Taxing job takes a toll on family life

During Lunar New Year's Eve 2019, she stuck to her post as usual and did not have a chance to return home, even though it is only a 30-minute drive away.

"Despite having the company of my colleagues, we all have to stay in our own booths and are not allowed to chat with one another," she said.

While other people were enjoying reunion feasts, playing games of mahjong and poker or watching the New Year Gala on TV, the road lay largely empty. To keep herself busy and stay awake, Zhang picked up a broom to clean the road outside her booth and then checked all the facilities.

"Seeing the eagerness and happiness on the drivers' faces caused by coming home, I felt all my loneliness was not in vain, and I had a sense of fulfillment from working as a toll collector," she said.

The Ministry of Transport has spared no efforts to push forward electronic toll collection machines, which enable drivers to pay motorway tolls automatically without stopping. Though the devices have been installed in about 90 percent of the country's registered automobiles, the ministry still kept a few manned toll booths open during chunyun.

As most of Zhang's colleagues have been transferred to other posts, this could be the last time she will collect tolls during Spring Festival.

"I'm out there in the cold and the heat. I'm breathing in fumes. I work during holidays. Sometimes I put up with abuse. Despite all that, I love my job," she said.