Track to the future

Beyond the dream

"Beijing!" The city's name was called for a historic second time to host an Olympic Games on July 31,2015.

After a successful 2008 edition, the capital will become the first city in the world to stage both summer and winter Games when it resumes hosting duties in 2022.

The historic moment was witnessed by Zhang Shijie, who became head subgrade engineer of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway. He celebrated, arms aloft, with his team members.

"Our railway will serve as an important part of the Olympic infrastructure!" he proudly proclaimed.

At the same time, the successful bid brought greater responsibilities and a tighter schedule.

"You never know the sense of responsibility of working on a big project until you are on one," Zhang Shijie said.

"At that time, as long as we were awake, we were on the construction sites. We totally gave up our leisure time and hobbies."

The 38-year-old made sure he knew every one of the project's 100 construction sites inside-out. He even walked with his team from Donghuayuan county to Zhangjiakou, inspecting about 90 kilometers on foot. In the process, he became well acquainted with Qinglongqiao Station.

"Our railway goes below the old Beijing-Zhangjiakou line. The ceiling of the tunnel comes as close as four meters to the old track. We gave careful consideration to every detail to minimize any effects to the historic site," he explained.

Sitting on the test train before the railway officially went into operation on Dec 30 last year, Zhang Shijie and his team members were overwhelmed by emotion as memories of their work came flooding back.

"This railway is like our child. We were so worried it was not well-developed or not as good as others," he said."It is a line I will never forget in my life."

The 174-kilometer line added to China's world-leading 35,000 kilometers of high-speed rail in operation by the end of 2019. It boasts a potential speed of 350 km/h, 10 times that of its predecessor.

"We've made huge leaps forward in high-speed railway technology, but where did it all start? Right here! The first railway entirely designed and built by us Chinese!" Yang said.

"Qinglongqiao Station has borne witness to two historic encounters. Over a century ago, the railway went through the Great Wall, with Western industrial civilization meeting traditional Chinese culture.

"Now the high-speed rail intersects with the old track, demonstrating that China has developed from being a learner to a leader."

XINHUA