From the completed South-to-North Water Diversion Middle Route Project, Goupitan, Tingzikou, Laluo, the Datong-to-Huangshui Water Diversion, and Karot... to the under-construction or planned Han-to-Wei Water Diversion, Zhala, the Southeast Asia project cluster, and Angola's Caculo Cabaça, for decades a professional team has used the earth as paper and its footprints as ink, leaving time-tested, solid marks across the land of China. As the dam on the snowy plateau stands tall, as the clear Danjiangkou water crosses the Yellow River, as subway tunnels pierce the urban strata... the imprint of geotechnical survey technological innovation has been deeply embedded in the foundations of the great nation's infrastructure.

The Geology Company of Yangtze River Design Group Geotechnical Company (hereinafter referred to as "Geotechnical Geology Company"), holding the natural advantages of geotechnical survey technology, has broadened its market path of multi-frequency development. Over its 20-year development course, it has gradually achieved a splendid transformation from small to large and from weak to strong, steadily embarking on a path of leapfrog, high-quality development.

"The era is the question-setter; we are the answer-writers." Over the past 20 years, Geotechnical Geology Company has upheld its high-quality geotechnical survey DNA, leveraged its core technical advantages in the construction of major water conservancy projects, accurately and efficiently identified various geological conditions and engineering geological problems, and provided accurate and reliable geological data for the smooth construction of the nation's heavy equipment, submitting a "splendid 20-year answer sheet" with outstanding results.

The Goupitan Hydropower Station, as one of the representative projects serving the nation's heavy equipment, has witnessed Geotechnical Geology Company's profound capabilities in overcoming geotechnical survey challenges in complex karst areas.

The Goupitan Hydropower Station is the largest controlling project in the cascade development of the Wu River, and also the highest double-curvature arch dam built in a complex karst area in China. "Goupitan survey work continued from 1981 to 2016, and we also walked all the way from the Comprehensive Survey Bureau to the Geotechnical Company. In November 2005, the Geotechnical Company integrated the geological personnel of the First, Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Engineering Survey Institutes and the Chongqing Survey Institute of the former Yangtze River Water Resources Commission Comprehensive Survey Bureau, and established Geotechnical Geology Company. Although the name has changed, the technical inheritance continues unabated," Xiang Nengwu, manager of Geotechnical Geology Company, told the reporter.

Goupitan Hydropower Station

The purpose of geological survey is to identify geological conditions and engineering geological problems, and to provide accurate and reliable geological data for design. From the geological trio of compass, geological hammer, and magnifying glass to the application of advanced technologies such as digital data acquisition, accompanied by days and nights of field reconnaissance and site selection and excavation, the geological professionals of Geotechnical Geology Company led technical backbones in surveying, drilling, and geophysical prospecting to converge at Goupitan, carrying out extensive engineering geological mapping, drilling, geophysical prospecting,in-situ testingand other work in the dam site area and reservoir area, submitting geotechnical survey results on schedule and providing precise support for dam line selection and overall layout of the project.

One of the geotechnical survey challenges at Goupitan lay in minimizing the impact of strong karst on the project. "The most memorable was the selection of the location of the underground main powerhouse," Xiang Nengwu introduced. "The survey showed that above the crown of the originally planned main powerhouse there was a karst system numbered W24, like a basin of water suspended overhead, and safety faced a huge test." To this end, the survey team specifically integrated multiple survey methods such as tunnel exploration, geophysical prospecting, conduit tracing, and supplementary drilling to clarify the development characteristics of karst conduits, and proposed a geological recommendation to shift the powerhouse 25 meters downstream. The crown of the main powerhouse successfully avoided the W24 karst system, greatly improving safety.

Geological survey of Goupitan Hydropower Station won the Gold Award

Over the past 20 years, Geotechnical Geology Company has always kept in mind its foundation, comprehensively strengthened geotechnical survey technology, and provided solid geological guarantees for the construction of major national water conservancy projects. Since then, geological survey personnel have shed sweat and worked hard in the construction of major projects such as the Laluo Water Conservancy Hub, the Karot Hydropower Station, and theJianghan Water Diversionproject, continuously engraving the immortal merits of geotechnical geology.

From clear water flowing north to dam building on the plateau, from the national water network to urban subways, the development of Geotechnical Geology Company has covered many corners and many industries across the land of China. Over the past 20 years, the company has been committed to building a corporate development path of technology first and comprehensive development, gradually gaining a firm foothold in fierce market competition.

Since its establishment, the daring and enterprising geotechnical geology people have seized market opportunities in batches of national key projects, the Wuhan Metro, and geological disasters in the Three Gorges and Danjiangkou reservoir areas, opening a development path of riding the "market" upward.

In 2006, Wuhan's "first year of the metro" officially began, and Geotechnical Geology Company formally entered the Wuhan metro survey market. That year it undertook the geological survey work for two sections of Wuhan Metro Line 2, filling the company's gap in the field of Wuhan metro survey.   

