Zhou Xianghu： Dreamer under the Tower of Babel

Photography: Wang Sijiang

[Biography] Zhou Xianghu, male, born in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, joined the army in June 2001. He is currently an engineer at the Wenchang Launch Site Engineering Construction Command. In the case of near blindness, he participated in the construction of a new generation of space launch sites in China, and built the Babel of the Long March 5 and Long March 7 launch vehicles, and won the first class. In 2014, he was awarded the fifth "National Model of Self-improvement", and in 2016, he was awarded the "National Upward Good Youth", which was cordially received by the Chairman of the Supreme Leader.

Cctv news(Reporter Guo Cheng) On June 25, 2016, Wenchang, China, was shocked by a fire. The Long March 7 launch vehicle made its perfect debut, and the Wenchang Space Launch Site was amazing and bright. China Aerospace started a new "Long March" in this ancient town in Qiongbei.

Looking at the towering tower, Zhou Xianghu, an engineer of Wenchang launch site engineering construction headquarters, has vague and clear eyes. Blurred, because his left eye has no light perception, and his right eye naked vision is only 0.04. Clear, because he witnessed the launch site from blueprint to reality, from Longlou town to the world.

"Exploring the vast universe, developing the space industry and building a space power are our unremitting pursuit of space dreams." The supreme leader’s entrustment is still in my ears. The tide of reforming and strengthening the army is surging, and China’s new generation of high-thrust launch vehicle Long March 5 is waiting to go out. Zhou Xianghu looks after the Babel &hellip, which holds up the "ice arrow", like caring for his own eyes; …

Rivet on the construction site like a nail

In August, 2007, in order to promote the sustainable development of the space industry and meet the needs of the launch mission of a new generation of launch vehicles and new spacecraft, the CPC Central Committee was far-sighted, and the State Council and the Central Military Commission approved the decision to build a new space launch site in Wenchang, Hainan. On September 14th, 2009, the Wenchang Space Launch Site officially started construction.

"The need of the space industry is the choice of space warriors." Zhou Xianghu volunteered and moved to Hainan with his comrades-in-arms, and ran from land to island, becoming the first entrepreneurs in the construction of a new generation of space launch sites in China.

At that time, bushes and thorns were all around, and snakes, insects, rats and ants frequently appeared. The harsh environment of high temperature, high humidity and high salt spray is even more unbearable: every rainy day, the ground is damp, the clothes are moldy, and the 6-square-meter board shed is like a steamer. A desk works during the day and becomes a bed when the mat is spread at night.

The hardships at the beginning of starting a business failed to stop the trudgers. In order to complete the task of border reconnaissance as soon as possible, Zhou Xianghu, like a tireless pioneer cow, wears a straw hat to shade the sun, holds a firewood knife to open the way, and carries measuring equipment all day long to shuttle through the bush jungle and back and forth to the swamp paddy field. When mosquitoes and leeches bite, Zhou Xianghu is covered in bags, and the whole body is peeled off by the scorching sun. The long-distance field survey on foot has made his feet full of bubbles.

At the turn of summer and autumn in 2011, the construction of the launch site project entered a decisive battle stage to seize the construction period and ensure the quality. More than 150 major projects have been started in succession, and the construction of the launch towers of Long March 7 and Long March 5, which have the most complicated technology and the highest quality requirements, is in full swing. As a site management representative, Zhou Xianghu riveted on the construction site like a nail, covered with soil in sunny days and mud in rainy days.

At the beginning of September, the diversion channel was concreted, and the amount of concrete poured at one time was as high as more than 3000 cubic meters. Because pouring can’t stop, Zhou Xianghu stayed at the construction site for more than 30 hours. The scorching sun, the heat wave attacking people, the surface temperature of steel bars exceeds 60℃, and sweat and steam are mixed with cement ash, which makes people’s eyes cry.

"The other eye is dedicated to it without regrets."

The project went smoothly, but unfortunately it came quietly. Zhou Xianghu, who was already highly nearsighted, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head and blacked out at the moment because of long-term exposure to strong sunlight, electric welding arc stimulation and overwork. When he held the steel bar and recovered, his eyes were blurred. At night, even if you open your eyes wide, there is only a very weak sense of light.

That night, Zhou Xianghu lay motionless in bed, and his mind was blank. He didn’t dare to turn off the lights or close his eyes, for fear that what little light was left would disappear. "I really can’t see? Will my dream come true? " Zhou Xianghu repeatedly asked himself if he could return to the launch site, see the big rocket take off, and watch his daughter grow up slowly … …

The sky is full of people! After the full treatment of Beijing medical experts, Zhou Xianghu’s right eye was saved!

According to people’s instinctive judgment, this young man’s space dream will be shattered — — A person who is completely blind in his left eye and wears 1200-degree glasses in his right eye with a vision of only 0.25 can’t see the drawings clearly, and even his own life is affected.

