◎ Core Report studio Zheng Ke
▲ On January 28, 2007, at the groundbreaking ceremony of Unit 4 of Qinshan Phase II Nuclear Power Plant, Zhao Hong announced the start of construction
"Talking about nuclear power in China cannot avoid Qinshan, and talking about nuclear power in Qinshan cannot be ignored without mentioning Zhao Hong", this is a mantra in China's nuclear power circles. Since the age of 18, from the endless desert of Inner Mongolia to the vast Gobi in the northwest, from the great southwest ravine to the coast of Hangzhou Bay, Zhao Hong has switched from one construction site to another, and his footprints have traveled all over the motherland. He fulfilled the vow he made when he was young: "I will go wherever I need to build." ”
Zhao Hong's achievements are worth boasting. He has been engaged in the construction industry for more than 50 years, and has made outstanding achievements in municipal construction, steel industry, nuclear fuel system, nuclear power plant, petrochemical industry construction and many other fields. Some of the large-scale projects he has participated in and presided over at home and abroad have gone down in history. As the vice minister of the Ministry of Nuclear Industry and the general manager of Qinshan Nuclear Power Company, zhao Hong can be said to be the most loyal witness and participant in the development of the nuclear industry in New China, especially the history of nuclear power construction, from the ditches and bumps in the early stage of nuclear power construction, to the great development of China's nuclear power.
Zhao Hong was born in 1933 to a family of commoners in Beijing. His father was an ordinary printing worker in the old society, and his family was not well-off. In his later years, Zhao Hong also mentioned to his family his childhood anecdotes: stuffing pickles into the nest as dry food, starting from Guozijian Street with his brother and walking for most of the day to the Summer Palace.
Due to his poor family, Zhao Hong lost the opportunity to enter high school and enter university. In the autumn of 1948, at the age of 15, Zhao Hong entered the Beijing Institute of Technology (now Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture) to study "civil engineering". At that time, as a child of a "poor family", Zhao Hong's idea was very simple: on the one hand, this school could reduce the burden on the family by including food and accommodation; on the other hand, he could learn a craft in this construction vocational school and earn money to supplement the family earlier.
In fact, at that time, the teaching staff of Beijing Industrial School was very strong. The school has invited knowledgeable and experienced teachers from tsinghua, Peking University and other famous schools to teach students basic knowledge and professional knowledge such as cartography, mechanics, housing construction, and surveying and mapping. The school's good learning style and the rigorous attitude of the teachers deeply infected Zhao Hong. At this school, Zhao Hong learned a solid basic knowledge of the construction industry and developed a good habit of loving learning.
In 1951, when New China had just been founded and the country was in ruins waiting to be rebuilt, Zhao Hong graduated. From 1951 to 1954, Zhao Hong worked as a technician in the Beijing Construction Bureau, engaged in the construction of small roads and bridges. During this period, the Beijing Municipal Government decided to transform a 300-400-meter-long section of Chang'an Avenue on the south side of the Tiananmen Jinshui Bridge from asphalt road to stone pavement. Zhao Hong happened to be in charge of the organization and management of the project. To this day, this section of Chang'an Avenue still basically retains the style after the transformation of that year.
In August 1955, Zhao Hong was sent to the Soviet Union for an internship at the Krivorrog Steel Company, where his specific work was civil engineering construction. During his study abroad, Zhao Hong learned the advanced experience of the "big brother" of the Soviet Union and broadened his horizons. What is even more valuable is that he has mastered the site management experience of large-scale infrastructure projects in practice, which has laid a solid foundation for participating in a series of major project management in the future.
After Zhao Hong returned to China, he was organizationally reassigned to work at the Architectural Research Institute of the Ministry of Heavy Industry. But as a Chinese from old China, Zhao Hong especially cherishes the new life in front of him, and he can't wait to give full play to his strengths in site management to contribute to the construction of new China. Therefore, Zhao Hong, together with several students studying in the Soviet Union, found the leader of the Ministry of Heavy Industry and solemnly said: "We want to go to the place where the motherland needs it most!" ”
In September 1956, Zhao Hong was sent to the construction site of the Baotou Iron and Steel Company, which had just started construction, as a site director of the Second Engineering Company. At that time, the basic living facilities of Baotou Steel were very imperfect, and the living conditions were extremely difficult. But this did not weaken Zhao Hong's enthusiasm for work, and he gradually grew into a real engineer in Baosteel.
