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The picture shows the 909 base. Photo by Cheng Xiaoyu

"How could a nuclear submarine be built in a mountain valley in Sichuan?"

"The nuclear reactor in the submarine is the source of power for the entire submarine. In order to successfully build a nuclear submarine, we must first build a land-based model reactor with exactly the same environmental conditions for simulation experiments. China's first-generation nuclear submarine land-based model reactor was built in the deep mountains of Jiajiang." Facing the reporter's doubts, Jiang Guoqing, deputy base director of the 909 Base, explained.

Following the CNNC media tour "The confidence of a great nation comes from nuclear power. Revisiting the path of nuclear industry", reporters recently came to the 909 base in Jiajiang County, Leshan City, Sichuan Province. This is the R&D and experimental base of China's first generation of nuclear submarines, and the first kilowatt-hour of electricity from China's nuclear energy was generated from here.

Stepping into the quiet courtyard hidden in the mountains and forests, walking along the cobblestone path under the shade of trees, the reporter explored the trajectory of New China's submarine nuclear power from scratch to something, from weak to strong, in the light and shadow of history.

"It will take 10,000 years to develop a nuclear submarine"

Looking up, a plaque in the middle of the building in the courtyard of the 909 base came into view. Under the words, one could still hear the deafening voice of the times - "We must build a nuclear submarine even if it takes 10,000 years."

This was the great call made by Chairman Mao Zedong for the development of my country's nuclear power industry.

In 1965, the central government decided to select a mountainous area in the southwest as the site for building a land-based model reactor for nuclear submarines. Thousands of engineers and technicians were mobilized from across the country to establish a comprehensive nuclear power research and development base, code-named 909.

As one of the first operators of the first-generation nuclear submarine land-based model reactor, Gao Xingdou experienced the entire process from the birth to the decommissioning of the first-generation nuclear submarine land-based model reactor.

Recalling the scene when he first arrived at the 909 Base in 1968, "At that time, there was only a narrow path connecting the mountain valley to the outside world. The first thing we did when we arrived here was to open up the mountain and build a gravel road. The conditions were quite difficult. We drank water from rice fields and ponds, and lived in straw huts and dry-rammed earth houses that we built ourselves." Gao Xingdou introduced to reporters.

In the small courtyard of the 909 base, a mailbox numbered "Chengdu 291" is still embedded in the wall. This seemingly inconspicuous mailbox became the only channel for 8,000 soldiers and civilians at the 909 base to communicate with their families.

"At that time, there was no communication address on the map. In order to maintain confidentiality, the 909 Base was known externally as the 'Hydropower Research Institute', and people from all over the country came to Sichuan to develop hydropower," Jiang Guoqing introduced.

This group of people, who were considered by the outside world to be "hydropower people", hid their identities and lived on the banks of the Qingyi River in Sichuan.

There were no blueprints, no authoritative experts, no foreign aid, only two photos of foreign nuclear submarines copied from newspapers and a nuclear submarine toy bought from an American store. Eating steamed buns to do scientific research and using hand-cranked computers to calculate data, 8,000 soldiers and civilians began their "deep diving" years with the motto "10,000 years is too long, we must seize the day".

"All 46,000 parts on the nuclear submarine were independently developed by our country, without a single screw from abroad." Looking back on this period of history, Ma Yugao, a young scientific and technological worker at the Nuclear Power Research and Design Institute of China (hereinafter referred to as NPI), was deeply impressed by this figure. "From the technical starting point of nuclear submarine toys to the final 100% localization of the equipment, our predecessors remained committed to scientific research in an extremely difficult environment, pushing the nuclear power 'wave' forward."

On August 30, 1970, just five years later, the first generation of nuclear power engineers achieved full power operation of the land-based nuclear submarine. On December 26, 1970, my country's first independently developed nuclear submarine was successfully launched, making my country the fifth country in the world to own a nuclear submarine.

“Thank you for your hard work, kids.”

Walking into the empty factory building of the 909 base, the former land-based model reactor has long been retired and has disappeared. Inside the factory building, only the walls corroded by time are left.

When the land-based model reactor completed its mission and retired gloriously, the people at the 909 Base witnessed a silent greeting from their fathers.

"The installation process of a nuclear submarine is extremely complicated. In order to prevent nuclear radiation leakage from the reactor compartment, 500-mm-thick lead shielding walls were set up in front and behind the reactor compartment. Workers had to weld the lead blocks into the compartment one by one on site to ensure that the lead blocks fit perfectly with the compartment without any leakage. You can imagine how difficult it was," Gao Xingdou recalled.

More than 30 years later, when the decommissioning of the land-based model reached the dismantling of the lead block grid of the shielding wall marked No. 144, a line of red chalk writing on the lead plate quietly caught the eyes of the researchers. There were six words written on it - "Thank you for your hard work, kids."

This is a greeting from the older generation of nuclear power workers spanning more than thirty years.

"The older generation at that time had already thought about it. Since the installation of the lead plate was so difficult, one could imagine how difficult it would be to dismantle and decommission it in the future. So they wrote this sentence for the children in advance, for fear of tiring them out," said Gao Xingdou.

Today's "children" are taking over the baton of nuclear power from their ancestors.

In Jiajiang, Sichuan, the modern site of the Nuclear Power Institute of China and the old site with a glorious history complement each other. Chinese nuclear power researchers independently developed the third-generation nuclear power technology "Hualong One", the small reactor technology "Linglong One", CF3 fuel assemblies and CF4 fuel, providing more confidence for China's nuclear power technology to go global.

Huang Shijian, who personally participated in the construction of China's first generation of land-based nuclear submarine reactors, once said: "We did something that was so unknown at the time, but now looking back, we feel it is earth-shattering. We just got through it."

As time goes by, the 2009 spirit of "self-reliance, truth-seeking and pragmatism, innovation and collaboration, hard work and dedication" will always accompany nuclear power workers and help them to walk more roads ahead.

(Cheng Xiaoyu, trainee reporter at China Environment News)

(Source: China Environmental News)

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