Improved highways boost development in Guizhou

陈小将

GUIYANG — Every morning at 6:50 am, 47-year-old driver Yang Changkai sets off in his truck loaded with parcels from an express logistics hub located 15 kilometers from downtown Guiyang, Guizhou province.

He drives to the logistics center in Guanling Bouyei and Miao autonomous county, ensuring the parcels arrive by 9:40 am for same-day delivery to rural buyers.

Yang's route, once a challenging journey through winding mountain roads, is now much quicker thanks to new highways and construction of the Baling River Bridge. These developments have significantly reduced travel time and transportation costs.

"Now it takes just over two hours for a one-way trip, but 15 years ago the same distance would take almost an entire day," he said.

Mountainous and hilly areas account for 92.5 percent of Guizhou's land area. The province once suffered from poor transportation, a lack of logistics networks and delayed information flow.

However, after years of development, Guizhou has built a "bridge-and-tunnel plain" among its mountains. By the end of last year, the province had constructed over 200,000 km of roads, including 8,784 km of highways.

Baling River Bridge, which opened to traffic in 2009, marked the dawn of Guizhou's world-class bridge construction. In recent years, Guizhou has strived to upgrade its transportation system with an eye toward modernity and connectivity. Currently, more than 30,000 bridges have been built or are under construction in the province.

Today, Guizhou boasts around half of the world's 100 highest bridges. Some not only help shorten travel time between major cities and scenic spots but have also become tourist attractions in their own right.

As the transportation network continues to improve, the logistics network in Guizhou has also expanded, greatly facilitating daily life and production for the local population.

"In 2013, when the delivery station was first established, we only handled about 200 parcels per day. This year, the daily average reached 6,500 parcels," said Zheng Yong, head of a courier company at a logistics center in Guanling.

He added that residents are buying more goods through express delivery services. Additionally, convenient logistics have helped local specialties such as pepper, spicy chile and yellow ginger reach markets beyond the mountains.

Currently, over half of all parcels entering and leaving Guizhou are sorted and processed at the Guizhou express logistics hub. Covering more than 50 square km, the hub is home to 46 express logistics, warehousing and distribution companies. It handles over 3.5 million parcels daily and directly creates about 9,000 jobs.

"Guizhou's transportation used to be inconvenient, with few companies and factories, so many of us had to leave home to find work. Now, with the development of highways and high-speed railways, there are companies right at our doorstep, giving us more job options," said Yu Jianghong, an employee at one of the logistics companies in the hub.

Her job mainly involves packaging goods that customers order online. After she carefully packs each item, the products are delivered via express services and typically reach their destinations in two or three days.

New roads extending into rural areas have also become vital routes for selling agricultural products from mountainous areas.

Despite being 76 years old, Wang Xueliang, a resident of Baling village in Guanling, still works tirelessly in the fields.

This year, he planted several types of vegetables, including loofah and gourd. With over 20 years of experience in vegetable farming, Wang earns a good income each year and lives a comfortable life.

"In the past, selling vegetables meant carrying them on our backs, and it was hard to get a good price even in town, let alone in the city. Now, with convenient highway access, trucks can drive straight to the fields to purchase our vegetables," Wang said.

Xinhua