Li Yubing is an assistant watchman at Tianjin Dakoutun Station. He has worked for the railway for 35 consecutive years and is a designated five-star railway worker.

Li Yubing directs a train.[Photo/enorth.com.cn]

Li (L) handles the control panel.[Photo/enorth.com.cn]

He passed the railway exam in 1983."Over 200 people attended the exam. At the end, there were only 38 people who passed, and I was one of them." Li is a little proud of the achievement when it's mentioned. Before becoming an assistant watchman in Dakoutun Station he used to be a switchman and grade crossing watchman.

The main job of a watchman is train reception and departure. There are only two trains that load and unload passengers in Dakoutun. But sometimes, more than 40 trains run through the station. The watchman needs to pay great attention to ensure safe passage of every train.

One special task of watchman is to install a handbrake for trains to avoid slipping. Some trains will need to change to another headstock or stop; to avoid slipping the watchman installs a 4-kg handbrake at the front end of the train. It takes 15 minutes or more to install.

Li carries the 4-kg handbrake.[Photo/enorth.com.cn]

When the train is ready to leave Dakoutun Station, the watchman must remove the handbrake. He then needs to walk all around the 1000-meter trains, and there is no place to shelter from the rain or sun.

Li's home is 20 km away from the station. He leaves home before 6:00 every morning and has a one-hour commute.

Dakoutun Station was put into operation in 1965, and has accumulated more than 17,000 no-accident days. Li Yubing and his colleagues safeguard their workplace, as he has been doing since his youth.