Welder spends half a century perfecting his craft

CHANGSHA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- On June 29, welder Ai Aiguo, wearing his work boots, walked into the Great Hall of the People in the heart of Beijing.

Ai, a member of the Communist Party of China since 1985, was one of the recipients of the July 1 Medal, the highest honor in the Party.

"I wear welders' boots every day. They are the only kind that fit my feet," said Ai, 71, who still works on the production line at an iron and steel company in central China's Hunan Province.

Ai was awarded the medal for his superb craftsmanship and technical innovation during his career of 50-plus years as a dedicated welder.

"In terms of welding skills, I have always demanded perfection from myself," said Ai. "Only through perfection at work can I fulfill my duty of being an exemplary Party member."

Ai began to work as a welder in 1969 at the age of 19. In 1983, he volunteered to complete the challenging task of welding forged red copper and cast copper, using a technique that no welder in the country had ever used before.

Protecting his body against the high heat with a wet quilt and wrapping the welding gun in asbestos rope, Ai worked tirelessly for five months and successfully completed the task. The technical breakthrough won Ai a national award for science and technology.

By constantly perfecting his skills, Ai became a master of welding red copper, a niche skill that has eluded many welders due to the fearsome temperatures of 700 to 800 degrees Celsius that copper components can be heated to.

"Your skin gets tense. Your hands shiver uncontrollably. You don't know how many seconds you can hold the welding gun still," said Ai's apprentice Ou Yong, describing the challenging process of welding red copper. "It is as great an ordeal for the body and the mind."

"In the face of such extreme conditions, it is everyone's instinct to give up. But my master always tackled it head-on," said Ou.

With his outstanding welding skills, Ai has helped solve over 400 technical problems in various industries during his career and has won numerous awards.

"Welding is a job easy to pick up but very difficult to master. Without passion for the profession, a welder will only work in a mechanical fashion and never become innovative," said Ai.

As a leading welder in China, Ai has also devoted himself to passing on his skills to young workers. Over the past five decades, Ai has trained over 600 apprentices, many of whom have been awarded as exemplary workers.

"It is my responsibility to pass on my expertise to the next generation of welders and train them to become skilled workers," he said.