Patriotism, modesty and tireless quest for truth cited as top qualities

China's scientific community should study the patriotism, self-sacrifice, modesty and diligence of agriculturalist Yuan Longping and submarine designer Huang Xuhua, along with their endless pursuit of truth to contribute to China and the world, the nation's top science and engineering academies said on Sunday.

Yuan, 89, known as the "father of hybrid rice", played a crucial role in helping China achieve food security. Huang, 93, was the chief designer of China's first nuclear submarine.

Both received the Medal of the Republic when President Xi Jinping presented medals to eight exemplary representatives of the people at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday.

In his speech, Xi highlighted the recipients' loyalty to the cause of the Party and the people, their dedication to hard work for decades in the fields where the Party and the people needed them most, and their readiness to make huge sacrifices in ordinary posts without pursuing fame or self-interest.

"Heroes and role models once again demonstrate with their actions that greatness comes out of the ordinary," Xi said, adding that ordinary people can have an extraordinary life and produce extraordinary achievements if they adhere to firm ideals and convictions and work tirelessly.

During a seminar at the Chinese Academy of Engineering on Sunday afternoon, Yuan said he was greatly honored to receive the award, but still had two major missions to accomplish.

He hopes to push the hybrid rice yield to 18 metric tons per hectare and transform at least 6.7 million hectares of saline wasteland into breadbaskets.

"We hope to achieve the yield record this year as a gift to the 70th anniversary of New China," Yuan said.

"Now the rice is growing very well, and I am 90 percent confident we can reach the goal by around mid-October if we don't encounter any major natural disasters."

Yuan said China has more than 66 million hectares of saline wasteland, of which around 13 million could potentially be planted with hybrid rice.

"If we can plant about 6.7 million hectares of hybrid rice in these saline regions within the next decade, even with the lowest yield rate of 300 kilograms per mu (4.5 metric tons per hectare), we could still produce more than 30 billion kilograms of food that can feed more than 100 million people," he said.

Huang shared his story about building China's first nuclear submarine from scratch.

"Foreign countries are extremely protective of nuclear submarine technologies, so nobody could help us," he said. "We were completely on our own."

Drawing inspiration from news coverage, scientific journals and even toy models, Huang and his team managed to work out a basic understanding of the sub, but building one remained a monumental challenge.

"We had no computers, so all calculations were done by hand and abacus, and we used platform scales to weigh and test the center of gravity," he said.

For more than three decades, Huang's work remained top secret. In December 1970, China launched Long March I - becoming the fifth nation to have a nuclear submarine.

In 1988, Huang dived the sub to maximum depth to test its limit, a task so dangerous that many crew members wrote farewell letters to their families to be delivered in the event of their deaths.

Zhang Jinfeng, a researcher from China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and a student of Huang's, said he still recalls the "harrowing" experience of diving to the submarine's limit, and how "calm and collected" Huang remained during the ordeal.

"After working with Huang for 30 years, his diligent work ethic and modest way of life still encourage us to this day," Zhang said.

"Despite his old age, he still comes to the office every day, and serves as adviser on many projects."

Before undergoing eye surgery last year, Huang sometimes joked that he couldn't see very well or do many things.

"But now the surgery is done, he has too many things to do but not enough time," Zhang added.

zhangzhihao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Global 10/01/2019 page7)