In this "sea of men," you can spot at a glance the little "Mu Guiying" from the Shangqiu-Hefei-Hangzhou project department.

Slim figure, ponytail, jeans with a work uniform, and a brisk walk—wherever there is a need, there she is! The girl before us, born in 1987, is named Pan Ping. Having worked in testing for less than a year, she won first place in the company's testing "arena."

 Just days after the 2015 Spring Festival, Pan Ping's feet were already on the thick snow of northern Anhui. New project, new position—entirely new challenges awaited her. With no time to adapt to her "new role," Pan Ping received her first task in testing: checking whether the fly ash delivered by the supplier was qualified. Due to staff shortages, Pan Ping, still unfamiliar with the testing procedures, was drafted in and had to tough it out. Following the procedure sheet for the fly ash loss-on-ignition test, she carefully operated the instruments. While reading the numbers on the instrument, she also had to carefully consult the operating instructions.

Unexpectedly, during the final step of the fly ash loss-on-ignition test, the project department suddenly experienced a power outage, and the temperature of the test instrument's resistance furnace dropped sharply. Pan Ping overlooked this detail and filled in the "qualified" result—obtained without reaching the specified time and temperature—into the test report.

During re-inspection, a colleague found problems with this batch of fly ash. Pan Ping sampled and tested again, also concluding it was unqualified. The fly ash that had already been poured into the huge silo of the mixing station had to be laboriously and time-consumingly emptied out, loaded onto trucks, and returned to the supplier as-is. This dealt a considerable blow to the competitive Pan Ping.

From then on, Pan Ping devoted almost all her energy to the test bench. "Because I don't know how, I have to spend more time learning than others." She set a goal for herself deep down, and staying up late became her norm—poring over books, entering the lab, and ceaselessly learning, learning, and learning again.

Once, when conducting a concrete setting time test, due to the busy daytime work, all materials for the test were not ready until 8 p.m. However, the concrete setting time test takes at least 6 to 7 hours, and up to 14 hours, during which a dedicated person is needed to monitor the concrete state frequently over a long period—truly exhausting. So colleagues advised her to do it first thing the next morning, but Pan Ping chose to persist, staying by the side until 4:30 a.m., only feeling relieved after the test results came out.

Gradually, Pan Ping matured through one difficulty after another. Not long ago, her Qiaocheng beam yard passed national certification with a score of 94.5, setting the best record in the group company's history. She independently completed a series of miscellaneous internal documents, including laboratory equipment files, rules and regulations, and instrument calibration certificates, and the certification working group praised her highly. In this experimental worker skills competition, Pan Ping was able to overcome all obstacles and take first place, which was inseparable from her hard preparation before the contest.

In testing positions and throughout China Railway Construction Corporation, it can be called a man's world. However, little "Mu Guiying" figures like Pan Ping silently contribute with an unyielding spirit. Like the illustrious Mu Guiying, they can not only compete with men but also deserve all applause.