CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- Beside the Wu River in Wulong District of Chongqing and on the side of Chongqing-Huaihua railway line, there is a mountain covered with steel armor. It is about 380 meters high, an altitude higher than a building with 120 floors. Therefore, it is called "Mega Project of A Mountain with Steel Armor". It is rarely seen in the world in two aspects - one is to build a 130-meter-high scaffold, and the other is that 20,000 tons of crags are "reinforced in situ".

“On patrol by King’s order...” At the foot of this mountain, you can see several men patrolling along the rail line. As the “guards of the rail”, they are responsible for “diagnosing” the mountain along the rail line. With their sharp eyes, they can detect crags and rockfalls as soon as they see them.

After graduating in 2013, Lin Jie, a "post-90s" young man, has been patrolling the mountain in the Wuling mountain region of Chongqing for nearly 10 years. Now he serves as the leader of the Baima Crag Work Section in the Wulong Bridge and Road Workshop of the Fuling Public Works Section of China Railway Chengdu Group Co., Ltd. On the foot of the “armor-steel mountain”, he told the stories about it to the reporter.

This was the mountain before it “wore” the armor. In 2016, through aerial photography, Lin Jie's colleagues found that crags weighing up to 20,000 tons hung on the mountain massif between 160 and 330 meters, which could result in falling rocks at any time. In this case, the Chongqing-Huaihua railway at the foot of the mountain was put in danger. How to fix it? They had found a solution - to wear steel armor for the mountain.

It was such a challenge - to “thread needles” on the mountain and fix the crags onto the mountain with a giant net. Hanging in midair, workers wore safety helmets and ropes. They had to climb the cliff and the surging Wu River flowing at their feet.

“Flying over” and “running on” the cliff, workers sweated with their tools in their hands, and even had meals and took a nap in the mid air... All these effort were paid to wear the “protection suit” for the mountain so as to ensure the safety of the passengers below them.

This heart-shaking "mega project" once caused heated discussion on the Internet after a netizen posted a picture of it. Netizens admired the wisdom of the designers, the courage of the builders of "the steel-armored mountain" and the spirit of the personnel who tamed mountains and rivers. They were therefore filled with deep esteem.

From the end of 2018 to June 2021, the project was finally completed and was a huge success. The towering mountain covered with green plants is topped with thickly dotted grids as if it was covered with armor.

After finishing the story, Lin Jie began to do a "physical examination" for the mountain. Although the mountain has been put on steel armor, they couldn’t slack off to ensure the security of the rail. As such. he and his colleagues still need to patrol and inspect the mountain regularly.

In the backpacks of Lin and his colleagues were put “medicine chests”. While patrolling, they must not only stay alert to crags and landslides, but also paid attention to the snakes and bees. Even if they crossed the seemingly ordinary bush, they would often be harmed by sharp thorns. Anti-snake medicine, heatstroke medicine, and medicine for traumatic injuries... These were all necessities in their "medicine chests".

The former workers could only detect the mountain with their naked eyes. But now, they can use unmanned aerial vehicles. Places such as high mountains, dangerous rocks and narrow roads that humans can't access, UAVs can help them to detect. When detecting crags through aerial photography, it shall be reported immediately if the crags are obviously displaced.

Whenever he sees a train, Lin will stop to salute. Although the work of a patrolman is hard, he will gather himself up when he reminds himself of the mission to ensure the safety of thousands of passengers. Lin exclaimed: “This is an adventure to nature as well as a challenge for me as a young man.” (Translated by Huang Ziming, Fathom Language Limited)