Transportation serves as the pioneer of Chinese modernization, built over decades by generations carving paths through mountains and bridging roaring rivers. On October 16, the State Council Information Office hosted a press conference titled “Fighters on the New Journey,” bringing five frontline representatives from the transportation sector together to discuss the theme of forging ahead into the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
High-Altitude Maintenance Across the Tibetan Highway Network
Behind the seamless flow of people and goods lies the daily, often grueling persistence of frontline workers. Sangzi, head of the Jiali Maintenance Section under the Tibet Autonomous Region’s Nagqu Highway Development and Emergency Guarantee Center, followed his parents into the profession at age 17. For over three decades, he has worked along the northern Tibet highway lines at an average elevation exceeding 4,500 meters, battling fierce winds, snowstorms, and water damage in a high-altitude, oxygen-deprived environment. Today, Tibet’s total highway mileage reaches 125,200 kilometers, with graded roads accounting for 110,000 kilometers, transforming local transport routes into pathways of unity and happiness.
Looking ahead, Sangzi aims to introduce new maintenance technologies, comprehensively advancing mechanized and refined road upkeep across the region.
Grassroots Freight Operations in Liangdang County
Further east in Liangdang County, Longnan City, Gansu Province, Yin Wenxue turned to commercial freight after military service, weaving a connective web between countless households. For more than a decade, Yin has regularly carried goods and run errands for rural villagers along his routes. In 2022, the county established a mobile party branch for truck drivers alongside the “Yin Wenxue Party Member Vanguard Motorcade.” Whether offering a helping hand during family hardships or rushing emergency supplies directly to disaster sites, Yin and his colleagues maintain a steady presence of mutual aid.
Yin now plans to learn short-video production during his downtime, intending to promote local agricultural products and help villagers expand their sales channels.
Deep-Water Salvage and Hazardous Cargo Operations
That same dedication extends from the high plateaus to open waters. Hu Jian, captain of the diving team under the Shanghai Salvage Bureau’s Rescue and Salvage Engineering Fleet within the Ministry of Transport, has maintained his commitment to underwater operations over a 26-year career. On August 20, 2020, the vessel Longqing 1—carrying over 3,000 tons of isooctane—collided and caught fire at the Yangtze River estuary. Hu and six team members boarded the burning ship to handle the hazardous cargo, working continuously for four days and nights to tow the distressed vessel into port just ahead of an approaching typhoon.
Hu now sets his sights on the deep blue, aiming to lead his team through a 500-meter saturated diving sea trial.
Modernizing the Three Gorges Dam Navigation Infrastructure
In the engineering sector, electrical engineer Hu Hang serves as deputy head of the maintenance department at the Three Gorges Navigation Administration Bureau. Hu regards safeguarding the major national asset and protecting the Yangtze River as his primary mission. Following iterative trials with his colleagues, the ship lock industrial control system underwent a successful modernization update, allowing the Three Gorges ship locks to handle a throughput of over 170 million tons by 2025.
With construction underway for the new Three Gorges water transport channel, Hu intends to establish a scalable, replicable “Three Gorges solution” to inform the future maintenance of 10,000-ton ship locks.
Vocational Excellence on the Global Stage
At the 48th World Skills Competition, He captured the Albert Vidal Award, illustrating how vocational education can alter life paths and supply essential talent for industrial upgrading.
He plans to pass the baton of skill-based success by transitioning from a competitor to a coach, nurturing a new generation of technical professionals.
As the objectives for refining a modern comprehensive transport system during the 15th Five-Year Plan take shape, these accounts underscore the ongoing realization of smooth passenger travel and efficient cargo logistics.
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