Yu Jing's family

CRRC Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co., Ltd. (CRRC Dalian) is referred to by many people as the "cradle of locomotives" in China. Yu Jing is the company's only woman electro-welding technician with a senior-level qualification. She has worked for the company for almost three decades. Her husband, Yang Bo, is also an electro-welding technician with CRRC Dalian, located in Northeast China's Liaoning Province. The couple lives with their daughter, Yang Yurou, and Yang Bo's mother, Liu Shuyan. The four-member family enjoys a harmonious and happy life. They treat others with honesty and kindheartedness.

Special 'Needle to Sew with Threads'

When Yu was a little girl, she dreamed of one day becoming a tailor. "I wanted to make the most beautiful clothes in the world when I was a kid," she recalls. However, Yu changed her mind when she applied to enter a vocational school after she completed her junior-high education. "My father said to me, 'You are fond of beautiful things, right? The fire sparks coming out during electro-welding work also look beautiful.' I was inspired by my father's words," Yu adds.

In 1991, Yu, who was then approaching 20, graduated from Dalian Locomotive Technician College. She was dispatched to work as an electro-welding technician at CRRC Dalian. Since then, Yu has been a so-called "iron tailor," who uses iron and steel as "cloth" and a welding gun as her "needle to sew with threads."

For a new hand like Yu, it was quite a challenge to work with hard iron and steel, and often in an environment filled with dust and sparks. Yu accepted the challenge, and she was determined to overcome all difficulties. She read books introducing electro-welding theories and techniques, to improve her understanding of relevant knowledge and skills. She learned operational procedures — one step after another — from her master. Yu collected exercise tests and electro-welding plates, which her master had used while he prepared to attend electro-welding technicians' competitions. Yu used them to practice electro-welding operational skills, repeatedly.

Yu took notes to record the knowledge and skills she had learned. Her hands inevitably were burnt, several times, when she practiced welding. Every time Yu was completing an electro-welding task, she worked carefully, as if she was completing a work of art.

Given her diligent work, Yu's electro-welding techniques greatly improved. She started to teach apprentices, and to lead them during various competitions. She encouraged her apprentices to continue innovating techniques. Yu hoped to pass on the experiences she had accumulated to younger generations of electro-welding technicians.

Yu is regarded by her colleagues as a woman "iron tailor" who has made achievements in the field of electro welding — a field dominated by men. She has received many awards and honorary titles, including National May 1st Woman Pacesetter and National March 8th Red-banner Pacesetter. She has also been a delegate to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Yu Jing is at work.

Couple of 'Iron Tailors'

Yang Bo began working for CRRC Dalian a few years earlier than his wife. He became an electro-welding technician with the company in 1985. He has worked diligently at his post for more than three decades.

Choosing the same profession gives the couple of "iron tailors" a "common language," which means they have a lot of work-related experiences to share with each other. Yu and Yang Bo often discuss operational techniques and skills, and they learn from each other to hone their skills and achieve success. Talking about the achievements she has made in electro welding, Yu gives a considerable amount of the credit to the "discussions" she has had with her husband.

Sometimes, Yang Bo's friends or colleagues will make a joke, such as: "Hey Yang, your wife has received so many awards and honors. What is your status within your family?" Yang Bo answers, honestly: "She has contributed so much of her strength to the development of our company, as well as to the advancement of locomotive-related techniques. She is the pride of our family. We don't care about 'status' in our family. We care about each other's life and career. I am happy for her, and for our family. I don't really care whose status is higher."

Yang Bo's mother, Liu, is a retired transportationcompany employee. Yu has been living with her motherin-law for 20-plus years, since she married Yang Bo. Yu never quarrels with her mother-in-law. Liu is proud of her daughter-in-law, who continuously strives to make new progress in her workplace.

The four-member family likes sitting together to chat during their spare time. Yu and Yang Bo talk about their daily work in the plant. Their daughter, Yurou, shares interesting stories about her experiences on campus. Liu recalls remarkable stories about their family in the past. Because of such intimate communications, they are emotionally closely connected; and, therefore, the family remains harmonious.

Yu Jing is at work.

Duty as a Delegate

Yu knows clearly that parents influence their children's growth. Although she has received many awards and honorary titles, she never stops moving forward to reach a higher goal.

When her daughter was preparing for the entrance exams to enter a senior high school, Yu proposed a special "competition" between her and her daughter. Yurou's goal was to enter a good senior high school. Yu's goal was to obtain the senior-level qualification as an electro-welding technician.

They began "competing" with each other, while encouraging each other to reach their goals. Both eventually fulfilled their goals. Yurou entered a good school, from which she succeeded in continuing on to an even higher education, as an undergraduate student with the department of physics at Liaoning Normal University. Yu, meanwhile, became CRRC Dalian's only woman electro-welding technician with a senior-level qualification.

In October 2017, Yu went to Beijing to attend the 19th CPC National Congress, as a delegate. Her mother-inlaw told her to shoulder her responsibility as a delegate, and to remember she was bearing the trust of the people. During the two months after the congress concluded, Yu participated in 16 events, during which she gave speeches to promote the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress. 

"Before I was elected a delegate to the 19th CPC National Congress, I thought I was an ordinary technician, who needed to focus on improving my own work. But after I became a delegate, I realized I must ensure the techniques and skills I have obtained are inherited by more people. For me, to implement the spirit I have learned from the congress means that I must help build a team of young talents, who grasp electro-welding knowledge, skills and innovation techniques," Yu says.

She never considers herself "the best electro-welding technician," but she believes she is a technician dedicated to her electro-welding career — for a lifetime. She is happy to have her family standing by her side — all of the time.

Photos Supplied by Dalian Women's Federation

(Women of China English Monthly February 2021 issue)