说到邮政编码，你一定不会感到陌生。
在邮寄的时候，我们总是需要在地址旁边填写一串编码。这一串数字，或是数字和字母的组合，往往代表着一个特定的区域，但你知道圣诞老人在一些国家拥有属于自己的邮编吗？
目前，芬兰、德国、加拿大等国家均设有圣诞邮局。1982年，加拿大邮政设立了圣诞老人专用信箱地址：
SANTA CLAUS
NORTH POLE H0H 0H0
CANADA
而在未来，每个人都拥有属于自己的邮编或将成为可能。
“新型邮编”，也被称为“个人地址ID（唯一编码）”，是由国家邮政发展研究中心和北京大学时空大数据创新中心共同主办的科技部重大专项的子课题项目。在近日的研讨会上，“新型邮编”的建设被提上了议程，成为了社交媒体关注的话题。
Do you know that Santa has his personal postcode in some countries? In the future, he won't be the only one as it's likely to happen to everyone in China.
The State Post Bureau of China and Peking University's Big Data Innovation Center proposed building a new postal code system in July, which has become a hot topic on Chinese social media in recent days. Under the new unified coding rules, every Chinese citizen will have a unique code, a bunch of numbers or a QR code, which will represent a "personal address ID".
“如果说基于经纬度或行政区域的传统编码方法主要定位的是X轴和Y轴形成的一个平面，新型编码则加入了Z轴三维信息，甚至四维的时间空间信息。”国家邮政局发展研究中心主任助理、物流学博士方玺在采访时精简地概括道。技术方面，北京大学时空大数据协同创新中心正在研究的全球网格码，为“新型邮编”提供了先进的理念和技术。该项目利用地球立体剖分模型，把整个地球剖分成网格体，使每个网格有唯一的编码，并将其与原有的邮政编码相结合，最终形成快递物流行业统一的编码标准。
So, what exactly is this "new postcode"?
It is a project that is based on a national key research and development program on global positioning frame and coding systems.
By using the three-dimensional partition model of the Earth, this new technology divides the whole Earth into seamless multilayer grids, so that each section has a unique code. This can help upgrade the traditional postcode, and finally form a unified coding standard for the express logistics industry.相较于传统邮政编码体现某一个区域，“新型邮编”可以精确到个人，具有多尺度、可标识、可定位、可索引、可计算、自动空间关联等特点。
未来的门牌号或许只是简单的一串数字或一个二维码，邮寄件也不再需要填写地址。如果能够实现，将减少快递成本，并极大地提升配送效率，甚至将推动快递业进入无人时代，并让消防、急救、养老、民政等领域的上门服务成为可能。
Compared with traditional postcodes, which only reflect a certain area, these "new postcodes" can be accurate to an individual's location. It will reduce express delivery costs and greatly improve the efficiency of distribution. If the system gets built, the technology can be used in unmanned delivery and many other door-to-door services in the future.
邮编升级带来的隐私担忧
虽然“新型邮编”将会给服务带来升级，但是也有不少人在社交媒体上对它的安全性提出了担忧。
Despite the potential upgrades to make faster delivery services, netizens are worried about the safety of using such accurate locating systems.
对此，方玺博士表示：“新型邮编系统是一种国家的公共资源，由国家管理每个人的地址库并用于公共服务，有严格的信息制度保障，不会被贩卖。传统的电信、银行、邮政和物流快递其实也已经形成了庞大地址库，却管理得很好。”
Dr. Fang Xi, who works at the State Post Bureau, told Science and Technology Daily that the new system is a national public resource and will be strictly managed. "For example, the traditional telecom, banking, postal and express delivery industry have already formed a large address database and is managed well," Fang said.
20世纪，随着信件数量的急剧增长，为了加快邮件分拣传递的速度，人们开始使用邮政编码。
在我国的四级六位数编码结构中，前两位数字表示省（直辖市、自治区）；前三位数字表示邮区；前四位数字表示县（市）；最后两位数字表示投递局（所）。对此有专家表示，在相当长一段时间内，传统邮政编码系统还会继续存在，因为“新型邮政编码兼具传统邮政编码和快递公司三段码的双重基因”，二者可以并存。China has implemented traditional six-digit postcodes for nearly 40 years, even with the growing demands of postal delivery services.Will the new personal address IDs replace traditional postcodes? An expert told Science and Technology Daily that the traditional system will still exist, as the new system has the "dual gene" of being both a traditional postcode and for express delivery companies.