BEIJING: Wang Zhongxian lives not far from the construction site, but as chief of the project, going back home during the National Day holiday is not among his options.
“For us constructors, holiday is a luxury,” said Wang, who always wears a smile on his tanned face.
Wang is in charge of the construction of the Gongshu District Chengxi Sports Park Stadium and Gymnasium. Renovated from an urban village, it will host table tennis and hockey competitions during the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 and become a public sports park afterwards.
“We are faced with a challenging task under a tight schedule. Although I’m close to home, I can’t go back,” said the Anhui-born who moved to Hangzhou a few years ago. “All of us miss our homes and families. I just can’t leave my colleagues and workers here working while enjoy the holiday all alone.” He was joined by Yang Junkai, who is tasked with the managerial work of the project. The 33-year-old did not manage to spend the Chinese New Year holidays with his family back in central China’s Hubei province due to a tight schedule and the COVID-19 outbreak. And this National Day holiday, neither.
“This is my last chance this year, of course I want to go back home,” Yang confessed. “But the project is in a crucial phase right now, which requires efforts from every one of us.”
So far the Chengxi Sports Park Gymnasium has finished the steel frame of its roof. Now the constructors are working on the diagrid structure of its curtain wall, which makes the stadium resemble the “jade cong”, an exemplary artifact from the Liangzhu Culture on this land some 5,000 years ago.
“In the entire project, this is the most difficult part,” said Han Guoli, deputy chief of urban village renovation projects in Gongshu District. “Everyday about 1,000 workers are on site and an additional 1,300 to 1,500 would be needed once we move to interior decoration and surrounding landscaping.” “We are confident we can finish the project as scheduled next year,” Han said.
– The Daily Mail-China Daily News exchange item
