Working on high-voltage power lines is considered by many as a high-risk job. But for some people it's a daily routine.

Standing on towers over 100 meters high and working on ultra-high-voltage (UHV) lines, Wang Jin has been in this job for more than 20 years. He is a team leader at the State Grid Shandong Electric Power Company.

Wang still clearly remembered the first time he touched the power line. "I was really scared because at the moment of contact ... 500,000 volts of electricity hit the gloves," recalled Wang.

The work is even harder for Wang and his colleagues because UHV lines are often set up in remote areas.

Summer in east China's Shandong can be scorching, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius. The steel tower is also hot. "Wearing protective clothes in such weather, you feel dizzy even before you start the shift," he told CGTN.

In 2011, Wang completed the world's first repair work on a 660-kilovolt live-transmission line. The power transmitted by this line was equivalent to one-tenth of the power in the entire province at that time. Wang won the National Science and Technology Progress Award – one of China's highest national honors – for his excellent performance.

China's UHV power grid continues to expand, so Wang and his colleagues have set up an innovation center to address new challenges.

They have introduced more technologies including the use of drones for line inspection and maintenance. 

"We have 240 drones and 80 operators," said Li Min, staff at the maintenance branch of the company. "The goal is to create an unmanned, digital and intelligent line inspection system."

Wang is now a father of two. His family gave him the biggest support. His dedication has made him a role model for young people. Wang Innovation Studio now has nearly 100 members, who had achieved more than 30 technological innovations.

By the end of 2020, a total of 35 UHV projects had been completed or were under construction in China. The total length is 48,000 kilometers. China's electricity network has the highest voltage and the biggest transmission capacity in the world. Thanks to technicians like Wang and his colleges, China hasn't experienced a large-scale blackout in the past 10 years.