By Yuan Yuan

One day every three weeks， Shi Hua spends six hours commuting to and from an island on the outskirts of Shanghai. The 33-year-old Shanghai local has been making the trip for the past three years as part of her work for Chinese telecom carrier， China Mobile.

The island of Hengsha lies 60 km north of downtown Shanghai and is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River. Shi and five of her colleagues take turns to work in the only China Mobile service office located on the island， open just two days a week.

The only way to get to Hengsha is by ferry. Shi， who lives in the Shanghai district of Pudong， takes two buses to the ferry station and then catches the ferry to the island. She normally needs to leave home before sunrise in order to arrive at the office before 9 a.m.

When Shi arrives at the office， she is usually welcomed by several island locals， who are already waiting at the door. She opens the door， gives numbers to the waiting customers and sits down behind the service window to start a full day of work.

All in one

Occupying 10 square meters， the service office opened in 2008 and used to operate seven days a week. But in recent years， with many of the islands younger residents moving to urban areas， the population on the island has decreased， resulting in a reduced need for services. The office has been open two days a week since 2018. Customers can call to set up an appointment when the office is closed.

Of the fewer than 30，000 residents living on Hengsha， around 8，000 are customers of China Mobile. The services provided at this office are no different from those provided at the companys other offices， but the service time for each customer is usually longer as most of the islands remaining residents are senior citizens. As their children are no longer living close by， the office has become their last resort when they have problems using their phones.

It is a job that takes patience. “These customers come with all kinds of problems，” Shi said. “Simple taps for the young are far too complicated for seniors. We need to teach them slowly， step by step. However， they might still come with the same question next time.”

Chen Haifeng， a Hengsha local， is a frequent visitor to the China Mobile office. “Many times， Ive seen customers come in with their old-style phone and a new smartphone， asking staff to transfer all the contacts from the old phone to the new one， as well as download apps onto the new smartphone，” Chen said. “It is normal for the staff to spend five to 10 minutes helping one customer.”