Sister Ka, Wang Jinzhi: Driving a semi-trailer alone for four years, covering 700,000 kilometres

Sister Ka, Wang Jinzhi, is 59 this year, and no matter how you look at it, she’s recognised by the card community as the big sister.

When contacting Wang Jinzhi, she had just completed an emergency transport of 2800 kilometres, sleeping only three hours along the way. The young couple travelling with her, both in their forties, said it was exhausting even for them, but Sister Wang drove alone without a single complaint. Female drivers running semi-trailers across the country are already rare, let alone alone, and Wang Jinzhi’s Shandeka has been running for less than four years but has already covered nearly 700,000 kilometres. As a result, both on the road and in logistics areas, fellow truck drivers and logistics park staff often look at her with admiration, and many even ask to take photos with her. Wang Jinzhi feels very proud of this attention. "Enduring some hardship myself allows me to find my own value and provide a better life for my child, which makes the effort worthwhile." For any mother, this might be the proudest thing. ● For a living, entering the truck cabin In 1995, Wang Jinzhi divorced her ex-husband and lived with her five-year-old son. Despite family changes, Wang Jinzhi was determined not to let her child suffer in either education or material matters.

In 1997, for a better life for herself and her daughter, Wang Jinzhi applied for a driving licence. At the time, she could freely choose between a C or B licence, and she chose the B licence without hesitation. After getting her licence, she smoothly started her career in truck operations.

Her child was still young then, so Wang Jinzhi decided to only drive within the province. In Heilongjiang, there were barely any places she hadn’t been to. Sometimes the cold would make her tear up, but she persevered.

Five years ago, her son graduated from university and went to Russia as an exchange student. Always wanting to drive out and see the sights, Wang Jinzhi began travelling all over the country on her own, with just her car, exploring the far north and south of China.

"When I used to drive in the north, the winters were so cold that the truck had to be parked for long periods, and only after the thaw could I go out. Coming south, I realised the climate here is much better; you can work all year round and earn a lot more." That made Wang Jinzhi very happy.

In May 2017, Wang Jinzhi got her long-awaited Shandeka truck. In less than four years of owning it, she has already driven nearly 700,000 kilometres, which is an impressive record for many two-driver trucks, let alone a woman in her fifties driving alone.

Her son has also returned from studying abroad with a master's degree and started his new life teaching at a university. To celebrate, Wang Jinzhi bought him a Mercedes. Recently, she plans to get another Shandeka truck and hire a driver to operate it together.

Life is getting better and better, and the wonderful life Wang Jinzhi has created in her cab is truly enviable.

● A Thousand-Mile Rush Escaping Death's Door

Truck driving has always been listed as a high-risk profession. Having driven for over 20 years, Wang Jinzhi had naturally experienced many dangerous moments. Looking back now, an incident from five years ago still sends shivers down her spine.

On 31 October 2016, Wang Jinzhi was transporting a truckload of fresh mushrooms from Liaoning to Chengdu. The client kept urging her on, so she had to drive quickly. After passing Xi'an, she drove through the Qinling Mountains and encountered a long downhill.

At that time, she was still driving an old truck. Constant braking was needed on the long downhill. Since she had never driven this route before, she didn’t know how long the slope was. Suddenly, Wang Jinzhi realised that pressing the brake pedal had no effect, sending a cold sweat down her back.

Her first reaction was to think about self-rescue. Wang Jinzhi considered crashing into a tunnel, but that would mean the whole truckload of mushrooms would be lost and she would be in great danger. For a moment, she thought of her son studying abroad—what would happen to him if she didn’t make it?

Her mind was buzzing. There was a bottle of water on the dashboard; Wang Jinzhi unscrewed it and gulped down half, pouring the rest over her head. In despair, she muttered a prayer to herself: 'What should I do? Can I make it until my child graduates before something happens?'

Fortunately, there were few cars on the road ahead. Wang Jinzhi painfully thought about her choices while continuing to drive. After a while, she saw a service area and hoped she could reach it for help. However, just as she approached the entrance ramp, she pressed the brake and found it still didn’t work. The service area was packed with parked cars, and if she crashed in, it would surely involve many other vehicles.

Before she could even react, as the vehicle was about to turn onto the ramp, Wang Jinzhi jerked the steering wheel. The car suddenly shot out of the ramp but, because she turned the wheel too sharply, it swung dangerously to one side, nearly tipping over. She immediately turned the wheel in the opposite direction and finally managed to keep the car upright, getting back onto the main road. After this round of manoeuvres, Wang Jinzhi realised that when she turned the steering wheel both ways, the car slowed down, and if she hadn’t turned so sharply, there wouldn’t have been a risk of tipping over.

At that moment, Wang Jinzhi noticed smoke coming from the back of the vehicle. To minimise the risk, she had to keep controlling the steering wheel as she slalomed along the road. After a few more twists and turns, the car became steadier. Then, Wang Jinzhi saw a parking spot marked with a “P”. As she approached it, she closed her eyes, prayed, and hit the brakes once more. Miraculously, the car finally stopped.

The moment the car came to a halt, Wang Jinzhi quickly got out, placed a stone against the front tyre to prevent it from rolling, and poured all the water from the can onto the brakes to stop them from smoking.

After this flurry of actions, Wang Jinzhi returned to the driver’s seat, finding her legs so weak she could hardly move. Meanwhile, small cars passed by, tapping on her car door to warn her that the vehicle was on fire. But Wang Jinzhi didn’t want to say a word. Thankfully, she managed to pull the curtain shut. She just wanted to be alone and quiet for a while, without talking or being disturbed. She remained motionless in the parking spot for more than half an hour.

● Even after leaving the driver's seat, still serving truckers

Now 59-year-old Wang Jinzhi still drives on the road every day, but after another year behind the wheel, she will have to step out of the cab. For the future, she has one more beautiful wish, and it still involves trucks and truckers.

Wang Jinzhi plans to find a picturesque place in the south and open a station dedicated to serving truckers, sourcing ingredients from her own truck farm to cut out the middleman and pass the savings on to customers, ensuring generous portions and good service, with some pickles and cold dishes given for free, and rounding off bills at checkout.

Additionally, starting now, Wang Jinzhi is deliberately building a network of cargo owners. In the future, she could create a cargo database, introducing reliable quality cargo sources to passing truckers, charging less herself while others take more, using the fees to subsidise the restaurant income and better serve truckers from north to south.

Regarding helpers in the shop, Wang Jinzhi has long planned it out. She intends to contact some familiar old friends to mutually support each other in a place with a good natural environment and simple social structure, still earning an income without burdening their children. For many, this is an ideal retirement lifestyle.

Editor's Note

Wang Jinzhi likes flowers and usually places some greenery or fresh flowers on her passenger seat, taking good care of them. She loves to smile, and no matter how many hardships life throws at her, she believes that as long as you are not afraid of hardship, you can get through it by gritting your teeth. Over more than 20 years in the freight industry, Wang Jinzhi has carved out her own space in a field where even middle-aged men often complain and feel exhausted, earning admiration and genuine blessings from everyone.