I Deliver Parcels in Beijing

On Making a Living

Hu Anyan, Jack Hargreaves

$49.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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Chinese

Allen Lane
28 January 2026

Memoirs; Literary essays

A witty and humane account of one man, multiple jobs and a driving desire to thrive

Hu Anyan has held nineteen different jobs since he graduated. He's been a convenience store clerk, a bicycle salesman, a security guard and a delivery driver (among many other things). Every time the work gets punishing or the bosses too bossy, he moves on, from city to city, carrying with him nothing but his copies of Chekhov and Carver. This is his story.

A runaway bestseller in China, I Deliver Parcels in Beijing is about what it's like to try and make a living - and stay sane - in the gig economy. From the pecking order on a parcel-sorting factory floor to the perfect alcohol dose to get some daylight shut-eye before a punishing night shift, from the Kafkaesque bureaucracy of the hiring departments to the ideal layout of a delivery route, Hu illuminates the hidden lives behind the roles that keep our world going. But he also shows how, through the liberating power of literature, he finds solace, and even freedom in his existence. Quietly radical, brimming with humanity and humour, this book asks- what does work really mean? What should it mean? And do any of us really know how to live?

By: Hu Anyan
Translated by: Jack Hargreaves
Imprint: Allen Lane
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 222mm, Width: 138mm, Spine: 40mm
Weight: 500g
ISBN: 9780241733820
ISBN 10: 0241733820
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 28 January 2026
Audience: College/higher education , General/trade , Professional and scholarly , Primary , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Hu Anyan (Author) Hu Anyan was born in Guangzhou, China, in 1979. After graduating from secondary school he joined the workforce, moving between cities and odd jobs to make a living. In 2020, a blog post based on his experience as a delivery driver in Beijing went viral, leading to the publication of his first book, I Deliver Parcels in Beijing (Insight Media, 2023). It has since become a major national bestseller in China and will be translated into fifteen languages. Jack Hargreaves (Translator) Jack Hargreaves is a Chinese-English translator. He has translated work by such writers as Li Juan, Lu Xiaoyu, Chai Jing, Shen Dacheng, Gu Qian, Wen Zhen and Chen Chuncheng, among others.