Yangtze River Bridge: A railway policeman's last Spring Festival travel season

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We now turn to Wuhan in central China, to meet Huang Xiaoyong, a railway policeman who's as old as the Yangtze River Bridge. And for a number of years now, he's been making sure that the express trains that cross the bridge do so safely.

This is the last Spring Festival travel season for Huang Xiaoyong on the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge.

On snowy days, the sidewalks on both sides of the bridge are covered with snow. And after the rain they are icy and slippery.

HUANG XIAOYONG, RAILWAY POLICE OFFICER WUHAN YANGTZE RIVER BRIDGE POLICE STATION "There are 32 cameras on the bridge, but there are blind areas where we can't see things that have been thrown from the train. So we need to do these patrols to find those things and clear them away."

The Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge was the first bridge to be built across the Yangtze River. Since then, it's been a lifeline connecting the north and the south.

This year is the 60th anniversary of the opening of the Yangtze River Bridge. We're the same age. Sometimes I say, we are brothers.

Patrolling the railway may seem dull, but it's important. Over the years, Huang Xiaoyong's daily 3-kilometer roundtrip on the bridge has now added up to a total of 50,000 kilometers .

The trains didn't used to have toilet waste water collection systems. When we patrolled the railway, if there was a train passing by, we could get splashed with human waste. Everybody envied us for being able to look at the Gui Shan scenery on one side and the Yellow Crane Tower on the other. But after hearing what I've just told you, they changed their minds.

Huang Xiaoyong knows nearly everything about the bridge, like an old friend. The track workers and local shopkeepers affectionately call him "Old Huang". But today it's time to say goodbye.

"I will retire soon. I hope the Yangtze River Bridge stays strong and secure forever."