On Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which has numerous peaks and sources of rivers, you can find the bluest sky and whitest cloud, the grasslands, pastures and snow-covered mountains. 

The XCMG employee Zhang Xu, in his 30s, came to work in Lhasa of Tibet as the Service Engineer of Steel Mantis. He would start the unique adventure in the mysterious land of snow. 

After reaching the service point from Lhasa, he found the sky becoming cloudy and warm sunlight becoming a luxury. Sometimes it is sunny in the morning, but rain falls in the afternoon. On the next morning, the fog falls with only 5-10m visibility. Because the sea level approaches 4,000m, the oxygen percentage in the air is only 60%, resulting in difficult movement. Zhang Xu, in spite of the altitude sickness, works hard to maintain and repair the equipment. He knows fully well the poor external environment would raise higher requirements for reliability of the “steel mantis”. To his pleasure, the product does not have other problems except the basic maintenance. 

The winding and difficult terrains 

On the following day after his arrival, Zhang Xu was instructed to rally all machinery and drive upward from the foot of the mountain because the bumpy mountain roads are difficult for large vehicles. Zhang Xu and his fellow operators started in the heavy rain. The “steel mantis” drove on the risky mountain roads. They started at eight in the morning and reached halfway on the mountain at eight in the night. It took the “steel mantis” 12 hours to drive stably on the winding mountain roads without even one failure. 

More difficulties are around the corner. The winding dirt road started with the halfway to the mountain top, which was muddy after the heavy rain. The stones and gravels were scattered on the road, of which the largest diameter exceeded one meter. The “steel mantis” climbed many obstacles, revealing their super-strong adaptability. Zhang Xu didn’t remember how long they drove. But he remembered he drove through 44 turns till he reached the destination. In the scheduled time, the “steel mantis” completed the task. 

The numerous grooves

Zhang Xu was shocked by the scene when he reached the destination. From where he was standing, he could see the land covered with numerous grooves, which seemed to produce the mammoth power, stretching hard and connecting the earth with the sky. The few “steel mantis” machines stopped close by. He found that, after long-time intensive operations, some bucket teeth became blunt. The three reinforced tendons on the back of the bucket were almost flat, a testimonial of the mammoth workload. 

The Equipment Section Chief said, “These grooves are made by the ‘steel mantis’. Where we are standing is the slope above 40 degrees, which cannot be reached by some construction machinery. Even if some machines climb up, they would damage the road surface, leaving problems for subsequent operations. Only the ‘steel mantis’ can reach the construction sites without difficulty and operate stably. They are very reliable.” Seeing this, Zhang Xu was moved and excited because XCMG products are contributing to the border control. So he works harder to check each machine in a careful way. 

Gratitude letters and banners reveal his merits

Because of oxygen lack, Zhang Xu feels a ever greater fatigue after the inspection/repair. The customer found he was tired and asked him not to check products if they do not come to check date. But Zhang Xu politely refused the well-intended proposal. On each morning, Zhang Xu would do the checking before the operation. He was always the last one to sleep in the tent. Thanks to his efforts, each “steel mantis” becomes energetic. 

Zhang Xu wins the great praise and recognition from the client thanks to his professional skills and diligent attitude. The one-month service came to the end. Before returning to Xuzhou, the client sent gratitude letter and banner to XCMG. Since 2010, XCMG has made active and free service visits. The “steel mantis” has received eight gratitude letters and over 20 banners, winning great praise among the clients. 

Recalling the service, Zhang Xu said, “I felt so proud after walking on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, on the foot of iceberg, through the primitive forest, and across the cliffs and finding only XCMG machinery can work in such complex terrains and help with the border control.”