Commute costs woman 5,000 yuan a month

Wrapped up in her coat in the chilly spring air, a drowsy Jiang Jingzi walks briskly toward the parking lot outside the railway station in Cangzhou, a small city in North China's Hebei province, on the night of Feb 15.

For the umpteenth time, Jiang returns home to Cangzhou late at night after leaving work in Beijing.

For a whole year, Jiang has kept up a daily routine of rising at 6:10 am, taking a taxi to the railway station in Cangzhou at 6:50 am and catching a high-speed train at 7:23 am that sees her arrive in Beijing 58 minutes later. She gets to her workplace at about 9:15 am after completing the final leg on the metro.

Jiang's daily journey costs her 15 yuan ($2.20) for taxis, 94.5 yuan for high-speed trains and 4 yuan for the metro. That adds up to 225 yuan a day, or almost 5,000 yuan per month.

While the cost of intercity transportation might seem extortionate, Jiang has a reason to smile.

After graduating in Beijing in 2009, Jiang chose to stay in the city and become a "Beijing drifter".

She met her husband, who works for Beijing Hyundai Motor, at the end of 2011. By the time they were married, the couple had their own house near the East Sixth Ring Road, each spending about two hours commuting to and from work each day.

In 2015, Jiang's husband was transferred to Cangzhou, leaving Jiang and their 1-year-old baby in Beijing.

Six months later, Jiang decided to start her two-city life. Before that, Jiang's husband had considered finding her a new job in Cangzhou, but Jiang refused as she didn't want to give up her career in Beijing.

"I'm surprised that I have been able to continue making the commute for such long time," Jiang said, as she looked through all the tickets she has collected in the past year.

"I admire what she has done for me and our family," Jiang's husband said.

Jiang, whose persistence has also won the support of her family, said she is mindful of the high transportation costs, but said it is all worthwhile as long as her family can be together every day.