A staff member handles cargo at Caojiapu International Airport in Xining, northwest China’s Qinghai Province. (Qinghai Daily/Zhang Peng)
Under a bright sun, plump salmon leapt into nets on Nov. 5 at the Longyang Gorge area in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Qinghai Province.
"To preserve the fish’s freshness, the company races against time at every step," said Li Mingrui, head of technical operations at Longyang Fresh (Qinghai) Co., Ltd.
Li picked up a freshly processed fish and pressed the flesh.
"See how firm it is," Li said. "The company requires that each salmon complete the entire process — sorting, bleeding, resting and chilling — within one hour."
But even with streamlined workflows, one persistent challenge remained: once the fish left the plant, transportation posed the greatest risk to freshness.
The breakthrough came when the air cargo team at Caojiapu International Airport in Xining connected with the company.
"They said they wanted to help us ship Qinghai’s fresh products," recalled Du Lianzhong, deputy procurement director at Longyang Fresh (Qinghai) Co., Ltd.
But opening an air route for Qinghai salmon was no easy task. Zhang Lijun, market operations manager at the airport’s cargo terminal, recalled the difficulty in securing the Bangkok route.
"The most difficult part was confirming the cold storage facilities at the airport in Bangkok," Zhang said. "Emails went unanswered, so I contacted a tour guide I knew in Thailand who helped me reach the airport’s cargo office."
However, language barriers remained a challenge. With the help of translation software and dictionaries, Zhang discovered that Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok has three cold storage facilities, one of which maintains a temperature of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius — the range required for preserving salmon.
Through repeated communication, coordination and adjustments, the air route was gradually established. Today, Xining’s reliable air logistics system guarantees the smooth transport of salmon while opening wider markets for a growing range of local specialties, including yak meat, cool-season vegetables and goji berries.
The establishment of these air routes reflects Qinghai’s integration into China’s unified national market. Leveraging its strategic location, the province has built a multi-dimensional network integrating road, rail and air transportation.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), Qinghai has operated 561 international freight trains, sending more than 130 types of specialty products to global markets.
原文地址：http://en.people.cn/n3/2025/1124/c90000-20394358.html