A Chinese food delivery rider has won one of the country’s highest literary honours with a poetry collection inspired by the everyday challenges faced by gig economy workers.
Wang Jibing, 56, received the Lu Xun Literary Prize for his collection Low Flight, which draws on the lives and experiences of food delivery riders across China. The award is named after Lu Xun, one of the country’s most influential modern writers.
Wang began working as a delivery rider around 2019 after years of taking on various manual jobs. Despite financial hardship, he continued writing poems and essays, often using short breaks between deliveries to put his thoughts on paper.
His writing first gained national attention in 2022 when his poem Man in a Hurry, inspired by a difficult food delivery, went viral on social media. He later published his first poetry collection in 2023 before releasing Low Flight in 2024.
The latest collection was shaped by interviews and surveys with around 200 delivery riders, capturing the pressures, aspirations and daily realities of workers in China’s rapidly expanding gig economy.
Despite receiving one of China’s most prestigious literary awards, Wang said he has no plans to leave his job. He told state media he intends to continue working as a delivery rider until the age of 60 because he enjoys the work and the lifestyle it offers.
Wang’s success also highlights a broader trend in China, where an increasing number of blue-collar workers are gaining recognition for literary works that document life in the country’s evolving labour market.
Last modified: July 20, 2026
