Beijing Morning Post
February 9, 2010

Today's Beijing Morning Post reports on a new service from Beijing Post where slow delivery is not a cause for complaint:

Imagine, twenty years in the future, what it would feel like to receive a letter you mailed today. Beijing Post announced yesterday that it has launched a "future letter" service at nineteen post office locations in the city that will let citizens select a date several years or decades in the future for delivery to the addressee. This special service is only being rolled out in Beijing at the moment.

Beijing Post has launched the "future letter" service at nineteen locations, including Dongdan, Wangfujing, and Zhongguancun. After the post office receives a "future letter," it will keep it from one year to several decades at the sender's request, and then deliver it to the recipient at any particular time in the future. "The service is only being tested in Beijing right now. Citizens are limited to sending letters and postcards. The fee is ten yuan for the first year and fifteen yuan for every year thereafter, plus postage." A postal worker said that there are no restrictions on delivery time, and that a postal clerk would wrap the letter or postcard in a plastic bag for safekeeping before putting it in storage. While the letter is in storage, the sender can ask to change the address and delivery time.