The 2025 "National Craftsmanship Awards" ceremony unveiled ten recipients and forty nominees on March 2. The event, jointly organized by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and China Media Group, and hosted by the Gansu Provincial Trade Union Council, recognized individuals from sectors including aerospace, shipbuilding, defense, power, quantum technology, high-speed rail, engineering machinery, modern agriculture, infrastructure, and cultural heritage conservation. Li Xiaobao, Zhu Xianbo, Meng Xiangzhi, He Guanghua, Tang Shibiao, Guan Yihui, Long Weiguo, Liu Songbai, Guo Jiping, and Fan Zaixiang were honored as 2025 National Craftsmanship Award recipients. The awards ceremony was broadcast on China Central Television's comprehensive channel.

The selection process began in September 2025, with the organizing committee announcing 50 finalists in January 2026 based on recommendations from trade unions at various levels. An expert review committee then selected the ten award winners and forty nominees. China Worker magazine conducted exclusive interviews with the ten award recipients, exploring their perspectives on responsibility, conviction, and innovation as they respond to the demands of the era with masterful skill.

Ten Questions for the 2025 National Craftsmanship Award Recipients:

Question 1: What unique advantages can female traits bring to demanding fields like power cable construction and maintenance? He Guanghua, Director of the Cable Operations and Inspection Center at State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Company Wuxi Power Supply Branch, responded that perseverance in cable work for over two decades stems from passion for the power industry and a sense of responsibility to the public. She emphasized that technical professions have no gender divide, and that resilience, dedication, and attention to detail qualify one as a skilled craftsperson. Female traits like meticulousness, patience, and tenacity are valuable soft skills in cable inspection work. She recalled early experiences observing veterans working in challenging conditions, which inspired her to innovate beyond basic repairs toward intelligent control and prevention. Her team developed non-destructive construction techniques for high-voltage cables, reducing joints and potential faults. They now employ drones, robots, and smart monitoring to shift from reactive repairs to proactive maintenance.

Question 2: Beyond technical metrics, how should the long-term impact of major projects on local communities and the environment be evaluated? Guo Jiping, Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Development Department at Guizhou Transportation Investment Group, highlighted the construction of the world's tallest bridge, the Huajiang Bridge, in 2025. Having contributed to over a dozen of the world's top 100 highest bridges, including two major bridges in 2025, he described how bridges have created a "high-speed plain" in mountainous Guizhou. He stressed the equal importance of simple "bench bridges" for rural communities. During the construction of the Beipanjiang Bridge, his team opted to level a 20-meter rock hill to create a permanent road instead of a temporary solution, demonstrating a commitment to lasting community benefit. He emphasized balancing technical rigor with social responsibility, ensuring that bridges serve both future mobility and present-day connectivity.

Question 3: What conviction drives you to overcome challenges when facing unprecedented materials and processing requirements? Li Xiaobao, lead of the Innovation Studio at Tianjin Aerospace Electromechanical Equipment Research Institute, shared that使命感 (sense of mission) and责任感 (sense of responsibility) are key when tackling first-of-their-kind materials. For the space station's robotic arm, his team innovated high-precision grinding techniques for high-strength stainless steel, achieving tolerances within 2 microns—one-fortieth of a hair's width. This precision ensured the arm's millimeter-level accuracy in orbit, supporting spacecraft stability and astronaut safety. He views such precision challenges as tests of both technical skill and dedication to national aerospace goals.

Question 4: How do you integrate "iron will" and "innovative thinking" in your work as a modern craftsperson? Zhu Xianbo, a welder at China State Shipbuilding Corporation Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Group, described these traits as complementary. Iron will involves decades of disciplined practice, including practicing with weighted arms to steady the welding torch. He emphasized meticulousness in welding thousands of meters of seams on vessels like LNG carriers. Innovative thinking, meanwhile, led him to develop new techniques and embrace robotic welding, improving efficiency and quality. He is now building a welding knowledge database with 8,500 parameter curves and 3,600 defect samples, training AI systems to optimize processes. For him, willpower ensures perseverance, while innovation enables progress.

Question 5: What sustains your focus and patience through years of meticulous mural restoration? Fan Zaixiang, a mural restorer at the Dunhuang Academy, cited a deep reverence for history and a mission to preserve cultural heritage. He recalled working in extreme conditions to save crumbling murals, with each small section requiring days of careful work. A breakthrough moment came when separating layers of murals revealed a previously unknown Northern Liang dynasty artwork, reinforcing that his work revives living history. He finds fulfillment in stabilizing pigments and reinforcing foundations, ensuring that millennia-old art endures.

Question 6: How do you maintain motivation in precision work that is critical yet often overlooked? Tang Shibiao, Deputy Chief Engineer and R&D Director at科大国盾量子技术股份有限公司 (QuantumCTek Co., Ltd.), stated that alignment with national needs eliminates any sense of isolation. Since 2009, he has focused on quantum information technology, overcoming failures to master core technologies like single-photon detectors. His contributions to projects like the 1,000-km quantum communication line have helped China advance from following to leading in the field. He finds purpose in solving "bottleneck" challenges and safeguarding national information security.

Question 7: What is the role of极致手工艺 (master craftsmanship) in an era of intelligent manufacturing? Meng Xiangzi, a lathe operator at North Huaan Industrial Group, argued that手工艺术 (craftsmanship) solves "zero to one" creation problems, while智能制造 (intelligent manufacturing) addresses "one to many" replication. Traditional skills allow quick prototyping and troubleshooting before digital processes begin. Skilled workers also provide the工艺逻辑 (process logic) behind CNC programming. However, he noted declining interest in manual trades among youth, making such expertise increasingly scarce and valuable.

Question 8: How has a database for indigenous chicken feed transformed poultry farming, and what is the future of AI in agriculture? Liu Songbai, a senior animal scientist at Wens Foodstuff Group, described building a database of 329 feed ingredients to formulate precise diets for indigenous chickens, improving feed efficiency by 8%. He envisions AI-driven配方设计 (formula design), quality control, and breeding management, but stressed that human creativity and judgment remain irreplaceable in generating原始数据 (raw data) and applying工匠精神 (craftsmanship spirit).

Question 9: Why are manual skills still essential in highly automated manufacturing? Guan Yihui, a machining center operator at CRRC Sifang Co., Ltd., with 35 years of experience, explained that操作工 (operators) provide critical adjustments and参数优化 (parameter optimization) that machines alone cannot. For high-speed train components, their expertise ensures micron-level precision and adapts to material variations. He cited innovations in axle box processing that supported the development of 400 km/h trains, emphasizing that智能制造 (intelligent manufacturing) enhances rather than replaces human skill.

Question 10: What is the key step for Chinese engineers to progress from implementing international standards to creating their own? Long Weiguo, chief commissioning technician at Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Ltd., emphasized translating individual expertise into replicable, verifiable processes. By standardizing调试 (commissioning) steps for large cranes, his team increased first-pass yield to over 98%. He attributed China's ability to set global standards to breakthroughs in core technologies and practical solutions that earn international recognition.