THE TECHNOLOGY DIMENSION: SOURCE OF VITALITY

Ever since the advents of reform and opening up, the business volume of China's postal service has witnessed a dramatic growth while experiencing more and more fierce competition in the mechanization and automation, the institutionalization of central bureaus, the adoption and popularizing of the zip codes, and the enlarged contents of technologies in the infrastructure. The China Postal Service Integrated Computer Network project, to be completely ready by 2000, will be a modernized and integrated network of computerized postal business and services.  

Reflecting the characteristics of the postal industry and its nationwide administration, the Network will feature a national postal information center,31 provincial centers ,205regional centers, creating a macro telecom platform that will be exclusive for the Chinese market. Based on ATM exchangers via the telecommunication trunks, the platform will link up the national postal information center with all provincial centers, thus formulating a complete network of its own.

The integrated postal network of interlinked computers ,when finished, will provide internet applications and shared services. Traditional and innovation services will include direct dispatch, mail tracking upon presentation of receipts, central command of production and mail postal services. An independent network of computers dealing with financial transactions now offers universal deposits and counties. 

Computers and peripheries have enjoyed wide applications in the receipt and delivery of mail .remittance and remittance checking, the distribution of newspapers and periodicals, postal savings, registration and receipt producing, mail documentation, EMS tracking, retrievals of postal codes, business production at the post centers, and security installations. By now there are more than16000"electronic post offices" operating in China.

The construction of the Postal Service integrated computer network represents an essential infrastructure project in the strategic schedule for China's postal service to enter the new century.

• The postal financial computer network of Hainan province has realized interconnection with the national posts and communications computer network
• Postal service window electrolyzed, computer network starts to function
• With the computer of the general control room as the head station and  the computer of the branch control room as the working station, the scattered type of network system plays the role of the center of information processing and management. It performing the function of data processing ,man-machine dialogue, monitoring, retrieval, data correction, chart drawing, trouble checking and restoration, thus accomplish the controlling and monitoring of the various production links 
• The  production monitoring center of the newly built nanchang railway station mail processing center is a modernized comprehensive safety guard network combining fire protection, TV monitor,100alarm call in one .it plays a very important role in securing the building from fire, mails being stolen, and ensuring the safety of the postal savings outlets
• The automatic postal truck tracking and tracing system developed in China can monitor and coordinate the status of the postal trucks in good time
• The locating tracing and monitoring system for postal tracks, which is controlled by satellite, has been installed on the trucks and put into operation
• The national laboratory in the China Postal Academy
• The ZWC soft conveying system (robot) manufactured in China
• POS cash register controlling system
• The automatic stamp sales machine
• The automatic sales facility for postal articles
• Postal Savings Card 
• The universal deposit and withdraw postal savings card processing center
• The postal savings card processing center
• Automatic withdraw with postal savings card