Gerrad Zhang

About Me

I'm Gerrad Zhang (张青冬) — a payments architect in Wuhan, China. For the past ten years I've been building cross-border payment infrastructure; this site is where I write down what I learn: payment & architecture deep dives, a structured Web3 learning roadmap, and workplace playbooks from leading a team.

Personal Profile

I'm Zhang Qingdong (Gerrad), a Java Architect and Team Leader with 10 years of experience in payment system development, specializing in cross-border payment solutions. As a "bridge builder between technology and business," I combine deep fintech expertise with solid engineering practices — and outside work I build and ship my own products.

ChinaNeighbor — My Product

I'm the founder and builder of ChinaNeighbor (chinaneighbor.com), an independent guide platform that helps foreigners live in and travel to China: mobile payments, healthcare, the 240-hour visa-free transit policy, essential apps, and first-week setup. Every guide cites official sources such as the National Immigration Administration and is kept current with the latest policies. The site is available in English, Chinese, Russian, French, Spanish, and Arabic, and includes free tools like a 240-hour visa-free transit eligibility checker.

The project combines what I do professionally — building reliable payment and cross-border systems — with what I live daily as an expat-life observer in Wuhan: making the practical side of China legible to newcomers.

Now — October 2026

Leading the cross-border payment product line at Onerway by day; exploring independent products by night. Besides ChinaNeighbor, I'm shipping small utility tools such as ImageTranslate (translate text inside images) and a free online meditation timer. This site itself is my public learning ledger — the current focus is turning daily AI-assisted engineering work into reproducible playbooks.

What I Write About

The blog is organized around three threads, all fed by day-to-day work and deliberate learning:

I also keep a running topic on Human × AI collaboration — how I integrate AI agents into real engineering work.

Technical Skills

  • Programming Languages: Java (core), SQL, JavaScript, Python
  • Frameworks/Libraries: Spring Boot, Spring Cloud, MyBatis, Hibernate, React
  • Databases: MySQL, Oracle, Redis, MongoDB, ElasticSearch
  • Middleware: Kafka, RabbitMQ, Nginx, Zuul, Gateway
  • Tools/Platforms: Docker, Kubernetes, Jenkins, Git, Maven, Jira
  • Architecture/Methodologies: Microservice Architecture, Distributed Systems, DDD Design, Agile Development, CI/CD
  • Payment Domain: Payment Gateway, Clearing & Settlement Systems, Smart Routing, Risk Control Systems, Cross-border Payments, Multi-currency Payments

Work Experience

Wuhan Ronghan Technology Co., Ltd. (Onerway Payment) | Team Leader | Nov 2019–Present

Led the technical planning and architectural design for the company's cross-border payment product line, ensuring high availability and scalability. Designed and implemented a microservice architecture cross-border acquiring system based on Spring Cloud, using DDD design methods to define clear domain boundaries. The system supports 15 currencies and 8 international card schemes, processing over 100,000 transactions daily. Built an intelligent routing decision engine based on rule engines and machine learning, reducing overall transaction costs by 18%, with 99.95% system availability during peak periods.

Shanghai Kaixer Software Co., Ltd. | Senior Java Developer | Feb 2018-Nov 2019

Participated in the design and development of core modules for financial payment systems, including transaction processing, risk control, and account management. Led the implementation of microservice architecture for card issuance business system reconstruction, reducing card application processing time by 40% and improving system throughput by 65%. Designed and implemented a token authorization system based on OAuth2.0 and JWT for mobile payment scenarios.

Beijing Csii Software Systems Co., Ltd. | Java Developer | Jul 2016-Feb 2018

Involved in the development of SPD Bank's rural B2C express payment system, new merchant express payment signing system, B2C fee settlement system, and unified cashier system. Reconstructed core payment and cancellation functional modules, achieving seamless integration between rural banks and headquarters systems, handling request peaks of 200 TPS, improving transaction success rate by 15% and reducing system response time by 30%.

Project Experience

I've led several significant projects, including:

  • Onerway Cross-border Acquiring: Built cross-border payment acquiring solutions for global e-commerce and SaaS service providers, supporting multi-currency, multi-channel, and multi-scenario payment processing
  • Onerway Cross-border Collection: Provided overseas collection solutions for cross-border e-commerce sellers registered in mainland China/Hong Kong
  • UnionPay International Virtual Card Project: Designed and implemented globally applicable virtual credit card standards and card issuance system for UnionPay International
  • Unified Cashier: Integrated and reconstructed SPD Bank's online payment system, unifying multi-channel payment entry points

Education

Anhui University | Bachelor's Degree | Network Engineering | 2012-2016

  • Major courses: Computer Networks, Data Structures and Algorithms, Operating Systems, Database Systems, Java Programming, Software Engineering
  • Received Outstanding Student Award and Outstanding Graduate honors
  • Selected for the Network Engineering Excellence Program, receiving small-class teaching and enterprise training

Contact Information

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