Military World Games unites people for a better city Wuhan

WUHAN - Zhou Lei hurried home from work to see his 3-year-old daughter on her birthday. His daughter jumped with joy when she saw her "long-lost" father coming home on time.

35-year-old Zhou, an electrician with China's state-owned State Grid in the country's central city of Wuhan, rarely gets home on time these days, since his workload has doubled ahead of Wuhan's hosting of the 7th Military World Games later this year.

Preparation work ahead of the Games is a challenge not only for workers like Zhou, but also for the entire city of Wuhan.

As an important support unit of the Games, the Wuhan branch of State Grid that Zhou works for sets a goal of "zero failure", as high a standard as that set during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

One of Zhou's tasks was to gain support from the operators of venues in his area, to ensure the construction of the related power system met the high standards required.

But this was not easy. At the beginning, Zhou and his colleagues encountered several difficulties.

"Most of the venue operators agreed with us, but a few refused to follow the procedures. It was hard to make an appointment with them. When we met, they were quick to tell us that there was no need for such high standards, and that we were worrying too much, like picking bones in an egg," Zhou said.

Statistics from the State Grid Wuhan Company show that over the past five years, 30 percent of power failures in Wuhan were caused by outdated equipment, indicating the necessity of implementing higher safety standards.

However, in many parts of China, power departments have no related law enforcement agencies. This means Zhou and his colleagues have had to persuade the operators of venues to use equipment of high quality.

To make it happen, Zhou and his colleagues persisted in visiting the venues' construction sites. Their efforts led to a rise in safety consciousness among the venue operators.

Currently, all the venues for the Games have carried out the necessary rectifications in accordance with the new highest power safety standards.

"It's the 7th Military World Games, not us, that unites people in the city for a better and higher goal, in spite of their age, experience and field of work. I think that's the charm of the Games," Zhou said.