After the establishment of the Second Aircraft Department in the 1950s, a number of elite soldiers were drawn from various fraternal departments. In April 1959, Zhao Hong was ordered to be transferred to the northwest to participate in the construction of Jiuquan Atomic Energy Joint Enterprise (No. 404 Factory). Since then, Zhao Hong has begun an indissoluble relationship with China's nuclear industry. After 10 years of struggle, the 404 factory was basically completed, but due to the deterioration of the international environment, China's nuclear industry has begun a vigorous "third-line" construction. In April 1970, Zhao Hong entered the mountains in northern Sichuan and participated in the construction of the 821 Factory, serving as the director of the Engineering Agency.
▲ After the construction of Qinshan Began, Zhao Hong (right) accompanied Tie Ying (left), then secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, to inspect the construction site
In April 1982, Zhao Hong was appointed Vice Minister of Nuclear Industry. In 1985, China's first self-designed and built Qinshan nuclear power plant officially started construction. Soon, Zhao Hong was appointed by the State Council as the general manager of the project. Due to the lack of experience and technology accumulation, and the lack of a complete quality assurance system for civil nuclear facilities in China, some problems were exposed in the construction of qinshan nuclear power plant in 1986. These problems have been exaggerated by some people who do not understand the real situation, and have been directly reflected in the high level, and the central authorities attach great importance to them. More unfortunately, in the same year, a serious accident occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union, which directly led to the construction of the Qinshan nuclear power plant being pushed to the forefront of public opinion. In this regard, Li Peng, then vice premier of the State Council, was very cautious and set up a high-level inspection team to go to Qinshan to investigate.
On the eve of the Spring Festival in 1987, Zhao Hong, who was attending the Spring Festival group meeting at the guest house of the Ministry of Nuclear Industry on Nanlishi Road in Beijing, was urgently summoned to Zhongnanhai to attend the meeting. At the meeting, the unanimous opinions of the experts of the investigation team were read out: The overall quality of the Construction Project of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant is qualified, but there are indeed many problems that must be taken seriously and seriously solved.
After the meeting, Li Peng stopped Zhao Hong and said: "Comrade Zhao Hong, you are engaged in infrastructure construction work and are more familiar with the scene. But Li Peng's last words made Zhao Hong's ears thunderous: "What is wrong with you!" "It was rare in those days for a leading comrade of the State Council to appoint a deputy ministerial-level leader by name to a grass-roots unit as general manager.
In 1987, the State Council issued Document No. 15 (1987), appointing Zhao Hong as the general manager of Qinshan Nuclear Power Company. On March 2, 1987, the party group of the Ministry of Nuclear Industry decided to establish the Qinshan Nuclear Power Company of the Ministry of Nuclear Industry in accordance with the spirit of the State Council document, and appointed Zhao Hong as the general manager of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Company.
At that time, there was only one way left for Zhao Hong: only success, no failure!
▲ On March 20, 1986, Zhao Hong inspected and guided the work at the Qinshan nuclear power construction site
Despite the unprecedented pressure, Zhao Hong silently took the heavy responsibility of Rushan on his shoulders and immediately rushed to the Qinshan nuclear power construction site. At this time, Qinshan has become the focus of everyone's attention, and inspection teams have poured into Qinshan one after another to carry out a comprehensive inspection of the quality of the project. Experts and professors from relevant scientific research units and colleges and universities raised more than 1400 questions about the design alone, and the designers replied to them, which lasted for 10 months. In the face of pressure from all sides, in order to stabilize the "military heart" of thousands of employees, Zhao Hong once loudly promised those who harbor doubts at the construction site: "If the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant cannot operate safely, this historical responsibility is borne by me!" ”
While responding to the doubts, Zhao Hong is also thinking about how to put Qinshan nuclear power construction on the right track. Zhao Hong recalled in an interview in his later years: "After I arrived in Qinshan, I first realized that the project was not in line with international standards. Although we have a wealth of experience in nuclear engineering before, there is still a difference in nuclear power, and there must be an internationally recognized quality assurance system. He believes that "to solve the previous problems can only 'cure the symptoms', if you want to 'cure the root causes', you must build a steel defense line to defend the quality of the project and prevent the problem from happening." ”
Soon, Zhao Hong and his comrades began to establish a complete quality assurance system in accordance with national laws and regulations: design, equipment, construction must have a complete approved quality assurance outline and detailed rules; participants must have qualifications; the use of materials must be qualified; all work has traceability and set up special personnel to supervise in a timely manner, and finally according to the project acceptance ... Layer by layer supervision, interlocking, to ensure that the quality of the project meets the requirements.
