Recently, supported by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, jointly produced by the China Association for Science and Technology and the "Belt and Road" channel of CCTV, the 6-episode feature film "Chinese Engineers on the Belt and Road" was launched online. More than 30 Chinese engineers were selected across the country to participate in the recording of the program as narrators, sharing what they saw, heard and felt as participants and builders of the Belt and Road Initiative. Today, I would like to bring you the story of Chen Tianpeng, Deputy General Manager of Africa Star Railway Operating Company.
Do you feel a little nervous when you see these pictures? Some people may ask, "Why aren't these animals in cages?" I'm going to start with these animals.
The place where these animals appeared was where I worked for 7 years – the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway. The Mombasa-Nairobi Railway is located in Kenya, a country in eastern Africa, and I have developed a deep affection for it over the years. The Mombasa-Nairobi Railway is a modern railway built using Chinese standards, Chinese technology and Chinese equipment, and is the flagship project of China's "Belt and Road" initiative.
I arrived in Kenya in June 2016 and participated in the operation and maintenance of the whole process, starting from the static acceptance and joint commissioning and joint test of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway construction stage. The 7 years of working on the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway have been the most valuable experience in my life, and my ability and vision have been comprehensively improved. Now everyone sees in the news that the railway with busy shuttle trains was built and operated by the Kenyan people under the leadership of China Communications Construction Co., Ltd., and the difficulties and difficulties are extremely emotional when you think about it now.
Take animals as an example, the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway is 472 kilometers long, of which more than 100 kilometers are close to or pass through Kenya's largest Tsavo Wildlife Sanctuary. When our employees find an animal in the net on site or on video, they will immediately report it to the company's dispatch center and contact the wildlife police and doctors for disposal. Leopards, lions, and other predators are usually shot with tranquilizer guns, then transported away and released back into the sanctuary when the animals are about to wake up. This is a frequent occurrence, and our on-site staff also have to keep an eye out for poisonous snakes such as cobras, vipers, and black mambas hiding under the rails.
It is the elephant that has the greatest impact on the safety of train operations. Elephants are so large and in herds that the power grid often can't stop them, and at their worst wildlife sanctuaries have elephants on the lines every few kilometres. Once an elephant enters the railway, it will be fatal to the safety of the train. We racked our brains to protect the elephant from being hit, but also to ensure the safety of passenger trains and freight trains, through careful observation and study of the elephant's Xi and rest, to calculate the time period of entering the net, especially before the train passes, increase the frequency of patrol in the section, and effectively prevent elephants from entering the net. We have also contacted wildlife protection police in key areas, used empty bombs and helicopters to drive elephants, and proposed speed limits in areas with high road cuts, small radius curves, and poor sight of train drivers, so as to reduce the risk of elephants on the road. It is precisely because we are vigilant and always careful that we have ensured the safe operation of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway for six years without accidents since its opening.
During the seven years of working on the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, we have gradually learned to live in harmony with wild animals, helping to develop the local economy while protecting their homes to the greatest extent possible and keeping them undisturbed. The most important thing is the relationship with the local people, through the internal staff team building and external social welfare activities to establish a good image of Chinese enterprises, treat the Kenyan people sincerely, let them feel our sincerity, the work will go smoothly, otherwise it is really difficult to move an inch.
The most difficult part was my first year in Kenya, when the local staff had different cultures from those of the Chinese staff, causing many conflicts, and even they misunderstood how to make steamed buns in the canteen. I remember one day, the canteen staff came to tell me that the Kenyan staff were making trouble in the cafeteria and were going to strike. I asked what the specific reason was, and they said that they had eaten steamed buns that day, but the Kenyan driver had never eaten them, and felt that it was discrimination against them. I immediately ran to the cafeteria and patiently explained to the Kenyan staff what steamed buns represent in China and how they are loved by the Chinese, a traditional Chinese delicacy. After full explanation and communication, the two sides gradually cleared up the misunderstanding and sat down together to taste the Chinese steamed buns.
Small frictions like this will often occur, and handling all kinds of relationships is the premise for us to ensure normal work, along the way, we have also been at a loss at the beginning, nervous and panicked to slowly explore a set of mature management models, whether it is with people or animals, nothing can stump us anymore. Now the Kenyan staff are very willing to make dumplings with us during the Spring Festival, moon cakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival, and zongzi for the Dragon Boat Festival, and they have fallen in love with Chinese food culture.
We and our employees have also gone through the process of getting to know each other from the beginning to the present. For example, our assistant dispatch director is a Kenyan guy named Harrison, who has improved rapidly in business and Chinese during the more than 7 years he has been with us. Our Chinese dispatchers come from various railway bureaus in China, and Harrison even understands many Chinese dialects, such as Northeast Chinese, Shaanxi dialect, Hubei dialect, and Sichuan dialect. Since I was going back to China on a business trip and couldn't attend Harrison's wedding, I promised him that I would "go back and invite him and his bride to Chinese food." This promise has always been in my heart, and I will definitely fulfill it.
The most gratifying thing for me is the improvement of the operating performance of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, which has been operating safely for more than 6 years since it was officially put into operation on May 31, 2017. In 2022, the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway will complete the delivery of more than 6.2 million tons of freight and more than 2.4 million passengers, the occupancy rate of passenger trains will be more than 90%, and more than 10,000 passengers will be transported every day during the peak period of local holidays.
Since the opening of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, which has a total of 13 passenger stations, primary and secondary school students from all over Kenya have not diminished their enthusiasm for visiting the 13 passenger stations. During the construction design, the design of one station and one scene is implemented in combination with the characteristics of each station area. For example, the Mombasa station house, close to the sea, looks like a sailboat in front of it, and looks like a ripple of water droplets when viewed from above, and the Mariakani station house, because it is near the coconut grove, the whole is in the shape of a row of coconut trees. According to my rough estimates, these stations receive hundreds of visits every year, and they have almost become patriotic education bases for local primary and secondary school students.
My name is Chen Tianpeng, and I am a Chinese engineer on the Belt and Road Initiative. The operation team of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway has established a good image of Chinese enterprises by strengthening the team building of Chinese and Kenyan employees and actively participating in social welfare activities, and the engineers of the Chinese and Kenyan railways have also formed a deep friendship.
Source: "Voice of the Association for Science and Technology" WeChat public account