By Xu Chunzi (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-02-02 07:41

Snow may paralyze traffic, wreck homes and cut off power, but it can't stop love.

In fact, romance has bloomed in the snow for Xiao Ying, an inspector at the Yuntian transformer substation in Hunan, one of the provinces hardest hit by the worst snows to hit China for 50 years.

With several 500-KW transformers already knocked out by the ice and snow, it is Xiao's job to keep a close eye on the remaining units to ensure the power keeps flowing to millions of homes in Changsha, Zhuzhou and Xiangtan.

As a result, the 25-year-old has been working under intense pressure, getting no more than five hours' sleep a day.

So when she stepped out of her office on Thursday afternoon, romance was the last thing on her mind.

But waiting for her was a huge inflatable arch bearing the words: "Xiao Ying, I love you, please marry me, Liu Qinghui".

And standing underneath it was Liu, her boyfriend of five years, with a bouquet of 99 roses in his hands.

"I had tears rolling down my face," Xiao said.

But they were tears of joy, for as she fumbled through the flowers, she found a diamond ring, which Liu promptly slipped on her finger.

There was no need for confetti or wedding bells - friends and colleagues simply threw snow on the newlyweds as firecrackers went off in the background.

The surprise came after a week of separation and Xiao was called into work as the snow and ice storms intensified.

Although the couple had set the wedding date a year ago, she said she was expecting to simply go to the marriage registration office.

The proposal caught her off guard because the roads leading to the substation were frozen, and because Liu is "just not a romantic guy", she said.

Liu said he originally planned to paint his proposal on the ground, but went for the arch instead when the snow started more than two weeks ago.

After a quick visit to the marriage registration office, Liu escorted Xiao back to the substation, where she will work through the lunar new year to make sure the power grid holds up as Hunan celebrates the holidays.

Xiao said she would rather spend new year at home with her husband, but she has to make sure there is power during the festival.

Inspecting transformer units is such exhausting work that Xiao takes two days off after working a 24-hour shift during normal times. Since the storms hit, she had worked eight straight days.

As of Friday, the number of people working at the Yuntian transformer station was increased from between five and seven on a normal day to 36.

Xiao said the job is hard but she enjoys working with so many people in a usually quiet, out-of-the-way substation.

(China Daily 02/02/2008 page1)