A mailman's Long March: witnessing 19 years of change

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How far is 580,000 kilometers? It's nearly 15 trips around the earth. But for Tibetan postman Lhalung Dorje from Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, it's 19 years of driving on a route called "Long March Mail Route."

The route is located at an average of 3,500 meters above sea level and runs 108 kilometers from the county center of Ruoergai County in northern Sichuan Province. Along the way, it passes through five townships and overlaps the route the Red Army took across the grasslands during the Long March in the 1930s.

Lhalung Dorje remembers the old days: dirt roads, mud, snow, ice, rockfalls and sometimes no phone signal. Today, the same road is paved. A trip that often took a day now takes just hours. "Every generation has its own Long March," he says. "I have to pass down the spirit of the Long March."

Lhalung Dorje, a Tibetan postman, carries parcels in Ruoergai County, Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Sep. 17, 2026. Zhang Yize / CGTN

Lhalung Dorje drives on a dirt road through the grasslands. Dirt roads were once common in Ruoergai County, Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Sep. 17, 2026. Zhang Kai/ CGTN

Lhalung Dorje drives on a newly-built concrete road in the mountains of Ruoergai County, Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Sep. 17, 2026. Zhang Kai/ CGTN

An aerial view of Lhalung Dorje driving through Baxi town, Ruoergai County, Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Sep. 17, 2026. Zhang Kai/ CGTN

Lhalung Dorje drives on a dirt road through the grasslands in Ruoergai County, Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Sep. 17, 2026. Zhang Yize/ CGTN

Baxi town of Ruoergai County, Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Sep. 17, 2026. Zhang Kai/ CGTN

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