Chongqing - Embraced by mountains and rivers, Chongqing boasts many bridges featuring various types and is reputed as the Bridge Capital of China. To ensure the bridges’ safety, a group of people, also known as “bridge doctors,” inspect and repair the bridges day and night with lifeline ropes to climb up and down at a height of 100 meters.

Liu Jian is a 57-year-old bridge doctor with extensive experience. Thanks to his efforts, no accidents have occurred over the past two decades on the Egongyan Bridge, Huanghuayuan Bridge, Chaotianmen Bridge, Qiansimen Bridge, Dongshuimen Bridge, and Yangtze River Double Track Bridge.

Among the numerous bridges in Chongqing, the Chaotianmen Bridge, stretching across the Yangtze River, is of great importance. Colored red except for its piers, it was designed to have fewer piers installed in water, thus causing less damage to the river landscape. Moreover, the Liberation Monument, also known as Jiefangbei, and Chaotianmen, two featured attractions in Chongqing, were integrated into its design, earning it the “Title of the City Gate.” 2009 the Chaotianmen Bridge was officially implemented, and Liu became its first bridge doctor. “Upon completion, the Chaotianmen Bridge was a steel arch bridge with the largest span worldwide, the maintenance of which posed a universal challenge: delayed fracture of high-strength bolts.” According to Liu, such fracture is likely to damage vehicles and hurt pedestrians on the bridge, so the inspection focuses on every single bolt, totaling over 800,000 sets on the bridge. To ensure its safety, Liu inspected the bridge every month and all the bolts once a year.

However, inclined at a 45-degree angle, the necessary “path” for bridge inspection comprised round steel bars. One might miss a step inattentively. “We need to climb for 2 hours to cover the 90-meter vertical distance.” Liu once experienced the most dangerous moment: it rained during the inspection, making the path slippery. “When climbing down the bridge, I missed my step and almost fell off. Fortunately, I was saved by the lifeline rope.” He still had lingering fear when recalling the frightening moment.

Nevertheless, Liu was more concerned about the maintenance tools he carried. In order to prevent the tools from falling, he required other team members to tie the tools to their waists with a rope before getting on the bridge. In addition, bridge doctors also need to overcome environmental challenges. In summer, steel absorbed heat rapidly, on which hands and feet would feel like burning even in gloves and shoes; when the wind blew, one could smell the rubber shoes. In winter, one would sweat all over after climbing the bridge and shivering in the cold wind.

Despite all the nervousness, Liu also enjoyed some refreshing moments: at the top of the bridge over the Yangtze River, he overlooked the beautiful scenery on the banks. “I think Chongqing is really beautiful. The city’s tomorrow will be much better and more enchanting than the present. I tell myself to be a good ‘bridge protector’ and safeguard my home.”

Having accompanied it for a dozen years, he knew every detail of the bridge and regarded it as his own child. He recorded the key points of inspection, procedures, and solutions and compiled them into a manual for other members.

As technology advances, routine inspections of many bridges in Chongqing have also moved towards intelligence. The application of monitoring, sensors, robots, and other products has liberated the hands of bridge doctors, reducing their frequency and risk of work.

In 2019, Chongqing Road and Bridge Corporation established an emergency rescue department under the Chongqing Urban Investment Group (which Liu works for). As the director, Liu led a group of young people to safeguard 12 super-large river-crossing bridges in the central urban area. “Even not on duty, all members are also on standby 24 hours a day, ready to handle various emergencies at any time.”

Liu said that Chongqing is the Bridge Capital, and the design life of bridges is 100 years. He also told his team members to love what they do, master expertise, safeguard every bridge, and strive to make their team a time-honored brand.

（Ying Zhuyu, as an intern, also contributed to this report.）