In terms of engineering quality, Zhao Hong has never compromised in any way. Projects suspected of quality problems have been reworked, some have been re-experimented, and cooperation and exchanges with the international community have been strengthened, and the safety factor of the safety system has been increased. Zhao Hong once stressed at the conference: "Quality is not guaranteed, and no matter how much effort is made, it will be in vain." Everything is done according to the procedure, and if something goes wrong, it will not be tolerated! Afterwards, Zhao Hong concluded: "If the construction of Qinshan Nuclear Power in that year was not in line with international standards and did not establish a strict quality assurance system, it would not have been built." Even if it is built, it will not be recognized. ”
After a series of renovations, the construction of Qinshan Nuclear Power was on track after October 1987.
▲ Zhao Hong (2nd from left), Ouyang Yu (3rd from left), and Chen Yanzhi (center) at the construction site in Qinshan
Due to work reasons, Zhao Hong and his family gather less and leave more. In the memory of his son Zhao Yibing, it was not until 1977 that Zhao Hong was transferred to the second machine department, and the father and son spent time together really more. According to Zhao Yibing, "My father always taught me: 'Be a decent person.'" In reality, he led by example. In life, I can truly feel the two most valuable qualities of my father, that is, 'selflessness' and 'responsibility'. ”
Zhao Yibing said: "The starting point of my father's work is to build the project the best. To this end, he never considered his own gains and losses and personal future. At the same time, decades of work experience at the grassroots level have enabled Zhao Hong to develop a style of daring to act and never shirking responsibility. People familiar with Zhao Hong know that he has a mantra: "If something goes wrong, I am responsible!" Whenever the Qinshan construction site encountered difficulties, he stepped forward to block the pressure from all sides.
At that time, dampers imported from a U.S. company were seized by U.S. Customs and were not allowed to be shipped to China. Zhao Hong immediately made a decision: "We developed it ourselves." Later, after the main pump imported from Germany was transported to the site, it was found that the size was not suitable. The German side proposed to return to the factory for repairs, but who knows if it will become a "nother damper"? Amid the controversy, the document was given to Zhao Hong for signature. Considering that quality is the first, he decisively decided to "send it back to the German side for maintenance." Fortunately, the German side fulfilled its promise and repaired it on time and sent it back to China. In the process of the construction of the first phase of Qinshan Nuclear Power, how many obstacles have been crossed, and how many times Zhao Hong, as the general manager, has made a board at a critical moment, the specific number is no longer clear.
In April 1989, at the invitation of China, the IAEA sent 11 nuclear experts from eight countries (including the United States and France) to conduct a safety assessment of the quality of the first phase of the Qinshan nuclear power project. After 3 months of careful inspection, the experts finally reported to my Government that the quality was satisfactory, there were no safety problems and it was expected that it would be a high-quality nuclear power plant.
▲ Zhao Hong at the stamp launch ceremony of "Qinshan Nuclear Power Station"
On December 15, 1991, in the eyes of doubt at home and abroad, Qinshan Nuclear Power was officially connected to the grid for power generation. Zou Jiahua, then vice premier of the State Council, wrote four big characters in his pen, "Glory of the Country."
After many years, after retiring, Zhao Hong summed up the many major projects he had been involved in the construction industry for more than half a century and sighed to his family: "Among these projects, I think it is still the qinshan nuclear power phase I project that is the most difficult, but it is also the most 'brilliant'. The most important point of Qinshan Phase I is to open the way for the construction and operation of nuclear power in China. After I die, you will bury my ashes in Qinshan. ”
Just 15 days after the breakthrough of zero nuclear power in Chinese mainland, China and Pakistan signed an agreement in Beijing to cooperate in the construction of pakistan's Chashma nuclear power plant with the Qinshan nuclear power plant as a reference. The Chasima project was the first commercial export nuclear power plant designed and built by China itself, and it was the largest high-tech complete set of export projects in China at that time.
Because it is the "first time to eat crabs", China has no experience in exporting commercial nuclear power plants to foreign countries. Zhao Hong recalled afterwards that there was still a great controversy within the Ministry of Nuclear Industry about the export of nuclear power to Pakistan. At that time, the chinese side asked the Pakistani side for the Chasima nuclear power unit 1 (C1 project) of 560 million US dollars, and the contradiction mainly focused on two points: one is whether the Pakistani side has sufficient solvency; the other is whether the asking price to the Pakistani side is low. In addition, the export of nuclear power is not only a huge system technology project, but also involves international geopolitics, which is extremely variable. However, Zhao Hong, together with Chen Zhaobo, then vice minister of the Ministry of Nuclear Industry, and others, vigorously opposed public opinion and firmly advocated that China's nuclear industry should take this "first step."
