Shock brigade celebrates 50th birthday
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-04-20 23:43

Su Boyuan, a 78-year-old former leader of the first youth shock brigade in Beijing in the 1950s, met his old comrades again Tuesday after nearly half a century.

His 18-member team was the pioneer in building the Beijing Exhibition Hall in 1954, and his brigade was well-known for the fast speed of construction, Su recalled.

The workers Tuesday attended a celebration of the 50th anniversary of their brigade at the Great Hall of the People which was built by other shock teams in 10 months in 1959, setting a record in China's construction history.

Su said the first batch of youth shock brigades was founded in the 1950s to undertake urgent and difficult tasks. At that time, many mammoth projects were carried out at the same time in the capital city.

"It was a period of great passion, said Xu Jindi, a comrade of Su. "We brimmed over with vigour and worked around the clock in order to create a new look for the capital city in a short period."

Xu said he visited the construction site of the National Theatre on Monday along with some old comrades, and they talked with the young workers there.

"I am very glad to see there are also shock brigades at the site. The flag of our team has been handed on to the new generation," said Xu, adding that the teams today face higher requirements and more challenges.

Actually, there are more than 2,100 such brigades in Beijing at present. Deputies of some of the current teams also attended the celebration Tuesday and got prizes for their outstanding achievements.

Yang Guang, leader of a youth shock brigade participating in the construction of the National Stadium, said the old construction workers set a good example.

"Although the young workers today do not need to work all day and all night like the old generation did, we are also full of passion to build a new Beijing for the athletes and visitors worldwide," said Yang.

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