Food delivery riders ready to save people's lives at a moment's notice

From model workers and master craftsmen to factory hands and gig-economy workers, China's vast workforce is the bedrock of national development. Launched by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, this series shines a spotlight on the responsibility and resilience of the modern Chinese working class, documenting their struggles and stories from the front lines to showcase the dedication, craftsmanship and pioneering spirit driving progress across every sector.

Zhang Baojian's food delivery box holds more than meals. At all times, it carries something extra: an automated external defibrillator and a first-aid kit.

Zhang is a military veteran who now works as a delivery rider in Jianghan district in Wuhan, Hubei province. He started delivering food in 2019 and has carried a 2.5-kilogram AED on every run for years. That is roughly the weight of four or five bottles of water.

"It will always come in handy," Zhang often tells his colleagues. In March 2025, those words became a reality.

"At around 11 am on March 25,2025, I was delivering an order when I saw an elderly woman lying unconscious on the ground," Zhang recalled. He stopped his motorbike, grabbed the AED, and sprang into action, clearing her airway and attaching the pads with calm, practiced hands. By the time the ambulance arrived, his palms were soaked with sweat. The AED he had carried for years was no longer a burden. It had become a lifeline.

This is nothing unusual for Zhang. In seven years as a delivery rider, he has rushed to save more than 100 people on his delivery routes.

"Riders cover a delivery radius of 7-8 kilometers and know every street inside out. We are like walking neighborhood watchers, always the first to arrive in an emergency," Zhang said. It was this insight into the particular nature of his profession that drove him to keep delivering orders with a first-aid kit in tow.

In his spare time, Zhang throws himself into training. He earned his Red Cross emergency rescue instructor certificate and a first-aid certification approved by the American Heart Association, and then brought the classroom to the trade union station.

In 2024, starting from a delivery station on Hongqiqu Road in the Hanxing subdistrict of Jianghan district, Zhang established the "Jiangcheng rider heroes", a roving first-aid team made up mostly of delivery riders. The group now has nearly 500 members patrolling the streets of Wuhan, almost all of them carrying basic emergency gear in their delivery boxes. On their days off, Zhang and his team run free cardiopulmonary resuscitation and AED training sessions in communities, stations and schools. Over 5,000 riders have been trained so far. By the end of 2026, Zhang aims to increase the number to 10,000.

"Saving lives always comes first," Zhang said. He notes that a domestic AED still costs anywhere from several thousand to over 10,000 yuan ($1,490), a price too steep for ordinary families and front-line riders alike. "I hope that one day AEDs will be as common as fire extinguishers, and affordable for everyone. Once the price comes down, more people will learn first aid, and when an emergency happens, they'll have the courage, the ability, and the skills to act."

Now more people ride with him. When a caring company donated new AEDs, he passed them on to other riders. At the station supported by the district social work department, the supply of emergency equipment keeps growing, and new riders stop by regularly to learn first aid.

"Changing the world doesn't take something earth-shattering. It just takes showing up, day after day," Zhang said.

He remembers the choked voice of a rescued elderly man's family member coming to thank him, the smiling face of a fellow rider accepting a raincoat, and most of all the excitement of the first rider he trained calling to tell him he had saved a life. These moments have convinced him that "charity isn't something you do because it matters. It matters because you do it".

"A single flower does not make a spring; only a garden in full bloom brings the season to life," Zhang said.