Ciren Pingcuo checks the refrigerator.

Lajie, a man of Menba ethnicity, became very excited on Dec. 13. His neighbors, relatives and friends all quickly heard the news: the refrigerator that he had purchased on e-commerce site JD.com had finally arrived.

"A fridge is nothing special. The point is that Motuo had never been included before in shipment destinations for online shops. It’s amazing that the fridge my cousin bought online was delivered to his home," exclaimed Ciren Pingcuo, Lajie's cousin.

The three drivers sending the refrigerator

Lajie's refrigerator went through perhaps the hardest shipment route in the world. It was also the first large home appliance ever delivered to Motuo County. Located in southwestern Tibet, Motuo was China's last county without a road leading into it until 2013, when a 117-kilometer highway linking Motuo and Bomi Counties was opened.

The road to Motuo

Lajie is a teacher in rural Motuo. He occasionally buys items online, but it used to be that no major e-commerce sites provided shipment of large items to Motuo. On Dec. 2, when Lajie saw the refrigerator on sale on JD.com's app, he also noticed that Motuo was included in the available shipping destinations. So he placed an order.

Once the order was placed, the appliance was sent out from a warehouse in Chengdu. It arrived in Lhasa first, was then transported to Linzhi, and finally reached Motuo. The whole journey was 2,900 kilometers long. Because of the dangerous terrain, most sections of the road from Lhasa to Motuo have a speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour. At around 3 p.m. on Dec. 13, three drivers finally delivered the refrigerator to Lajie's home.

The refrigerator is delivered at Lajie's home.

Lajie said people living in Motuo used to rely on horses or groups of men to procure daily supplies. Now they can also enjoy the convenience of e-commerce. He said he cannot imagine what it will bring in the future.