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At 6:30 am, an alarm clock broke the quietness of the early morning in Beijing. Three men in their 30s rose reluctantly from their beds in a cramped underground room. After a quick wash, they ate a simple breakfast, soybean milk and baozi - stuffed steamed buns - outside.
An hour later, one of the men, Guo Bin, drove his electric tricycle to a warehouse where thousands of parcels and letters were stacked in piles and quickly sorted all the deliveries for the day. Two years ago, Guo spent 3,000 yuan ($495) on the tricycle and installed a steel box on the back to carry all the deliveries.
At 8:30 am, Guo drove to the University of International Business and Economics. His colleagues arrived on their tricycles and together they worked out who would deliver what.
At 9 am, Guo arrived at the site of the first delivery of a working day that usually lasts 12 hours. On extremely busy days such as those after Nov 11, the date of China's biggest online shopping carnival, he goes to the warehouse at midnight to pick up the parcels and mail for the next day.
Later that morning, Guo stopped at a fast-food restaurant and ordered a bowl of noodles and a bottle of cola. On busy days, lunch is cancelled. After finishing work at 9 pm, Guo and his colleagues cook dinner, drink wine and watch Cross the Straits, a TV program.
"It's exhausting work, but to make a living, you have to work hard," said the 37-year-old from Shandong province in East China.
Guo came to Beijing in 2004 and has been an express deliveryman ever since. Before he began working for STO, one of the largest express delivery companies, he delivered medicines via a motorbike, traveling from the downtown to the suburbs and sometimes covering 300 to 500 kilometers a day.
"I am extremely familiar with the roads in Beijing," he said.
Express delivery is very hard work, especially during busy periods and many young people quit after just a few months.
Guo and his colleagues have worked for STO for two years. "I love my job. It's good to meet so many people and talk with them. I hate to stay indoors," said Guo. He wore a pair of thick glasses and carried a broken black computer bag, into which he put the express envelopes.
"I have been using the bag since I bought the computer two years ago. The zip does not work anymore but the bag is still good," he said.
He has sent his 12-year-old son to the best local primary school in Jining, his hometown, and his wife works as a supermarket cashier.
Last year, they bought a 100-square-meter apartment and are working hard to pay off all the loans and debts. Guo saves about 6,000 yuan a month and plans to pay off his 200,000 yuan debt by summer 2014.
"The other day I was interviewed by a college student about my Chinese dream, but I don't think I have one," he said.
Although he graduated from high school, he failed the college entrance examination three times, eventually giving up when his parents died. Now, some of his close school friends earn millions every year in Beijing and Jining.
"Things are just the way they are. There is nothing to regret and I don't feel uncomfortable when we gather together or they invite me to dinner. You just do what you do. Don't dream impractical big dreams," he said,
When I've paid off all the debts, I will go back to Jining and open a small restaurant. I love to make friends and I have a lot of them," he said.
