Every-Day Heroes

By Ji Jing

For Hu Hongwei， an army veteran， undertaking risky tasks is a part of his work. Since retiring from the army and joining the State Grid Hubei Electric Power Co. in 2000， his work is to repair faulty ultra-high voltage power transmission lines， a dangerous job.

In 2009， he was selected to do maintenance work on live 800-kilovolt transmission lines， an even more challenging assignment. He needed to undergo intensive training for half a year， during which he had to carry out simulated operations in the day and analyze his performance at night to ensure that every step was done correctly.

Finally on June 10， 2009， Hu became the fi rst person in the world to work on an ultra-high voltage transmission line with power still on after he climbed onto a highvoltage tower at an experimental base in Beijing.

This year， he had another challenging task during the peak of the novel coronavirus disease （COVID-19）. In February， he and his colleagues were told a high voltage line had developed a problem that could lead to a massive power failure in Wuhan， capital of Hubei in central China that bore the brunt of the epidemic.

Hu， a Wuhan native， rushed to the site with his colleagues. However their vehicle had to stop 4 km away as the road was blocked by mounds. They had to get out of the vehicle， carry equipment weighing more than 65 kg on their backs to the site and climb up the nearly 40-meter high transmission tower to fix the problem. When the task was completed， his clothes were wet with sweat and he was cold and hungry.

This was just one small episode during the epidemic. They worked day and night to ensure power supply to two specialty field hospitals， Leishenshan and Huoshenshan， built in less than a fortnight in Wuhan to treat COVID-19 patients.

Hu was among the people recognized as model workers and exemplary individuals at a gathering in Beijing last month.

They received congratulations from President Xi Jinping， who said model workers are the elites of the nation， role models for the people and heroes of the Peoples Republic of China. The working class has been the main force to secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and winning the battle against poverty， he said， adding that workers should be closely relied on to promote high-quality development.

Xi also urged for training to create a high-caliber workforce. Industrial workers should be trained to have fi rm ideals， good skills， innovation ability， and a sense of responsibility and dedication； and improve their skills to adapt to the latest sci-tech innovations and industrial transformation， he said. He also called for efforts to protect workers legitimate rights and interests.

Valuable contribution

Zhou Jiarong， a technician， received the model worker title for his contribution to building the country. An employee of Guizhou Steel Rope （Group） Co.， he has been making steel ropes for over 30 years—steel wires of different diameters that can bear the weight of heavy objects.

The ropes he has made have been used in the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge， the longest sea-spanning bridge in the world， and also in the Five-HundredMeter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope in Guizhou in southwest China， the largest radio telescope in the world. Besides， the ropes are sold to more than 40 countries and regions.

Zhou has also participated in the research and development of steel ropes used in Chinas scientifi c research missions in the Antarctic and the Shenzhou spacecraft including the Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft launched in 2016.

He and his colleagues have produced steel ropes used for many other important projects， including the Balinghe Bridge， a suspension bridge in Anshun， a city in Guizhou. In 2017， the bridge won the Luban Prize for Construction Projects， the highest award for construction quality in China.

“We felt very excited and proud when we walked on the bridge， seeing the steel ropes made by us suspending it，” Zhou said. Speaking of experiences to share with others， he said his work has taught him that only through constant learning can practical skills be improved to make one knowledgeable， skilled and innovative.

His aspiration is to research steel ropes to produce better ones. In this way， he will further contribute to Chinas mega engineering projects.

Passing down the tradition

Liu Li was honored as a model worker for her dedication to innovation. Liu works in a fi eld where there are few women. She is a driller in the Daqing Oilfield， the countrys largest oil production base， located in Heilongjiang Province， northeast China.

Liu said she followed in the footsteps of her father， who was a fi rst-generation oil driller at the oilfi eld discovered in 1959 and was recognized as a model worker by the province.