Porters in Chongqing Chaotianmen Wholesale Market in 2010

Wu Hongbin who was born after 2000s

Zhou Xianfu who was born after 1980s

Didi truck driver Deng Lijun who was born after 1960s

CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- “The city has changed so much and time has gone by so fast,” said Deng Lijun, a 53-year-old truck driver from Chongqing, standing at Chaotianmen Wharf. Since he started his career as a porter (bangbang) in the early 1990s, Deng is familiar with his “home field” in Chaotianmen.

Like it or not, porters are a group of people who can hardly be ignored by those walking around Chongqing for the first time. They either sit on the ground in twos or threes, or bow their backs carrying loads much larger than themselves and passing you by. They are generally older, languid and casually dressed, but as soon as they are working, the strength of their bodies will be highlighted from the muscles of their arms. They carry the goods on their shoulders, and every step is rock-solid.

The development of a city is linked to trade and commerce. During the long years, the porters were the capillaries of the Mountain City. Shipping has been developed in Chongqing since ancient times, and ships laden with goods arrive at the Chaotianmen Wharf, the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers. The Wharf is at the bottom, while the city is at the top, and the porters carried the city with their shoulder poles on the 60-degree inclined stairway in the middle, along with the times.

Over the years, the rapid development of the city has gradually sunk the porters. The porters gradually receded from the historical stage as the rapidly developing rail, air and road transportation networks replaced the traditional waterways, coupled with the well-connected urban roads. Several students from the School of Journalism and Communication of Northwest Minzu University did a survey on the survival status of Chongqing's porters this year, which showed that the current number of porters in Chongqing is less than 2,000.

In a sense, porters are emerging in a different form - the truck drivers active in markets such as Chaotianmen, delivery workers and couriers shuttling through the streets of Chongqing, are they the porters of this new era?

Deng Lijun who was born after 1960s: I am still a porter, but I used to use a shoulder pole and now I drive a truck

Two small fans were blowing in the cab of Deng Lijun, a Didi truck driver, who had just picked up a load of goods from Nanping and was driving in the direction of Chaotianmen Dazheng Mall. Built in 1997, Dazheng Mall is mainly for wholesale clothing, and at the end of the porter’s career, Deng Lijun had a lot of interactions with Dazheng Mall.

When he first became a porter, Deng Lijun was stationed at the Chaotianmen Wharf every day, carrying grain and oil and fabrics from ships to the city. Later, he began to carry goods between markets when there were more and more professional markets.

After life got better over the years, Deng stopped being a porter, so what could he do in Chongqing? After thinking about it, Deng still wanted to do the industry related to the transport of goods, which is, after all, his old job.

Last year, Deng joined Didi Freight as a truck driver.

“At first, my wife forced me to be a truck driver, but doing it, I feel that the energy of those years is back. I feel that I am still a porter, but I used to use a shoulder pole and now I drive a truck. Different tools of production, but still doing the same thing,” Deng said.

Zhou Xianfu who was born after 1980s: Being a truck driver has made me more confident, and I have a shoulder pole in the truck

There are various wholesale markets of varying sizes scattered around Gele Mountain, more than ten kilometers from the city center. Zhou Xianfu, 37, a Chongqing native, worked as a porter in this area.

Zhou Xianfu’s work trajectory is not quite the same as most porters. When he was young, he worked all over the country, such as Henan, Jiangsu, Guangdong and Zhejiang, wherever there was work for him. Later, when his children reached the age of school, he decided to end his wandering life and return to Chongqing for development.

“At that moment, I was really under a lot of psychological pressure. With the last merchant’s goods still on my back, I thought about where the next job would be. If I was lucky, I could earn two or three hundred a day.” After the porters he knew changed careers one by one, he also wanted to change, so the truck driver became a way out.

“Anyway, I’m quite happy with the way things are now. I used to feel inferior as a porter, but now I have a truck, and I feel more confident when I deliver goods.” The stable monthly income also gives Zhou Xianfu the confidence, “Previously, I was worried about the order amount. Now that I’ve joined Didi Freight, whether I’m assigned an order or grab one myself, orders are always coming in, which makes me less psychologically stressed.”

Despite the change of career, Zhou Xianfu still has a shoulder pole in his truck. The pole is like a symbol; he doesn’t know when he’ll use it again, but he always feels like he’ll use it.

Wu Hongbin who was born after 2000s: Even if the profession of porter disappears, it will continue in another way

Guanyinqiao in Jiangbei used to be a gathering place for porters, where they handed over goods and rested briefly. But nowadays, it is a leisure paradise for young people. Taking off the freight vest, Wu Hongbin, who was a young truck driver in the last second, can be integrated with the fastest speed.

“My home is not far from here. Before I was a porter, I also often hang out here and have delicious food.” As a native of Chongqing, Wu Hongbin remembered that when he was a child, Guanyinqiao was full of porters, “Although this is a commercial center, there are still several markets around, including hardware, home appliances, and farm trade, and they all need porters.”

Speaking about his past experience as a porter, Wu Hongbin said, “Many people wonder why I, a person born in 2000, can still work as a porter, because at that time there were many occupations to choose from.” Wu Hongbin ridiculed himself for his bad grades. After graduating from high school at the age of 18, he learned to drive, and then was brought into the industry by an uncle who had been a porter for more than 20 years.

Being a porter is free, but the reality is also cruel. The young Wu Hongbin keenly captured the changes in the industry. After he found a very high percentage of truck drivers in the market, he tried to contact with them and learned that the income was acceptable and the work was a lot easier. Not long after, just turned 21 years old, he transformed from a porter to a truck driver.

Wu Hongbin is currently living in a 10-square-meter house in Guanyinqiao, but he has his own goals: He may purchase a house in Chongqing by working as a truck driver at the age of 25. “Over the years many people say that the profession of porter will disappear, but I do not think it will. Even if it really disappears, it will continue in another way.” (Written by Li Shu/Chongqing Morning News) (Translated by Wang Huixin, Fathom Language Limited)