Finding the secrets of 'Letter Utopia'
On World Post Day on October 9, the Hongkong Post held a Free Post Day for everyone to send a letter for free. Seven junior reporters took an exclusive tour at the General Post Office, where they mailed their letters. Read some of their reflections below. Check out some further comments online.
1 Dhruv Singh, 13, YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College
I wrote a letter to the Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen about the problems facing non-Chinese speaking students in Hong Kong. I asked him to provide better educational schemes for us to ensure we can have a good career.
2 Janet Tam Ka-wing, 16, St Rose of Lima's College
Visiting the General Post Office was a real eye-opener for me. I have been using e-mail and the internet to communicate with others.
Although e-mail is more convenient, a hand-written letter can indicate the writer's personality more. I wrote a letter to my grandparents and I told them about my recent activities in school.
I plan to write letters to my friends and relatives, too.
3 Samantha Lau Pui-ching, 18, Fung Kai Liu Man Shek Tong Secondary School
I didn't know how letters were processed for accurate delivery and was surprised by all the hi-tech machinery doing the laborious task. Some help to sort letters and laser technology is used to identify recipients' addresses.
4 Natalie Fung Chi-ying, 12, St Paul's Co-educational College
I inspected the displays of exquisite stamp and postcard collections with bated breath. I marvelled at the compact railway stamps exhibition and appreciated the sophisticated local philatelic products. I was totally immersed in the 'letter utopia'.
5 Jenny Leung Chi-yan, 16, Immaculate Heart of Mary College
Free Post Day encourages us to get in touch with people dear to our heart. I wrote to Ms Lee, my Primary One class teacher. She was nice to us and can still remember us even though she has not been teaching at the school for years. I wish to reconnect with her and seek her advice. I told her about school and my plan for the future. I hope she will respond.
6 Kobe Lee Wai-ling, 16, Fung Kai Liu Man Shek Tong Secondary School
Mailing a letter is such an easy thing to do. You put a stamp on an envelop and take it to a mailbox.
Yet it turns out that there are many steps involved in its delivery. Local post offices forward all letters they receive to the head office. There, letters are sorted by a special machine that stamps codes on them according to the address.
Then letters are sorted into different bags before they get sent out for delivery by mail carriers. I admire the mail carriers for being able to deal with the dazzling process promptly and efficiently every single day.
7 Kylie Lee Yuen-tung, 18, Heep Yunn School
Letters have always meant a lot to me since I was small. But I never got to have a behind-the-scenes look at work in a post office.
The office resembles a factory with well-oiled machines. Some sort out addresses on envelops simply with the help of beams of light. Other machines are used to mark stamps so they cannot be reused. The marking can only be detected under ultraviolet light.
What I learned during our visit has convinced me to send a thank-you letter to the Hongkong Post for its employees' hard work. I hope the staff enjoyed the surprise.
