Zhang Guirong works as a ride-hailing driver in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

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With a short haircut and a crisp suit, Zhang Guirong presents a clean-cut image to passengers, keeping herself immaculately groomed, her vehicle spotless, and her sunny, upbeat personality on full display.

As a ride-hailing driver in Chengdu of Sichuan province, Zhang spends her days navigating the city's streets from dawn to dusk. The job is no easy feat. She is used to hitting the road at 5 am and calling it a day at 8 pm, with only two 20-minute breaks for meals. Most of her day is spent inside her car, always on the move.

"Becoming a ride-hailing driver felt to me both a stroke of chance and something meant to be. I had tried my hand at many jobs — factory work, waiting tables, running a small business and driving a taxi.

"I was always eager to try something new. As the internet boomed, new business models emerged, creating more opportunities for ordinary workers like us. That's how I was lucky enough to become a ride-hailing driver," Zhang said.

Since joining the ride-hailing industry in 2018, she has completed more than 70,000 trips, driven about 600,000 kilometers without incident and maintained a 100 percent passenger satisfaction rate, earning her the well-deserved title of "gold medal driver".

For Zhang, serving passengers well comes down to three things: a smile, patience and enthusiasm.

To elevate her service, the driver has added several thoughtful touches to her car: a simple clip-on panda figurine that soothes crying children, a safety hammer by the window for emergency escapes and a small oxygen tank in the trunk to help passengers who feel unwell.

"I believe that no matter what industry a woman works in, she needs to have clear goals in her heart and a genuine passion for her job. Just like me, after all these years rooted in the ride-hailing business, I've always held on to the belief of 'serving the nation's travelers with all my heart'," Zhang said.

"You don't need to chase after sophisticated skills. As long as you do your job with care and take it to the utmost level of excellence and precision, pushing ordinary work to its limits, you'll become someone people rely on wherever you go. That, to me, is the most solid and powerful skill of all," she added.

Zhang has a regular passenger with a disability who relies on a heavy electric wheelchair for mobility. Because the trips are short and require disassembling, carrying and reassembling the wheelchair, such orders are often turned down by other drivers. But Zhang always takes them without hesitation. She makes sure to clear out her trunk in advance, handling the wheelchair with patience and precision, and doing everything she can to put her passenger at ease.

"Drive steady, keep passengers' waiting time to a minimum, and always offer a hand to those who need it," Zhang often shares her experience to help new drivers with issues ranging from picking up orders and navigating complex traffic to managing passenger relations. Whenever a driver in her fleet runs into a traffic accident, a vehicle breakdown or a dispute, she is always ready to step in and lend a hand.

Beyond her daily driving, Zhang is also passionate about charity work. "Helping others through small acts of kindness gives me a joy I can't quite put into words," she said.

From 2021 to 2024, Zhang volunteered in the free ride program for gaokao students for four consecutive years. She has also offered free rides to many elderly people and children with disabilities, spreading warmth through her dedicated service.

In recent years, Zhang has earned numerous honors, including the National Model Worker award and the National May 1 Labor Medal.

"These honors and medals serve as a constant reminder that even as an ordinary ride-hailing driver, I can make my profession extraordinary in my own way," Zhang said.