Zhou Xianghu is faced with a life choice: whether to accept other jobs arranged by the organization and leaders or to rest. Zhou Xianghu asked the organization to return to the construction line.

After a short period of treatment and recovery, Zhou Xianghu returned to the launch site. Facing the vague tower in front of him, he firmly believes: "If I choose, I will stick to it. Even if I give my other eye to it, I have no regrets."

"If your eyesight drops, your standards must not drop."

In the days when he first returned to the construction site, Zhou Xianghu faced much more difficulties than expected. At that time, my eyes were red and swollen, and even when I ate, I was smoked by the hot air, and my tears could not stop flowing downwards. The sun shines and the sea breeze blows, and Zhou Xianghu’s eyes are sore. "If your eyesight drops, the standard must not drop." Zhou Xianghu said.

Photography: Wang Sijiang

Dense data, one can’t be wrong, which is very difficult for normal people, especially for Zhou Xianghu. In order to make sure he didn’t make mistakes, he carried a magnifying glass with him, kept his eyes on the drawing and read it line by line. After watching it for a few minutes, his eyes hurt, so he closed his eyes and looked down again.

In this way, Zhou Xianghu carved the drawings of two stations piled up more than 1 meter high into his mind.

In July 2014, the once-in-a-century super typhoon "rammasun" landed near the launch site, which is undoubtedly a big test for the newly completed tower.

Two hours before the typhoon, the maximum instantaneous wind force of meteorological warning will reach 17, which exceeds the upper limit of wind resistance of the tower. Although it has been reinforced, Zhou Xianghu is still uneasy and insists on climbing up to have a look.

When the colleague saw it, he grabbed him: "You are not dying! The wind is so strong, the rain is so urgent, and the eyes are not good. What should I do if there is an accident? "

At this time, Zhou Xianghu had only one thought in his heart: "The safety of the tower is more important than life! Go! Must go! " He took the comrades of the construction unit to risk the typhoon coming at any time, held the handrail tightly, checked the key parts one by one, and confirmed the important equipment one by one. Two towers, more than 1100 steps, every step, the danger is close to one point, and every step, the worry is less.

Zhou Xianghu had just returned to the dormitory when the typhoon came. That night, his heart swayed like a coconut tree outside the window and suffered greatly. At dawn, Zhou Xianghu took everyone to the tower in the rain and re-examined it layer by layer. When he was sure that the subject was safe and sound, his brows, which had been locked, unfolded.

"I am ashamed of my family, but I have no regrets about the launch site."

Wenchang Space Launch Site is a national project. In the eyes of Zhou Xiang Tiger, this is his "home".

For this "home", Zhou Xianghu poured his heart into it. The "imbalance" of the emotional balance even makes parents, wives and daughters a little jealous.

His father suffered from uremia for many years until his death in early 2015, and Zhou Xianghu failed to take time to take care of it; Mother’s sciatica often attacks, and he can only tell comfort on the phone; I have been married to my wife for 13 years, and the two places have separated so far, gathering less and leaving more … …

In 2011, Zhou Xianghu went home to recuperate after surgery, which was the longest time for him to accompany his daughter. "It happened to be my birthday when I went home for a few days. When I ate the cake, I asked her to blow out the candles with me. The daughter said, ‘ Dad is afraid of the dark, so I don’t blow ’ I suddenly jumped into my arms and tears ran down my arm. "

Now, my daughter is in junior high school, and the time spent together between father and daughter is less than one year. "The first time I met her, she was just born. The second time I met her, she was already able to talk and walk. Later, she went to kindergarten … …” Every time I think about this, Zhou Xianghu will have a dull pain in his heart.

Photography: Wang Sijiang

Zhou Xianghu also has a dream of reunion in his heart, but when he thinks that the launch tower he supervised will send the motherland’s big rocket and manned space station into space, and the exploration of the moon will also take this place as the home port, and China Aerospace will start its journey to further deep space from here, he feels that it is worthwhile to pay more.

Zhou Xianghu was ashamed of his family, but he had no regrets about the launch site and the space dream. The medal of "National Model of Self-improvement", "National Upward Good Youth" and the first-class merit medal shining on his chest are praise for his spirit of self-improvement.

Compared with these, he is even more proud of personally testing more than 15,000 tons of steel bars, more than 11,000 tons of section steel, more than 90,000 cubic meters of concrete, and more than 9,000 meters of steel column welds. Participated in exploring and innovating 12 new construction technologies and techniques, and many achievements were applied in the construction of launch site; Two launching stations were rated as excellent quality and safety inspection projects of the whole army … …

Every generation has a long March for each generation; Every generation must take its own long March.

Looking at the tower, Zhou Xianghu is full of confidence: "This is my long March! Even if you are blind, you must move on! " (Zhang Wenjun and Li Zhangwei contributed to this article)

　　In an exclusive interview, Zhou Xianghu said hello to the vast number of CCTV netizens and wrote his heart in person. Photography: Guo Cheng