Romance blossoms for train driver

Dumplings, family feasts, and fireworks — these are the hallmarks of Spring Festival. But for Ma Wendong, a 29-year-old freight train driver in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, this year's holiday celebrating the Year of the Snake was one of his busiest periods of work.

As dawn broke, Ma left his home and traveled 40 kilometers to Xinfeng, a town in eastern Xi'an. There, at a local railway station of the China Railway Xi'an Group, the regional railway operator, Ma boarded the X8225 China-Europe freight train (Xi'an), which is more than 50 cars long.

His job was to drive the empty train from Xinfeng to Yan'an, where the cars would be loaded — mainly with coal. He would then drive the train to Xi'an International Port Station and fill the remaining empty cars with imported goods such as auto parts, handmade items, and textiles, bringing the train's weight to 5,000 metric tons.

This round-trip journey covering 616 km requires driving for seven to 12 hours on a single trip.

"Every time I go home, I feel tired, as drivers often have to stay up late. Usually, I spend my day off catching up on sleep to recover," Ma tells China Daily.

Due to this demanding schedule — working on the rails for three days followed by a one-day break — Ma used to believe that dating and marriage would be difficult. Like many fellow train drivers, he also found that loneliness came with the job.

However, you never know when Cupid will decide to shoot his arrow of love.

Interestingly, it was Ma's train — one of the many China-Europe freight trains that have played a pivotal role in boosting trades between China and Eurasia — that provided the young man with an unexpected opportunity to meet his destiny.

Started in 2011, the China-Europe freight train network now reaches 227 cities in 25 European countries and more than 100 cities in 11 Asian nations, according to data from the China State Railway Group.

Wilawan Kunlawong, a Thai student at the School of Public Policy and Administration at Northwestern Polytechnical University, developed an interest in the railway network while preparing her dissertation on trade between China and Thailand in early 2022. One segment of her academic tasks focused on the cargo trains.

Upon realizing that some of her relatives and friends were buying Chinese products like smartphones and electric cars, Wilawan enhanced her idea to explore the ways Chinese goods are exported, and the railway system underpinning this economic landscape.

On the recommendation of a friend, she contacted Xinfeng Railway Station, where Ma had been working since graduating in 2018 from the Xi'an Railway Vocational and Technical Institute.

Over four years, his dedication and expertise earned him multiple promotions, from being appointed deputy train driver in 2019, and later advancing to China-Europe freight train driver in 2021. Ma's firsthand experience and deep knowledge of trains made him the candidate to assist Wilawan, their meeting arranged by the station.

Born in Sakon Nakhon in northeastern Thailand in 2000, Wilawan developed a strong interest in learning Chinese when a Confucius Institute introduced a language course at her middle school.

As she dedicated more time to improving her Mandarin, she participated in competitions, achieving one of her highest honors by securing third place in Thailand's Chinese Bridge contest, a competition in which Thai students showcase their language skills.

"One of my teachers is from Xi'an. She told me that the city has a long history and is the burial site of the country's first emperor, Qinshihuang. Since then, I hoped to travel to Xi'an," she says.

Thanks to her competition experiences, Wilawan visited several cities including Chongqing, Beijing, and Guangzhou, Guangdong province, before ultimately realizing her yearslong dream of starting college in Xi'an, a city that has existed for over 3,000 years and which has been the capital for 13 feudal dynasties.

But Wilawan's meeting with Ma led her to discover that China is more than a country with a rich history and culture; it also has modern and international facets.

"I have found China to be very convenient and comfortable, and people are friendly and welcoming," says Wilawan.

As far as Ma was concerned, Wilawan's tender and caring personality and her fluent Chinese left a deep impression. Their conversation ranged from the goods transported via train to the network's impact on foreign trade and the meeting made Ma feel even prouder of his hometown.

After dinner, Wilawan wanted to treat him to the meal as a token of appreciation for his help, but Ma insisted on paying the bill. As time went by, the two grew closer. One day, Ma reserved a table at a restaurant with a great ambience, carefully prepared flowers and a gift, and confessed his feelings to Wilawan, who happily agreed to be his girlfriend.

In early 2023, Ma proposed, and they soon got married. Their daughter, Guoguo, was born in February last year, bringing even more joy to their family.

Ma says that he likes to take photos or short videos of the scenery along the route when the train stops at a location. He says that the scenes, especially winter landscapes covered in snow, may be new and exciting for his wife, who had never worn a down jacket before moving to China.

Last September, Wilawan secured admission to pursue a master's degree at the School of Foreign Languages at Northwest University in Xi'an. Her younger twin sisters also decided to study in China and were admitted to Huaqiao University in Xiamen, Fujian province.

"My twin sisters spent Spring Festival with us this year and last year. They saw snow for the first time. We were all very excited and happy. Playing in the snow was so interesting," Wilawan says.

Despite her husband's busy schedule — evidenced by the 30 trips and 24,500 km he drove during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush — Wilawan says she understands.

"He's not only working hard for the development of the China-Europe freight trains but also striving for the future of our family," she says.