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Tower crane operator captures breathtaking pictures from 270 meters up

(People's Daily Online) 09:27, July 25, 2022

Photo shows tower cranes surrounded by thick fog captured by Zhao Weixin, a tower crane operator. (Photo from the official Weibo account of China Transport News)

Tower crane operator Zhao Weixin has taken advantage of his position at the highest point of the construction site of a bridge in Yibin city, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, to capture the beauty of the city.

Zhao has worked as a crane operator for 16 years and managed to shoot some breathtaking photos, which have won widespread praise, from his sky-high working position.

The 34-year-old man began to work as a tower crane operator at the construction site of the Yibin Lingang Yangtze River Bridge in Yibin in early 2020.

Zhao’s job is to sit in the cabin over 270 meters in the air, listen to instructions from the phone, and operate the tower crane to transport building materials.

Photo shows tower cranes surrounded by thick fog captured by Zhao Weixin, a tower crane operator. (Photo from the official Weibo account of China Transport News)

Zhao begins his work at 6 a.m. He takes lifts to a height of 180 meters, climbs up more than 80 meters, and enters a 2-square-meter cabin to operate the tower crane.

He said that his workload is heavy. “Keeping safe is the most important thing, and the work requires great care and patience,” he said, adding that he has to drink less water so that he doesn’t have to climb up and down the high tower crane so frequently to go to the toilet.

Zhao took up photography as a hobby, and since taking his camera to work, has captured amazing sights from high above.

Photo shows tower cranes surrounded by thick fog captured by Zhao Weixin, a tower crane operator. (Photo from the official Weibo account of China Transport News)

Although his job is monotonous and hard, Zhao always feels proud of his work and the tall buildings that stand in his hometown, as he has taken part in the construction of many projects there. “I feel a great sense of achievement doing this job,” he said.

Stretching about 1,742 meters in length, the Yibin Lingang Yangtze River Bridge is the world’s first bridge with a flat layout embedding both highway lanes and railway tracks. With a width of about 64 meters and a main span of 522 meters, it is the widest road-rail cable-stayed bridge with the longest span of its type in the world.

Photo shows the bridge surrounded by thick fog captured by Zhao Weixin, a tower crane operator. (Photo from the official Weibo account of China Transport News)