Hu Anyan is a Chinese writer, born in 1979, who lives in Chengdu, China. He is the author of "I Deliver Parcels in Beijing", a memoir of his time as a parcel courier in the Chinese capital. The book became a bestseller, selling nearly 2m copies since its release in 2023, and won him "Author of the Year" from Douban, China's leading book-review platform.
As a delivery worker, Hu earned around two yuan per parcel and needed to make one delivery every four minutes across nine-hour shifts to reach his target salary of 7,000 yuan a month (for 26 working days). He learned to drink less water and skip lunch to save time. Before delivering parcels he worked punishing night shifts at a logistics warehouse in southern China.
Critics have dismissed the book as liushuizhang ("running account"), but state-run media praised its "unvarnished" descriptions of algorithmic pressure and physical exhaustion. The memoir resonated particularly with young Chinese workers questioning the meaning of work in a slowing economy.
Entropy requires no maintenance.