"To do simple things diligently makes one master; to do complex things diligently makes one keen."

This is the hallmark of China's engineers, who are devoted to making the country's high-speed trains with perfection, precision and persistence.

"Yikouqing (一口清)", meaning "getting it done all in once" in Chinese, is a skill that requires a worker to memorize all the details of the operation procedure and recite them without mistakes. Although mastering this skill is a challenge, it is essential for every technician at CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicle (CRRC Changchun), a company located in Changchun, Jilin Province in northeast China. 

Founded in 1954, the company's workers have overseen the growth of Chinese electric multiple units (EMUs). It is the company behind the "Fuxing" Chinese standard EMU with a top speed of 350 km/h, which is one of the most advanced EMUs in the world.

Behind the great success of the company, there is a diligent team polishing their skills with practice, patience and persistence. The company has already established a five-level appraisal system for skilled personnel, which increases the enthusiasm of the team for assiduous study. The spirit of craftsmanship is a symbolic representation of their enthusiasm.

In CRRC Changchun, achieving "Yikouqing" is a basic requirement for every technician who has just graduated from college. 

"These files cover the procedure, standards and other requirements of the operation. Therefore, 'Yikouqing' can not only help new workers adapt to the new working environment quickly but also provide a primary guarantee of the quality of our products," Hu Junxiang, a technician from the company, told CGTN.

Apart from "Yikouqing," CRRC Changchun also holds a series of activities to create a working atmosphere where a rigorous attitude is advocated. The first 10 workers to tighten 10,000 bolts and match 10,000 wires correctly are listed on a noticeboard as role models to encourage others.

Technicians at CRRC Changchun carry forward craftsmanship with practice, persistence and the pursuit of excellence.

Hu Junxiang, 44, is a rolling stock electrician at CRRC Changchun's high-speed Motor Train Units manufacturing center. His routine involves welding, inspecting and sorting wires within a few millimeters of a train's underside. 

Wire welding is the first step in determining the proper functioning of the train's control systems, a process that requires a high degree of precision and skill. To get to this point, Hu has worked on hundreds of wires a day for 25 years.

As technology has advanced, the number of electric wires in vehicles has multiplied. To improve efficiency, inspired by telephone signal transmission, Hu and his colleagues initiated the automatic detection system for electrical circuit conduction, to ensure perfect wiring accuracy.

During the past 25 years, Hu has obtained 13 national invention patents and utility model patents and more than 130 technical achievements. According to Hu, the spirit of craftsmanship is both an ideal and a means. It is the dream of every worker and practitioner, and the realization of this ideal depends on persistence and accumulation day after day. This is the spirit of craftsmanship. 

Hu said that through learning theory can be mastered, but learning alone does not make a craftsman. The craftsman must also learn through practice, and only through practice can the spirit of craftsmanship be formed.

Han Dongning, 49, a senior CRRC Changchun skills expert, has been in charge of commissioning trains for nearly 30 years. To him, the spirit of craftsmanship is a rigorous, persistent and perfect working attitude. 

"High-speed trains are an important means of transportation for people's daily travel," Han said. "We must use a rigorous attitude to produce the best performance of products to repay the needs of social users and the cultivation of enterprises."

It is because of decades of perseverance and the pursuit of excellence that CRRC Changchun workshops can set more records, produce more sophisticated vehicles and equipment, and enhance the reputation of the Chinese standard EMU across the world.

(Zhao Xiao, Yin Yue from the Communication University of China also contributed to the story.)