Traditional mail and e-mail merge at China's Post Offices
China’s postal service will be merging e-mail and traditional mail to accommodate both the people with access to the Internet and those without.
Messages can be e-mailed to China Post for hand delivery – the message will then be printed out, placed in an envelope and delivered.
The number of Internet users in mainland China at the end of last year was 33.7m, which is still only a small proportion of the population.
The service is expected to be used by small to medium-sized businesses and will cost a little more than a traditional letter. The new service will charge CNY2.00 for the first sheet of paper and CNY0.50 for the next three – normal post currently costs CNY0.80.
The service has already been introduced in several regions and provinces such as Beijing and Shanghai.
