Konstantin Silin's daughter, Elena, with her Chinese friends in Beijing in the 1950s. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Liu Changyuan, deputy chief engineer of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge project, said in a previous interview that "Silin was not only a respected expert but also a very good person".

Liu joined the team building the pillars of the bridge in 1955 as a fresh university graduate.

He recalled that Silin often took a speedboat to examine the pillars and exchanged ideas with construction workers. Liu got to know him during that time.

"He was very modest. He respected us Chinese engineers and workers, and passed on his experience to us," Liu says.

Silin took great pride in the first bridge over the Yangtze River. He often returned to China to visit the bridge.

Once, when he was over 80 years old, he visited the construction site of the Second Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge. After learning about the construction and technique, he told Chinese engineers, including Liu: "I was your teacher when we built the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, but now you have become my teacher."

Contact the writer at yangyangs@chinadaily.com.cn