news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

"Do earth-shaking things and remain anonymous." This sentence is the best spiritual portrayal of the older generation who have devoted themselves to the nuclear power industry without hesitation.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the explosion of my country's first atomic bomb and the 50th anniversary of the commissioning of my country's first nuclear submarine. Half a century ago, the older generation of "pioneers" responded to the great call of "nuclear submarines must be developed even if it takes 10,000 years" and rushed to the deep mountains in the southwest of the motherland. On the basis of poverty and backwardness, they built my country's first generation of land-based nuclear submarine reactors and successfully developed my country's first nuclear submarine, marking the beginning of my country's nuclear power industry.

The picture shows the entrance to the 909 base. Photo by Li Xinzhe

On July 18, the media tour "The Confidence of a Great Power Comes from Nuclear Power: Retracing the Road of Nuclear Industry" entered the 909 Base in Jiajiang County, Leshan City, Sichuan Province, visited the first-generation nuclear submarine research and development experimental base, traced the entrepreneurial footprints of the nuclear industry's predecessors, deeply felt the arduous and glorious struggle history of the nuclear industry, and comprehended the "four everything" nuclear industry spirit that condenses the spiritual outlook of nuclear industry people, and promoted the nuclear industry spirit of the new era while inheriting history.

Base 909 is the code name for "China's first generation nuclear submarine research and development experimental base". It is the original base of the China Nuclear Power Research and Design Institute. It has witnessed the extraordinary journey of my country's nuclear power industry from scratch to something, from weak to strong, and step by step to glory. It is known as the "Cradle of China's Nuclear Power Engineering."

The staff who had just arrived at the base drank water from the rice fields and ponds, and built their own thatched huts and dry-rammed earth houses. Key equipment had to be transported to the site after crossing more than ten kilometers of mountain roads. Gao Xingdou, one of the first operators of the first-generation nuclear submarine land-based reactor, recalled: "When we arrived at this place, the conditions were quite difficult. You can go to the ravines in Jiajiang to see that there was only a narrow path from the ravine to the outside, so we first had to open the mountain to build a gravel road."

File photo

However, even under such difficult conditions, the design of 15 laboratories including physical thermal engineering, structure, stress, welding, hydraulics, chemistry, and control was carried out one after another.

The development of the Long March 1 also faced challenges such as lack of data and no external support. The only way was to rely on the scientific and technological personnel to dare to think and act, eliminate all kinds of interference, strictly follow the guiding principle of everything being tested, and cross the river by feeling the stones step by step. It took only five years from the initial site selection to the realization of full-power operation, which is amazing.

In August 1970, the reactor was successfully tested at full power. Peng Shilu, the on-site chief, immediately called Premier Zhou to report. In December 1970, China's first nuclear submarine was launched. After a four-year test phase, it was officially named "Long March No. 1" in Bohai Bay. Since then, China has become the fifth country in the world to own a nuclear submarine, which has greatly improved my country's international status.

The "09" spirit of "self-reliance, innovation and collaboration, truth-seeking and pragmatism, hard work and dedication" has influenced generations of nuclear power people. In the course of more than 50 years of development, the Nuclear Power Institute has adhered to the principle of "independent innovation and climbing to the top", and has successively designed and built my country's first generation of land-based nuclear submarine model reactors, the first high-throughput engineering test reactor, the first pulse reactor, the Minjiang reactor, two zero-power devices and other nuclear facilities. Through three entrepreneurial ventures, the Nuclear Power Institute has successively built three generations of national nuclear power research and development platforms, continuously improving my country's nuclear power technology level, and has made significant contributions to my country's national economic development and scientific and technological innovation.

The picture shows the high-throughput engineering test reactor.

Young people in the nuclear industry in the new era are also following in the footsteps of their predecessors, practicing the new era nuclear industry spirit of "strengthening the nuclear power to serve the country, innovating and dedicating". Ma Yugao, a young scientific and technological worker at the Nuclear Power Institute Design Institute, said in an interview with Guangming.com that when the predecessors faced huge technical uncertainties in the initial stage, they still devoted themselves to work with "great scientific confidence", and this spirit deeply shocked him. The predecessors were able to accomplish such a great cause under difficult conditions. I believe that in time, more independent innovations will emerge. He said: "I like the term 'nuclear power wave' very much. In the field of nuclear power, there are many practitioners, and each of us is a drop of water. When everyone comes together, we can promote the continuous advancement of technology like a huge wave."

It is reported that the Nuclear Power Institute has won more than 2,500 national and provincial awards for its scientific research results, obtained more than 2,500 patent authorizations, and produced a large number of well-known domestic and foreign experts and 7 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. It plays an irreplaceable and important role in my country's advanced energy development industrial system and high-tech industries.

Today, the Nuclear Power Institute is facing the "one body, two wings and three high goals", following the "thermal reactor-fast reactor-fusion reactor" nuclear energy three-step development strategy, actively cultivating new quality productivity, and embarking on the fourth new entrepreneurial journey. (Guangming.com reporter Li Xinzhe)

Source: Guangming.com