At that time, the planned Wuhan metro lines passed through multiple soluble rock belts, making karst ground collapse, karst water inrush, and other environmental geological and engineering geological problems highly likely. Geotechnical Geology Company innovatively proposed the concept of special karst survey, which received high praise and recognition from Wuhan Metro Group, and its suggestion to add special karst survey work for Line 2 was also adopted by the owner. As a result, the company gradually grew into a "shining名片" and "industry standard" for urban karst survey in Wuhan, and shone brilliantly in Wuhan metro survey in the following years.

The Laluo Water Conservancy Hub in Tibet—the "Pearl of the Snowy Plateau" at an altitude of 4,300 meters—saw geotechnical geology personnel conduct experiments on salinization treatment of soil capillary water rise height, ascertaining the true seepage ratio of soil salinization in high-altitude areas and providing a strong reference for the numerical quantification of water diversion irrigation in the Laluo supporting irrigation district.

The South-to-North Water Diversion Middle Route Project—the "king of distance" among the world's water diversion projects—saw geotechnical geology personnel directly confront the engineering "cancer" of expansive soil, where "it's a knife on sunny days and a mess on rainy days." Through deepened research and undertaking national science and technology support programs, they successfully grasped the "natural character" of this type of soil—markedly expanding in volume after soaking and shrinking and cracking after losing water—developed a series of key technologies such as stability prediction technology for excavated expansive soil slopes and treatment technology for strongly expansive soil channels, and promoted the timely transformation and application of the technologies, providing solid technical guarantees for project construction.

The Yellow River Crossing Project—the "throat" project of the South-to-North Water Diversion Middle Route—saw geotechnical geology personnel discover and propose for the first time the phenomenon of soil supersaturation, reveal the collapse failure mechanism of saturated loess caverns and its "occurrence—development—extinction" change pattern, establish a large cavern failure treatment technology for saturated loess that effectively curbs soil unloading effects, and solve the key technical problems of collapse and mud flow during construction of the Yellow River Crossing Project's drainage tunnel.

The Jianghan Water Diversion Project—a "new piece" of the national water network—saw geotechnical geology personnel adopt unconventional drilling layouts such as "kilometer-level ultra-deep boreholes + ultra-deep large-angle inclined boreholes + ultra-deep composite directional boreholes," and introduce high-precision, high-frequency automated groundwater level monitoring instruments to establish a set of permeability parameter testing technology suitable for different rock masses and fault zones, successfully breaking through a series of survey technical difficulties in deep-buried long tunnels and building a solid "underground safety net" for project construction.

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After 20 years of arduous progress, Geotechnical Geology Company's technical strength has continued to improve. Chief Engineer Huang Zhenwei introduced that, centering on the technical core, from patented technologies to academic works, from research papers to technical standards, Geotechnical Geology Company has built a matrix of innovative achievements with more than 100 independent intellectual property rights. Over the past 20 years, it has published 23 monographs, obtained 80 authorized patents (including 44 invention patents and 36 utility model patents), obtained 35 authorized computer software copyrights, and won 87 awards of various types (including 32 gold awards and first prizes for provincial and ministerial-level survey and design achievements). These substantial achievements have injected lasting momentum into the company's development.

For many years, Geotechnical Geology Company has actively expanded overseas markets and contributed to high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, demonstrating strong technical strength in the construction of major clean energy projects in Belt and Road countries such as Pakistan and Cambodia.

The Karot Hydropower Station in Pakistan—as the first hydropower investment project of the "China-Pakistan Economic Corridor", it is an important milestone project in China's hydropower construction going global. In the survey work for this project, the geotechnical geology personnel who went abroad carried out a series of refined surveys and tests, including conventional mechanical tests, slake durability tests, and ultra-long immersion tests of dam fill materials, and innovatively proposed a feasibility evaluation method for using excavated weak rock mass as dam fill material, laying a solid foundation for the smooth advancement of the project.

"In overseas markets, without outstanding capabilities, one is bound to 'suffer defeat.'" Zhang Biyong, deputy chief engineer of Geotechnical Geology Company and technical expert of the Karot survey project, introduced, "The Karot Hydropower Station area has complex structures, weak rock masses, and scarce concrete aggregates. We had to overcome a series of key technical difficulties in 'soft rock dam building,' such as regional tectonic stability evaluation, demonstration of the adaptability of the project layout, and stability control of large-section underground caverns."

Karot Hydropower Station during construction

Preliminary geotechnical survey data revealed that the original scheme proposed by a foreign company had significant deficiencies in dam anti-sliding stability, surrounding rock stability of large-span underground caverns, and utilization of concrete aggregates. Influenced by differences in design concepts and design habits, the recognition and acceptance of "Chinese standards" faced a severe test.

