"To fetch water in winter, we had to make it through the one-meter-tall snow on the grassland," Ning said. "And the local roads were once too narrow to accommodate two vehicles coming from opposite directions."

The roads in Taxkorgan are now undergoing another round of upgrading, and Ning has opened a well-equipped hotel in Taxkorgan, receiving cross-border businessmen, construction workers from the east and tourists who crave the raw beauty and fresh air on the plateau.

Li said he saw a business opportunity in the revitalization of the small mountain county, and his express delivery station began to receive more regular customers. The monthly orders have ammounted to around several hundred.

"The station I founded on the Pamirs is a small one," Li said. " But it will help Taxkorgan connect with a wider world."