Between the Qinling Mountains, on the banks of the Qingjiang River in Baoji, the Chencang Ancient Road stretches here. After a heavy snowfall on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, as far as the eye can see, it is white and vast.
On the ballast next to the railroad tracks, Wang Lingming and four workers walked towards the depths of the No. 3 tunnel of Shensha River on the Baocheng Railway.
The Baocheng Railway, which connects Baoji in Shaanxi Province and Chengdu in Sichuan, is the first railway built after the founding of the People's Republic of China to open up the Qinling Mountains, and is also the first electrified railway in China.
Baocheng Railway Qinling Guanyinshan Station. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Bowen "You see, I just hit the ice once the day before yesterday, and it froze again. The headlight beam jumped with the pace in the dark tunnel, and Wang Lingming suddenly stopped, pointed to the side with an ice pole and said, "This is our job." ”
Looking up, an icecle more than 5 meters tall and as thick as an arm appeared on the tunnel wall, and the transparent surface shone slightly.
Put on your goggles and pick up the ice sticks. With a "bang, bang, bang" sound, large blocks of ice fell from the sky and smashed to the ground, and the ice ballast kept cutting over the reporter's face ......Not long after, beads of sweat rolled on Wang Liangming's forehead, and he simply unbuttoned the two buttons above the cotton clothes.
Employees of the Guanyinshan Bridge and Tunnel Construction Area of the Baoji Public Works Section of China Railway Xi'an Bureau Group are making ice in the tunnel. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Bowen This year's 55-year-old Wang Lingming is an "iceman" in the Guanyinshan Bridge and Tunnel Construction Area of the Baoji Public Works Section of the China Railway Xi'an Bureau Group. In this section, the railway rises in a roundabout way with 3 horseshoe shapes and 1 spiral figure-8, forming the famous "Guanyin Mountain Exhibition Line" in the history of China's railways.
All the way to the high, the mountain is dangerous. Every winter, the tunnels in the high slope area of northern Qinbei often freeze due to mountain seepage, which brings hidden dangers to driving safety. The bridges and tunnels in the construction area maintained by Wang Liangming and his workers are intricate, with a large difference in terrain and elevation, with a maximum altitude of 1,410 meters.
The icicles are tall and the ice is thick. Wang Lingming and his co-workers took turns to fight, playing ice poles and iron pickaxes alternately. There was a burst of "sword light and sword shadow", and the tunnel wall and the track bed successfully "broke the ice".
Hike 11 kilometers, cross 23 large and small tunnels, cross 31 bridges and ......In winter, the employees of the Guanyinshan Bridge and Tunnel Construction Area guard the safety of the high slope of the Baocheng Railway in northern Qinbei every day regardless of the wind and snow weather.
Zhang Yaxu, a safety guard of the Guanyinshan Bridge and Tunnel Construction Area of the Baoji Public Works Section of China Railway Xi'an Bureau Group, works at the mouth of the tunnel. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Bowen Wang Lingming and other "icemen" can carry out their work smoothly on the railway line, which is inseparable from a vital role - safety guards.
Zhang Yaxu, who was born in 1999, is one of the few girls in the work area. After graduating from school in 2022, she came to Dashan to become a railway safety guard.
I didn't expect it to be so hard at first. After following the masters, my whole body hurts so much! Zhang Yaxu, who grew up in the city, said, "But compared with the heroes who split rocks and dug holes and built railways, this hardship is nothing." We need to learn from the spirit of that generation. ”
While talking, the news that the train was about to pass through came from the intercom, and Zhang Yaxu quickly notified Wang Liangming and others to withdraw from the tunnel.
The huge roar and the wind mixed with snowflakes hit at the same time, and the train passed through the mouth of the tunnel, Zhang Yaxu held the signal flag high, stared at the train, and stood straight.
Towering Qinling, engraved and guarded, witnessing the glory. The spirit that flows in this artery is passed down from generation to generation. (Reporter Zhang Jingpin, Zhang Bowen, Zhang Sijie).