China's postal services, including postal savings, remittance, package delivery and express mail service (EMS), are basically back to normal nationwide, according to the emergency command center on Tuesday.

Heavy snow and icy rain since January 10 have hampered parts of the public services in the country's east, central and southern regions. The weather left expressways closed, roads frozen, and prevented postal services.

To resume services in disaster-hit provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, the country's postal service department dispatched employees and additional vehicles to deliver mail and packages within or cross provinces.

Postal departments in some areas even rented taxis to deliver letters and packages in a bid to avoid delaying services. The cost was as much as five times higher than that of normal times.

Local postal branches were allocated with disaster relief materials, including electrical generators, snow chains for tires and automobile spare parts.

Postal service departments also strived to maintain operation of its computer systems to ensure daily operation and services.

(Xinhua News Agency February 20, 2008)