'Great Country Craftsman' gives trains a boost, passes on skills to apprentices

Thirty-four years ago, Li Wanjun graduated from a vocational high school in Changchun, capital of Jilin province, and was assigned to work as a welder for the Changchun Railway Vehicle Company. Together with 28 other freshmen, he began his career welding vehicle parts.

A year later, 25 of them had quit, finding welding neither clean nor easy. Working with torches that produced flames as hot as 2,300 C, the workshop was a place of smoke and sparks, where the welders sweated beneath their canvas uniforms and closed welding helmets.

Li chose to stay on after his father, who worked at the same company and had received the model worker award on several occasions, told him that every trade has its master, and that he should practice and work hard.

Over the decades, the 52-year-old has participated in the production of more than 20 different kinds of railcar bogies in China, including the ones for the Fuxing high-speed train, which runs at speeds of up to 350 kilometers per hour.

A bogie is an undercarriage, a system of wheels and springs attached to the railcar that supports the body of the train, keeping it stable and absorbing vibration from the tracks to smooth the ride.

In 2012 and 2017, Li was elected as a deputy to the National People's Congress and in 2017, became the first technical worker in the province to be granted the title of professor. Until then, workers could earn certificates that rated their technical level, but were not able to earn titles in the educational field.

"The reform of the professional title system has improved the social status of skilled workers, and inspired us all to work harder," Li said.

In 2018, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions named him a Great Country Craftsman of the year, along with nine other individuals nationwide.

"The award doesn't belong just to me, but to all my team members. It's an honor to have taken part in China's self-developed Fuxing project, which is the fastest train in commercial operation in the world," he said.

The awards are the result of decades of practice, and an inquiring mind.

When he first began working, Li would study welding during his lunch breaks and stayed behind after work to practice in the workshop.

"Our company held a lot of competitions, so I made the best of any spare time to practice my skills, and improve my ranking," he recalled.

When there was no extra material available to practice on, Li would hunt for bits of scrap iron. He also visited more experienced welders to perfect his technique.

Li was dedicated to his job. The company required workers to finish 100 water tanks each month, but he would always try to weld at least 20 more.

In 1988, he came first in a competition organized by his workshop and in 1997, won three first prizes for three different welding methods in the Changchun Welder Competition.

As Li's reputation rose, he began to tackle more cutting-edge tasks. In 2007, he devised a method for welding a bogie's ring frame in a single go. These bogies were later used on China's then fastest bullet train, which was capable of speeds of 250 km/h.

"High speed demands high quality. Unlike trains that run at 80 km/h, any welding slag left on a bullet train bogie could result in a severe accident. Weldments must be identical, without flaws, so every one of them has to be a work of art."

Li has also taught at a number of colleges, including Changchun Polytechnic, and helped train technical workers all over the country.

In 2010, he set up a workshop to train welders. By June of last year, it had held about 400 courses and trained more than 20,000 people.

"My skills are more valuable when they're taught to others," he said.

His colleague and apprentice, Sun Weipeng, said that sometimes Li does not wear protective gear while teaching.

"He removed his face protection to see what I was doing more clearly. Now, every time I see his red eyes, swollen from the welding light and high temperatures, I feel moved and a little guilty. Li is one of the people that I admire the most," he said.

Li said that his plan now is to focus his energies on his workshop, and gather the expertise to tackle new problems in the railway manufacturing industry.

"The Fuxing train is a beauty. It's safe, fast, and comfortable. The cabin stays quiet, even at high speeds. I feel a real sense of pride sitting in that bright, spacious carriage. The spirit of craftsmanship is to always do better than your best, and this way, we'll ensure the high-speed rail industry keeps advancing," Li said.

Han Junhong contributed to this story.