Innovating From The Ground Up

By Lu Yan

Beitang Ancient Town， a famous tourist attraction in the Binhai New Area in Tianjin， was buzzing with travelers from all over the country during the five-day Labor Day holiday starting on May 1.

Among the crowd， Zhang Liming and his colleagues from the State Grid Binhai branch， dressed in their work uniform—a red vest and a blue safety helmet—were busy checking charging piles by parking lots filled with vehicles to ensure power supply.

“These charging piles are essential for lowcarbon and green travel， so we must test them carefully，” Zhang， head of a power line repair work team told his colleagues.

For over three decades， Zhang has been working on emergency power line repair， and he found fulfillment in the job. “In other peoples eyes， my job might seem dangerous and tough， but Im happy being an electrical technician， solving problems， major or minor， and serving people in need，” he told Beijing Review.

Lifeline guardian

The son of a plumber， Zhang had a great admiration for skilled workers after hearing the stories of how his father had made national water conservancy projects possible. In 1987， Zhang， 18， became a power cable inspector.

Over the years， he formed a habit of finding out the locations of electric transmission lines wherever he worked and noting down any changes in the surroundings， then drawing a precise circuit diagram， with the electricity consumption patterns of all power users on it. Zhang learned the operating parameters of the circuits， their safety status and users characteristics by heart so he could troubleshoot when service calls came. For this he earned the nickname “a living map for emergency maintenance.” He has covered 80，000 km over the past three decades and completed more than 20，000 tasks without a single accident.

His wife Li Haichun knows how much Zhang is devoted to his work. She remembers how once， in the middle of the night， Zhang was talking in his sleep and asked her to hand him a wrench or a pair of pliers.

Besides fulfilling his duties and responsibilities， Zhang and other coworkers also volunteer to help the elderly in need with daily chores， such as repairing household appliances and changing light bulbs in their apartment. Zhang also volunteered to include his phone number in community service manuals in case residents needed assistance.

In 2018， Zhang was awarded the title Role Model of the Times for his dedication to maintaining the communities electricity network. The title was conferred by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee. Since 2014， individuals and groups winning the honor have been selected from all walks of life—frontline workers， village teachers， drivers， medical workers and scientists. Their stories are reported by the media on various platforms for the public to learn about them.