[Explanation] On April 25, it was less than 3 months before the first batch of units of the Baihetan Hydropower Station, the largest hydropower station under construction in the world, to generate electricity.
On the banks of the Jinsha River on the border of Sichuan and Yunnan, about 800 installation workers in the underground powerhouse on the right bank of the Baihetan Hydropower Station are hoisting the rotor of the eighth million-kilowatt unit of the Baihetan Hydropower Station.
[Explanation] At 9:20 in the morning, in the bridge crane operating room more than 20 meters above the ground, Mei Lin, a 46-year-old bridge crane worker, started to pull the operating rod and lift the rotor after receiving the lifting instruction.
After nearly two hours of horizontal movement, the rotor weighing about 2,300 tons was smoothly transferred to the pit.
The rotor is one of the heaviest core components of a hydroelectric generator set.
As the squad leader of the bridge crane of the right bank power station, Mei Lin is responsible for the main crane work for half of the rotors of the Baihetan power station.
At the Baihetan right bank power station, half of the eight-person bridge crane crew are women.
[Concurrent] Mei Lin, squad leader of the bridge crane team of the Baihetan Electromechanical Project Department of China Energy Construction Gezhouba Electromechanical Company
As a female bridge driver, some colleagues and friends kindly teased us, sometimes saying "Stewardess, Stewardess" on the walkie-talkie, because after all, we are doing our own work in the air corridor.
As far as I know, (the bridge driver) should be mainly women, because this thing may be related to the delicateness, meticulousness and patience of women, and maybe she is more able to take up this position.
[Explanation] Mei Lin is from Yichang, Hubei. Her father is a lifting commander of the Gezhouba Hydropower Station. She has lived with her father near the hydropower station since she was a child.
[Concurrent] Mei Lin, squad leader of the bridge crane team of the Baihetan Electromechanical Project Department of China Energy Construction Gezhouba Electromechanical Company
At that time, I felt that he cooperated with the bridge machine (driver) through his own instructions, and then transferred that heavy cargo from one place to another.
At that time, I thought it was amazing, and I was very interested in it (bridge machine).
[Explanation] Since entering the hydropower industry in 1995 as a bridge crane driver, Mei Lin has worked hard to practice basic skills.
[Concurrent] Mei Lin, squad leader of the bridge crane team of the Baihetan Electromechanical Project Department of China Energy Construction Gezhouba Electromechanical Company
The word "stable" is the most important basic skill of our profession.
At that time, just to practice this "stability", I often used an iron bucket to hang on the hook, fill it with water, and then use my own cart translation, cart translation, lifting hook, and various movements to observe the water. Is there any overflow.
When the water doesn't overflow, I think I have mastered the "stability" aspect.
[Explanation] In the past 26 years in the industry, Mei Lin has participated in the lifting tasks of 700,000-kilowatt units at Three Gorges Power Station, 770,000-kilowatt units at Xiluodu Power Station, and 1 million-kilowatt units at Baihetan Power Station.
[Concurrent] Mei Lin, squad leader of the bridge crane team of the Baihetan Electromechanical Project Department of China Energy Construction Gezhouba Electromechanical Company
When she was in her twenties, she was still a young girl, and now she has become a middle-aged person. I have also witnessed the rapid development of hydropower in China over the past 20 years.
Regardless of the planning of the site, including the requirements for construction, the scale of the power station, and the speed of completion, it is indeed getting better and better.
The overall installed capacity of the units we undertake is getting larger and larger, and the scale of the units is also getting bigger and bigger.
[Explanation] In 2017, Mei Lin went abroad for the first time to participate in the construction of Pakistan's NJ power station project.
At the construction site of the NJ power station, there are almost all males, and Mei Lin is the only female bridge driver on the site.
[Concurrent] Mei Lin, squad leader of the bridge crane team of the Baihetan Electromechanical Project Department of China Energy Construction Gezhouba Electromechanical Company
There are relatively few women engaged in hydropower construction in Pakistan, so they saw the face of a foreigner who was still a woman. They were surprised and all came to watch.
Now that I have gone abroad, I not only represent the image of our company, but must also be the image of a Chinese woman. First of all, we must do our job well in a down-to-earth manner.
[Explanation] According to the plan, the Baihetan Hydropower Station will realize all generating units put into operation before July 2022.
At that time, Mei Lin will pack her bags and prepare for the construction of the next power station project.
[Concurrent] Mei Lin, squad leader of the bridge crane team of the Baihetan Electromechanical Project Department of China Energy Construction Gezhouba Electromechanical Company
Every time we leave, we are a little bit dissatisfied. We usually go to the north and south to build a hydropower station and deliver it to the local government. Then we have to start another (section) new journey.
Therefore, we are reluctant to give up, but after all, a new power station is a new beginning, so we are still full of expectations, or full of longing to do this.
Chen Xuanbin reports from Liangshan, Sichuan
Editor in charge: [Lu Yan]