Experts recount joys of railway project construction

Wang Wei, office director of the CREC4 project department working on the No 3 bid of the Yulin-Cenxi section, said their achievements on building the swivel bridge, digging tunnels and precasting concrete components, let them appreciate the scientific and technical beauty of their work in helping build a more beautiful country.

Zhang Shaoyong, born in 1981, and his wife, both work on the construction site of the CREC4 project department responsible for the No 3 bid of Yulin-Cenxi section, with Zhang serving as a foreman of the on-site bridge team responsible for building the swivel bridge, and his wife engaging in logistics and cooking at the workers' living quarters.

With two kids back at home — a son in junior high school and daughter in primary school — the couple know they have to work hard to support them.

Born in Chongqing and entering the construction sector at the age of 20, Zhang worked with the CREC4 builders for the first time during constructing the Xijin Yujiang grand bridge on the No 6 bid of Shanglin-Hengxian Expressway in Guangxi for three years.

Prior to that, he worked on construction sites in Guizhou and Zhejiang provinces with other State-owned companies.

"I have been in the construction industry for 24 years, starting from a concrete mold worker, steel reinforcement worker, concrete worker and now I am a team leader," said Zhang, adding that after completing work on the Xijin Yujiang grand bridge, he and his wife moved to the No 3 bid of Yulin-Cenxi section.

"My biggest takeaway while working on CREC4 projects is that management is stricter, both in on-site construction procedures and materials management, as well as in managing the workers' living quarters," said Zhang.

"The demanding management helped me and my wife improve our working skills, and with a handsome income, we have enough salary to send back home to support my family," he said.

"I have been working on transport construction in Guizhou, Zhejiang and Guangxi, helping the locals to develop better with the improvement of roads and railways, and this has made me very proud as our hard work can help create happiness," Zhang said.

Wang's colleague Zhu Taotao, 33, has another fond memory after working on various posts — winning the love of his girlfriend-turned-wife Yuan Shengmei.

After joining CREC4 Fifth Engineering in 2015, he has worked on building railways in Jiangxi and Yunnan provinces and came to work at the current post in the engineering department in November 2022, where Yuan works as a data technician.

They came to know each other in 2017 in Yunnan while Zhu worked as an intern on the Yuxi-Mohan Railway, and began dating in April 2021.

When Zhu was transferred to his current post, Yuan resigned from her original job in February 2023, and joined him in the same department. They got married on April 21 this year.

"We came to see the meaning of our engineering work, and sought a common language," said Zhu, stressing that this is a blessing for them, as they could build a family while at work.

"The beauty of the society makes us even more confident in our future work," said Yuan.

Wang also said that ever since entering the construction site in October 2022, the CREC4 project department has spent over 11 million yuan ($1.54 million) purchasing local vegetables, fruits and other items, as well as daily necessities through targeted procurements.

"To help the residents in Guangxi, we have hired over 1,550 locals for more than 1,000 positions requiring different skills, providing them with salaries exceeding 33 million yuan," Wang said.

"We intend to help them achieve both skills improvement and household income growth, as a way to aid local rural vitalization," he said.