On the morning of August 27, 2025, the second day of the Overseas Chinese Media Conference's visit to Hunan Province began, with representatives from overseas Chinese media visiting Sunward Intelligent Equipment Group and China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation Limited (CRCHI) in Changsha to experience the power of major national equipment up close.
Experiencing the Charm of Advanced Technology
Media representatives listened to staff presentations about Sunward's development history, gaining insight into its growth and innovation journey. In the intelligent production workshop, reporters from the Hong Kong Ta Kung Wen Wei Media Group observed frontline workers at work, debugging equipment and conducting simulations. Many media representatives were curious to closely observe star products like excavators, personally experiencing the charm of advanced manufacturing technology as they recorded videos and took photos, praising the cutting-edge techniques.
In the recently launched Yarlung Tsangpo downstream hydropower project, Sunward's super deep vibration drilling rigs are safeguarding this "century project."
Sunward's Chairman Fu Xiangdong introduced the media to the super deep vibration drilling rig, which can achieve ultra-deep drilling of over 100 meters and solve challenges related to penetrating gravel layers and coordinating multiple machines, thus improving construction efficiency.
On September 17, 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping noted during his visit to Sunward that innovation is the most important quality for business operations and essential for overcoming future challenges.
Established in 1999, Sunward has consistently adhered to independent innovation, embodying the leap from following to leading in Chinese engineering machinery. From breaking world records with hydraulic hybrid rotary drilling rigs to leading international technology in deep well casing drilling rigs, and from building innovation consortiums that integrate industry, academia, and research to creating a global network of R&D centers.
Visiting China's Pillars of Great Power: "Steel Pangolin"
Following this, the overseas Chinese media delegation visited CRCHI. Upon entering the factory, the media representatives were captivated by the massive shield tunneling machine, taking numerous photos. This national heavy equipment, the shield tunneling machine, is not only impressive in size but also packed with high-tech features, earning it the nickname "Steel Pangolin."
CRCHI's latest launch, the "Jianghai," is China's largest-diameter shield tunneling machine, developed independently. It has been used in various projects, ensuring the smooth construction of shield tunnels. The "Jianghai" shield tunneling machine measures approximately 145 meters in length, weighs about 5,000 tons, and has a maximum excavation diameter of 16.64 meters. Intelligent technology empowers the shield tunneling machine by creating high-precision digital models, transferring the entire process of design, simulation, manufacturing, debugging, operation, and maintenance, including fault prediction, into a virtual space.
Wang Chaohui, an engineer from the CRCHI Tunneling Machine Research and Design Institute, explained to reporters that designers can verify thousands of design schemes at nearly zero cost. At the same time, maintenance personnel can "see through" the wear status of each bearing and the cutting efficiency of each cutter head, even from hundreds of miles away, allowing them to anticipate potential risks.
(Reporter: Kevin Wang; English Editor: Kiki)
Related News:
Exploring Ne Zha's weapons in real life: China's pillars of great power
Watch This | He takes Labubu to Changsha — and finds the real China
Comment