it is a change of words.
Reporter: You sing us two sentences, I'll listen to them.
Qimi Dorji: Goodbye mom, goodbye mom, the motor has started, the car has started, the gear has been hung up, and I'm about to go. Don't weep quietly, don't worry about your son, when I return safely from Queer Mountain, I will come to visit my dear mother again.
Fight gangsters
On the sparsely populated Sichuan-Tibet Line, mail carriers must not only face dangers such as high cold and severe weather, but also prepare for emergencies. In July 2012, Qimei Dorji drove a mail truck back to Kardze and was robbed by a group of gangsters armed with knives. At a critical moment, Qimei Dorji did not hesitate to get out of the car and face the gangsters.
Reporter: What did you say to these gangsters at that time?
Kimi Dorji: I didn't flinch, I was afraid that they would smash the mail truck, so I led them away, and when they stunned me with electric batons and cut me.
Reporter: But when faced with a life-and-death situation, this email may not be higher than the value of life, right?
Qimi Dorji: For us, our responsibility must trump life. The first thing I asked when I woke up later, how is my mail truck? Did the mail truck smash? My colleague said that the mail truck was fine, that the mail truck had been protected, and I was relieved.
In that accident, Qimi Dorji was stabbed 17 times, 4 ribs were broken, a skull was removed, and the vein in his left foot and left hand was cut off, and he was saved after an 8-hour operation. However, due to the rupture of the tendon, it was difficult to close his left hand, let alone drive, and it was difficult to take care of himself, and his Mei Dorji had to take a break from his post.
Qimei Duoji: Many hospitals in Sichuan almost said that they exercised slowly to see if there was any possibility of recovery, and at that time they almost said that it was unlikely.
Reporter: How will you face your future?
Qimi Dorji: I was very depressed when I couldn't lift my hand, and I couldn't drive a car anymore, which was when my mood was at its lowest, and the last thing I wanted to see when I went out was an acquaintance.
In order to return to the mail road, Qimi Dorji sought medical treatment everywhere, gritted his teeth and persevered in painful rehabilitation for two months, and his left hand miraculously recovered. A year later, he applied to return to the Snow Line mail route.
Kimi Dorji: Why do you have this thought? Because when I was injured, it was our unit that helped me, and it was my colleagues who helped me mentally and in all aspects.
Reporter: In addition to this position, you can also make new contributions to the unit in other positions.
Qimei Dorji: It can be done, at that time the leader said let me manage the vehicle, first of all, I can't use the computer, because my cultural level is low, those who can't understand, and then send someone not only does not help the enterprise, but also adds a burden to the enterprise. I can only do something if I go back to the cab and go back to my old job.
Reporter: That car is actually your own stage in life.
Qimi Dorji: I said that just like our singers, when the singer comes to the stage, he will interact with all the audience, and he will find his own existence, that passion. I said that I only had my own presence when I was in the cab.
Kimi Dorji once again drove his beloved mail truck and re-raced on the snow line mail road. In 2018, the postal route he was all too familiar with had a new name - "Chimi Dorji Snow Line Mail Road", which was the first postal road named after an individual by the Ministry of Transport.
Now, mail trucks on 11 postal routes in Kardze Prefecture send mail to various places, and Qimei Dorji and his colleagues quietly work on the "last mile" of "industrial products to the countryside and agricultural products to the city". In the past 30 years on the clouds, the road on the Sichuan-Tibet Line has become smoother and smoother. In September 2017, the 7-kilometer-long Queershan Tunnel, which took five years to build, was opened to traffic, shortening the time to cross the "first danger in Sichuan and Tibet" from the original 2 hours to 10 minutes, and it only took more than 3 hours to run from Kardze County to Derge County. The mail road traveled by the mail truck has become the "road to prosperity" of local development.
Reporter: These 33 years have been particularly difficult, will you have new views and understandings when looking back on your initial choice?
Qimei Dorji: When communication was not developed, we conveyed the voice of the party newspaper and the party magazine, as well as the letters of the family. Now that correspondence has developed, there are almost no people who write letters, and now it is family affection and love that is transmitted. Like some remote mountainous schools in our plateau, there are many teaching materials in various aspects of the caring people aid schools in the mainland. People are now living a good life, all the daily necessities in the home are purchased online, e-commerce wrapped used to be four tons of cars a day, now twelve tons of cars a day four, are standard, encounter double eleven double twelve mail volume double.
Producer丨Liu Bin
Reporter丨Gu Bing
Planning丨Meng Ke Zhu Xingjian tension
Choreographer丨Ding Fang
Responsible editor丨Wang Feng
Editor丨Zhang Hongfei
Camera丨Liu Hongbo, Yang Fan, Lu Jia, Gu Zhan, Wang Fang
Sichuan Radio and Television assisted in the filming
Source: CCTV news client