As the Spring Festival travel rush, also known as “chunyun” in Mandarin, started on January 20, the first batch of female deputy drivers of China’s high speed trains got on board and started their travel rush journey duty.

Hang Ziqing, one of the 39 female high-speed train driver trainees. [Photo/ sh.chinanews.com]

Hang Ziqing, 24, was one of the 39 female high-speed train driver trainees recruited by China Railway Shanghai Group in August 2019 and will be among China’s first batch of female high-speed rail drivers in 2021 after two years of training.

Interested in trains since she was a child, Hang made up her mind to develop a career in the railway industry when she chose to major in electrical engineering and automation. When the then grade-4 university student saw online a recruitment advertisement for female high-speed train drivers, she signed up immediately.

Several months’ training have given Hang a basic knowledge of train construction and operation methods, and made her realize a "small goal" as a high-speed rail assistant driver. To be a real driver, she still has to travel more than200,000 kilometers on the train under the guidance of her trainer before passing an assessment.

On her first journey, from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station to South Beijing Railway Station, Hang needed to cooperate with her trainer, an experienced driver who guides her in train operation, confirming signals and checking data.

“Although the scenery along the way is beautiful, I must confirm the various signals on the road and have no time to appreciate it,” said Hang.