To this end, Geotechnical Geology Company, relying on detailed survey data and coordinating with the design discipline, communicated many times with the owner and relevant Pakistani authorities, which agreed to adjust the dam type and adopt a project layout scheme more suited to local geological conditions. The Karot Hydropower Station was completed and put into operation on schedule, and Geotechnical Geology Company's technical application and innovation capabilities under complex geological conditions won unanimous praise from all parties involved in construction.

Deeply cultivating overseas markets, Geotechnical Geology Company's footprints also cover various parts of Southeast Asia, making outstanding contributions to the infrastructure construction of neighboring countries and effectively promoting the economic and social development of the host countries.

"The Upper Stung Tatay Hydropower Station on the banks of the Kep River in Cambodia is a representative work of Geotechnical Geology Company's entry into the Southeast Asian market and has milestone significance." At the end of 2019, Geotechnical Geology Company's survey project team stepped into the Cambodian hydropower market for the first time.

Upper Stung Tatay Hydropower Station under construction

"The project is located in Cambodia's primeval forest in a tropical rainforest monsoon climate zone, so the difficulty of geotechnical survey can be imagined." Hu Yi, chief engineer of the survey project department, introduced that the local natural conditions are extremely harsh, the roads, communication facilities, and other logistical support at the survey site are extremely backward, and tropical diseases such as dengue fever and malaria run rampant. The survey personnel endured hardships that ordinary people would never see.

The harsh natural environment did not stop everyone's progress. From the end of 2019 to May 2020, the project survey team spent nearly half a year overcoming difficulties and successfully completed the survey work for the feasibility study stage of the Upper Stung Tatay Hydropower Station, receiving high praise from the owner and opening the door to the Cambodian hydropower market. Since then, the company has successively undertaken the geological survey work for the Cambodia Liang I and II Hydropower Stations, the Upper Stung Tatay Pumped Storage Power Station, and the Stung Sala Mong Hydropower Station, as well as scientific research on mottled soil in Cambodia's tropical rainforests, gradually gaining a firm foothold and achieving considerable development in the Cambodian hydropower market.

Today's Geotechnical Geology Company has gradually grown into an important force in the overseas geological market, continuing to play an even more magnificent melody on the new journey.

In recent years, Geotechnical Geology Company has adhered to "diversified" driven development, actively expanded into new business fields, continuously enhanced new development momentum, and strived to build a new engine for multi-dimensional development in the era of high-quality development of the water conservancy industry.

The geological disaster prevention and control design specialty, based on geological disaster design, has expanded its business into fields such as high-standard farmland, shoreline governance, engineering agent construction, post-evaluation, and EPC general contracting. In July 2023, Geotechnical Geology Company welcomed its "first time" in engineering agent construction, formally undertaking the agent construction management of the Wuqia Reservoir in Kuqa City, Xinjiang, marking the official launch of the company's new whole-process consulting business.

"Up to now, we have successively completed the full-chain standardized management of bidding document review, construction drawing review 'pulse-taking,' 'carpet-style' sorting of construction preparations, strict control during construction, and special acceptance of resettlement, ensuring the smooth implementation of the project, and have begun preparing for the impoundment acceptance work." Project leader Meng Zhaowei introduced, "By organizing a professional team to conduct professional review of construction drawings and budgets, we found and corrected multiple design redundancies, saving the owner millions of yuan in investment."

On August 6, 2024, a letter of thanks from the Water and Drought Disaster Defense Center of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region was sent to Geotechnical Geology Company. The company's work on "the post-evaluation of 160 water conservancy projects implemented during the '13th Five-Year Plan' period in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, including dangerous reservoir reinforcement projects, small and medium-sized river governance projects, the Qingshui River and Kushui River governance projects, and drought relief planning water diversion and lifting projects" received high praise and full recognition from the Ningxia water conservancy department. The project team used scientific, systematic, and standardized methods to comprehensively evaluate the 160 water conservancy projects in terms of decision-making, construction implementation, and operation management at all stages, as well as the benefits, roles, and impacts after project completion, assisting the construction units in summarizing experience and improving project decision-making and construction management levels.

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"Innovation, breakthrough, leadership." Guo Qilin, chairman of Geotechnical Company, gave it high praise. Over the past 20 years, Geotechnical Geology Company's scientific and technological innovation capabilities have continued to strengthen, and its production and operation scale has expanded rapidly. It has embarked on a path of "strengthening the core survey business and diversifying engineering design and comprehensive testing businesses," growing into a shining star in the geotechnical survey industry and in domestic and international markets.

Looking to the future, Geotechnical Geology Company will continue, under the leadership of Geotechnical Company, to bravely shoulder the mission of development in the new era, take geotechnical survey as its foundation and technological innovation as its engine, and stride forward toward intelligence, informatization, diversification, and globalization, becoming an industry model and technological pioneer in the great journey of high-quality water conservancy development.