Passing on the 'Iron Man' spirit at Daqing Oilfield
CGTN
06:18

Located in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Daqing Oilfield is the largest oilfield in China. It was discovered in 1959. The development of Daqing Oilfield has changed the backwardness of China's oil industry and made a difference to China's industrial development. Sixty years later, Daqing Oilfield still maintains a world-class oil and gas production of more than 40 million tonnes.

Daqing Oilfield. /CGTN Photo

Daqing Oilfield. /CGTN Photo

In addition to natural resources such as oil and gas, Daqing Oilfield highlights a profound spirit, the "Iron Man" spirit. It manifests patriotism, devotion and perseverance of Chinese oil workers.

Qiu Shuang, 28 years old, is a laboratory technician at Daqing Oilfield. She grew up in an oilfield family. Both her grandpa and father were oil workers here.

In 1960, the "Iron Man" Wang Jinxi led a group of people here to develop the Daqing Oilfield. Qiu Shuang's grandfather, Qiu Yuetai was one of them. Due to the arduous work condition, the first generation of oil workers has experienced many difficulties.

Wang Jinxi's statue. /CGTN Photo

Wang Jinxi's statue. /CGTN Photo

Mechanical breakdown always happened due to the aging parts. In winter, the heaters burn black crude oil with smoke drifting around the room. Yet Qiu Yuetai and his fellow workers stuck to their posts.

"Our generation has ambitions to strengthen our motherland," says Qiu Yuetai.

Influenced by him, after graduated from a vocational school, Qiu Shuang's father, Qiu Dongsheng became a well logging worker at Daqing Oilfield in 1982. His daily work was to use specialized instruments to collect geological data from the ground.

Qiu Dongsheng is a well logging worker at Daqing Oilfield. /CGTN Photo

Qiu Dongsheng is a well logging worker at Daqing Oilfield. /CGTN Photo

Compared with the grandpa, the working condition had not been improved greatly. "At that time, we put on more clothes, but it was not warm enough. We worked around the clock until the logging was completed," says Qiu Dongsheng.

Since 1959, Daqing Oilfield has been continuously transporting oil to other places in China. It has produced 2.37 billion tonnes of crude oil in total while making remarkable achievements in the technology export. In Qiu Shuang's generation, the recovery of oil has increased from 20 percent to 60 percent.

Well drillings at Daqing Oilfield. /CGTN Photo

Well drillings at Daqing Oilfield. /CGTN Photo

All these achievements are inseparable from the efforts of the oil workers. The "Iron Man" spirit does not stand for one person, but for all workers of Daqing Oilfield. In the past 60 years, Qiu Shuang and the elders have witnessed the development of Daqing Oilfield. And they will carry on with the "Iron Man" spirit.