BEIJING, April 5 (Xinhua) -- In China, where career success is commonly linked to strong educational backgrounds, the recent achievements of Zhang Xue -- founder of ZXMOTO -- stand out even more strikingly.

At merely 39, Zhang, a middle school dropout, has gone from a repair shop apprentice to a figure rewriting China's motorsport history, with one of his motorcycles securing two victories at the Portuguese round of the Superbike World Championship (WSBK) a week ago, toppling decades of European and Japanese dominance.

In a race where every tenth of a second counts, the ZXMOTO motorcycle thundered past the finish line, leaving its nearest rival nearly four seconds behind.

The feat went viral on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, racking up more than 50 million views in just one week. Yet the sensation was about more than the victory itself; it was about the man who made it all happen.

While many have marveled at Zhang's command of the machine, a skill honed from humble beginnings, his story has sparked online discussions about the growing importance of practical expertise, the very kind that vocational education seeks to cultivate, in China's rapidly evolving economy.

Back in his teens, Zhang started his career from a repair shop, where he often immersed himself in engines, his hands slick with grease. By 22, he could assemble an engine blindfolded in less than an hour on a television show.

That apprenticeship gave him insights no engineering degree could. He learned every way a motorcycle could break down. "I know which structures fail most often. When I started building my own bikes, I knew exactly which designs to avoid," he said.

The appeal of stories like Zhang's reveals a wider societal shift underway, from top-down design to the grassroots, as China moves to strengthen vocational training and expand career pathways beyond traditional academic pedigrees.

China boasts the world's largest vocational education system. In 2023, the country had 11,133 vocational schools, with nearly 35 million students enrolled, spanning secondary, postsecondary and undergraduate levels. The majors and programs encompass all 41 industrial categories recognized by the United Nations.

The country's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for social and economic development is set to place "high-quality, full employment" front and center in efforts to improve livelihoods, highlighting not just the creation of jobs but a system capable of supporting the development of vocational skills for all age groups.

Wang Xiaoping, minister of human resources and social security, said China will deepen large-scale vocational skills training this year, with subsidized programs expected to benefit more than 10 million people.

However, as experts point out, vocational education has long faced stigma in the country and is often seen as a choice of last resort by Chinese parents who tend to set their eyes on higher-value academic credentials.

"Social perception has been the biggest obstacle," said Xiong Bingqi, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute. "If society insists that only top-tier universities can change one's fate, all other educational pathways get marginalized."

For many Chinese, Zhang's story reinforces a growing perception that deep dedication to a craft, coupled with problem-solving skills and a strong willingness to learn, can open paths to even the world stage.

In 2022, authorities issued a guideline to advance reform of vocational education, with priority given to industries such as information technology, numerically-controlled machine tools and robots, aviation and space equipment manufacturing, and biomedicine.

Minister of Education Huai Jinpeng said last year that China will promote the integration of vocational and general education as well as industry-education collaboration, and optimize vocational education to better serve regional development and support industrial growth.

"China has achieved remarkable progress over the past decades," said Jan Heinze, president of Heinze Academy in Germany.

As its industrial base expands, China needs a highly skilled workforce to support ongoing growth, and vocational education will play a critical role in training the professional talent the nation requires, Heinze added.

Some young people are even turning to vocational education after completing a university degree, a trend that underscores the growing recognition of hands-on skills.

Last fall, Wang Jiahang, 22, registered at a technician college in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, right after graduating with a bachelor's degree in computer science from a local university.

"I received job offers during the recruitment season, but none felt like the right fit," Wang admitted, adding that while his university studies provided a solid theoretical foundation, he still lacked practical skills.

"I wanted to take the time to master a real craft and further improve my competitiveness in the job market," Wang said.