In 1993, Zhao Hong represented the Chinese side as the general manager of the Chasima project. On August 1 of the same year, the C1 project began. Zhao Hong, who returned to Beijing from the Qinshan nuclear power construction site, did not take a break from his armor and immediately rushed to Pakistan. After 8 years, Zhao Hong has traveled between China and Pakistan more than 30 times, ranging from months to days at the Chasima nuclear power plant site. He led the Chinese project team to complete the project with high quality, which was praised by the Pakistani side. In June 2000, the C1 project was connected to the grid for the first time to generate electricity, and was praised by then Premier Zhu Rongji as "a successful model of South-South cooperation".
In fact, with the second venture of the nuclear industry, CNNC began to undertake the construction of the Algerian 15 MW heavy water research reactor project in 1987, which launched the "first shot" of China's civilian nuclear technology exports. At that time, Zhao Hong was also a strong advocate of the export of the project. In the process of "going out" abroad, there is an imminent problem, that is, China's nuclear industry lacks independent foreign legal entities. Therefore, Zhao Hong and others also proposed and led the organization of the establishment of the current China Zhongyuan Foreign Engineering Co., Ltd., so that China's nuclear industry "going out" is once again on the right track.
Looking back, decades of practice have proved that zhao Hong and others were correct in their opinions at that time, and it can be said that they contributed to the successful first step of China's nuclear industry in "going out".
When he was the general manager of Qinshan Nuclear Power Company, Zhao Hong was already in his 50s. At the project site, he is still the intruder who led the infrastructure team to the north and south of the river. He climbed the equivalent of dozens of floors every day at the construction site. On a phone call, he ran into the 18-meter-high main control room or 10-meter-deep basement to study and solve the problem. The cadres and workers on the construction site were infected by his enthusiasm for work, and everyone's morale was unprecedentedly high. However, when Qinshan Nuclear Power began to make a final sprint towards "grid-connected power generation", Zhao Hong found that his body collapsed little by little in the high-intensity labor.
Zhao Hong first realized that something was wrong with his body in the summer of 1991, when he was holding a summary meeting on the construction of the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant in Moganshan, Zhejiang Province. After the meeting, he slipped on the flat ground, resulting in a fracture. Fractures are easy to treat, but after several hospital examinations, it was confirmed that there was a problem with the cervical spine - severe hyperplasia compresses the central nervous system, requiring timely surgery, and if the situation continues to deteriorate, there is a risk of paralysis.
At that time, Qinshan Nuclear Power had entered the commissioning stage, and the affairs were very busy, and Zhao Hong chose to continue to insist on work. But after several consecutive falls at the site, he had to undergo two major surgeries in 1992 and 1993. These two surgeries are more risky, and a little carelessness may cause high paraplegia. For the future work, Zhao Hong has great hopes for surgery and cooperates well with doctors for treatment. Because the operation went smoothly, Zhao Hong continued to gallop at the site of nuclear power construction after recovery.
In the early years, he participated in the construction of the 404 factory, and because Jiayuguan belonged to the most difficult area of the "twelfth category", Zhao Hong could get a higher subsidy every month in addition to his salary. To this end, Zhao Hong also joked to his family: "I can earn 40 bottles of Maotai a month." (Moutai was about 4 yuan / bottle at the time) "In his spare time, Zhao Hong occasionally poured himself a drink to relieve his fatigue. In fact, among the many liquors, Zhao Hong prefers "Wuliangye", and this preference has followed him for the rest of his life. In 1977, after Zhao Hong was transferred back to Beijing to work, he went home at night to eat and drank two cups of his own drink every three or five minutes. He didn't drink much at a time, about two or two or so.
After 2008, Zhao Hong returned to tiantian to live a regular retirement life at home. He has a hobby of shopping, and famous commercial streets in Beijing such as Xidan, Dongdan and Wangfujing have left his footprints. In addition to shopping, Zhao Hong also loves to take his wife and children to the restaurant. But he has no special requirements for the taste of the meal, and the most important thing is to taste early and be happy.
Today, Zhao Hong, who is nearly ninety years old, is still concerned about the development of the nuclear industry. Because Zhao Yibing later also worked in the field of nuclear industry construction, the father and son were considered to be "peers" and had a common language when they talked. Zhao Yibing said: "My father often asked me about the progress of various projects, from site management to the resolution of contradictions, and he understood it very carefully. Sometimes, he also gives me some of his own opinions and suggestions. I can feel the heart of an old nuclear industry man. ”
Planning | Yang Jinfeng
Edit | MaHan