On the coast of the South China Sea, within the Zhanjiang West Railway Logistics Park, rows of blue shipping containers stretch out to form a busy industrial landscape. "These 20-foot containers are packed with quartz sand, a core raw material for glass and high-tech industries; those 40-foot ones hold white paper, the kind used for everyday packaging and printing," says freight operations specialist Zhang Kunnian as he weaves through the neatly stacked container arrays, glancing up to check stacking integrity and bending down to inspect container quality.
Zhang Kunnian has spent twelve years on the freight front lines, evolving from a green apprentice into a seasoned professional. In 2014, fresh out of university, he started as a gantry crane rigger at Sanshui West Station. In his early days, his loading efficiency was less than half that of his colleagues. His mentor handed him an annotated operations manual with the advice: "Master the regulations first, combine theory with practice, and you'll eventually become a skilled hand." Zhang took this to heart, drilling relentlessly under the scorching sun—climbing railcars, sealing container gaps, and often soaking his uniform in sweat. Not content with mastering just one role, he proactively shadowed colleagues in planning, safety, and dispatcher duties during his spare time. By 2017, he earned third place overall in the China Railway Guangzhou Group skills competition.
When the Zhanjiang West Railway Logistics Park opened in 2018 under harsh conditions and with a brand-new team, Zhang Kunnian volunteered to go to the front line. "The park was just starting out—it needed people willing to shoulder the load," he said. He surveyed the entire site to understand the operational baseline, worked overtime to compile job procedure guides, and personally trained transferred staff, getting newcomers up to speed in just one month.
Beyond stabilizing operations, he focused on expanding the market. Zhang led his team on door-to-door visits to local enterprises, exploring the potential of shifting freight from road to rail. In 2019, a major local paper mill was relying primarily on road and water transport. After the first visit, Zhang remarked: "Even converting one-tenth of that volume to rail would be a significant contribution." He repeatedly calculated time-and-cost efficiencies and developed a tailored "door-to-door" logistics solution. Through persistent follow-ups, his professional and meticulous approach won over the client. The mill's monthly shipments grew from 11,000 tons to 22,000 tons, with annual finished-product volume exceeding 200,000 tons, making it a cornerstone customer of the park. He also continued to develop quartz sand sources, boosting the park's annual quartz sand shipments from 190,000 tons to 500,000 tons.
Precise service delivery has helped enterprises cut costs and boost efficiency. In late 2024, a newly built quartz sand company in Suixi was facing freight cost pressures. Zhang Kunnian visited to promote rail logistics, demonstrated the ordering process on-site, recorded instructional videos for the client, and assisted the company in applying for a "freight certificate," which reduced its financing costs by 30%. The company's agency manager, Cao Nanyong, remarked: "Through his introduction, we saw the clear advantages of rail and ultimately chose it for our shipments." With Zhang's ongoing follow-up, the company's monthly shipping volume gradually rose to 48,000 tons.
In 2023, the "Wan Gang Gong Jian Hao" rail-sea intermodal train was launched, connecting the Greater Bay Area, Zhanjiang Port, and the Hainan Free Trade Port, cutting total logistics time by two days. With fixed vessel schedules, the loading and unloading window was extremely tight. "Time is critical—every link has to perform flawlessly," Zhang said. He coordinated the reservation of dedicated tracks, synchronized loading operations with trucking partners, and optimized workflow to ensure rapid cargo transshipment.
In the first half of 2026, the Zhanjiang West Railway Logistics Park handled 997,000 tons of freight, a 130% year-on-year increase. Over twelve years, Zhang Kunnian has remained committed to his freight post, contributing to the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and regional economic development, writing a chapter of responsibility and dedication for the new-era railway workforce.