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A group of local mothers who call themselves ‘female knights,’ are using food delivery jobs to gain financial independence and agency, according to the South China Morning Post.

In China, delivery drivers are known as waimai qishior ‘delivery knights,’ a term typically associated with men. By adopting the name, these women are intentionally reclaiming a masculine label to reflect their own strength and professional pride.

Hu Yingrong, 46, lives on Qushan Island with her husband. Home to about 55,000 people, the island is a two-hour ferry ride from the mainland. Most men work at sea or in stone mining, while many women stay home or weave fishing nets for low pay.

Hu previously worked at a fishing net factory, earning 1 yuan (US$0.14) for weaving 10 meters of netting. On average, she would earn 5-8 yuan an hour.

When food delivery services arrived on the island, she switched jobs.

At first, she struggled to memorize routes and keep up with the steady flow of orders. Besides, she often has to ride her electric scooter through thick fog and battle sea winds so strong they could easily tip the vehicle over.

“But the hardest part is running up staircases in apartment buildings without lifts or squeezing through narrow alleys packed with elderly vendors’ vegetable carts,” she says.

“The greatest reward of this job is having control over my own time. Riding and feeling the wind on the island really feels like freedom.”

Hu is now one of the island’s top delivery earners. Her record in a day is 189 orders, and her monthly income is around 8,000 yuan.

Over the past year, women delivery riders with an average age of around 40 have started reshaping the island’s workforce. Once strangers speaking different regional dialects, they now form a close-knit team of 14 women. They share orders, help train new riders, and gather together on payday.

The group’s leader, 29-year-old Chen Lirong, nickname “Car Goddess” took the job in response to discrimination. After being told she could not work in a shipyard because she had children, she created her own path.

“Food delivery offers flexible hours, which helps me balance family responsibilities,” she says.

To support her colleagues, she often arranges daytime shifts for mothers with young children while taking night orders herself.

A woman making deliveries on an electric scooter on Qushan Island in Zhejiang Province. Photo by Xie HaiLong

The job has also become an economic lifeline for women facing difficult circumstances.

After her divorce, 44-year-old Wang Jinrong was left to raise four children on her own. Within the delivery team, she receives support from co-workers who swap shifts with her so she can spend more time with her family.

On social media, the women’s story has drawn widespread praise. One commenter wrote: “They are not just delivering food; they are delivering themselves from the cycle of dependence and family pressures.”