Chongqing- Southwest China's Chongqing has continued its sweltering high temperatures over the past few days. There is still a group of front-line workers, either working at the construction site of significant projects, checking wires to ensure power supply, or directing traffic on the streets.

It's 5:30 am on Sunday, and thousands of workers dedicated themselves to guaranteeing the construction of the Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport T3B Project at the crack of dawn.

Why do workers start so early? Chen Bolin, the general engineer of the T3B project department of China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Corp., Ltd., said that under high temperatures, protecting workers' physical health and promoting the project's overall progress is essential.

Therefore, they adopt the measure of staggered construction, which works from 5:30 am to 10:30 am and from 4:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

Medicine and herbal tea are supplied on the construction site to avoid heatstroke. The site station is also equipped with a refrigerator and offers cold drinks.

As a welder, Wang Zhaohan and his colleagues are mainly responsible for the roof metal steel structure grid construction of the T3B project. Although it was early in the morning, he had been sweating in long clothes and sleeves.

The T3B project has finished about 40% of the entire project and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.

The technical workers from the T3B project department of China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Corp., Ltd. (Photo/ Visual Chongqing)

Waking up at 4:30 every morning

Meanwhile, at 9:30 am on Saturday, Wang Zhengui, a steelworker, stood on a two-meter-high construction platform wearing a helmet, mask, labor protection gloves, and protective clothes. With the sizzling sound of the welding machine, the top beam rebar was successfully welded.

Wang is a worker responsible for rebar tying and welding at Lixuelu Station of the second phase of Chongqing Rail Transit Line 15 of the Fifth Engineering Co., Ltd of China Railway 11th Bureau Group. He wakes up every morning at 4:30 and comes to the construction site before 5:30.

The rebar is as if baked by fire in the hot weather. Even with gloves on, it still feels hot.

"When cutting the rebar, we must wear protective clothing, and we will be soaked by sweat after working for only a few minutes," said Wang. "If the welding spark splashes to our body, there will surely be a burn scar."

To cope with the high temperature, the project department prepares heatstroke medicine, herbal tea, and other items for the front-line workers. It moves the medical team to the construction line, including training workers on heatstroke first-aid measures and conducting medical checkups for workers.

Construction workers are working on State Route 244. (Photo/ Bishan District)

Walking 7-8 kilometers to inspect the subway line

Ensuring the excavation of the first Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) shield machine from Lixuelu station to Jiuquhe station at the end of the year, more than 90 workers from the project department are working at the construction site to ensure that the project is progressing as scheduled.

At 2:45 am, in the subway line section of Chongqing Qiansimen Jialing River Bridge, Li Dong, the subway line maintenance worker, and his two colleagues were measuring the track temperature and the relative displacement of the switch rail and the track bed, etc.

"Some colleagues need to walk seven to eight kilometers to inspect the line," said Li. He was holding a bag that weighed nearly 30 kilograms, filled with various kinds of tools needed for the inspection.

There are also nearly 5,000 track workers busy working every night to ensure the operation safety of the 435 kilometers track of 10 lines opened in Chongqing.

Construction workers at Jinfeng Tunnel in Bishan District. (Photo/ Bishan District)

(Ge Rongchen, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)