Wang Baoguo: From frontline worker to national model worker

Wang Baoguo, factory director of the intelligent manufacturing plant at Ningxia Wantong Construction Engineering Co Ltd, receives the title of National Model Worker in 2025.

For more than three decades, Wang Baoguo has remained on the front lines of production, building a career defined by persistence, technical innovation, contribution, and dedication to his craft. He has successively been honored with the titles of Yinchuan Model Worker, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Model Worker, and National Model Worker of China’s Housing and Urban-Rural Development System.

In 2025, Wang, factory director of the intelligent manufacturing plant at Ningxia Wantong Construction Engineering Co Ltd, was awarded the title of National Model Worker — one of China’s highest honors for workers. The recognition marked the culmination of a 32-year journey that began far from factories and engineering workshops.

A difficult start

Born into a financially struggling family, Wang left school after junior high in 1993 and entered the workforce at an early age.

He took on a series of physically demanding jobs, working as a cattle herder, porter and maintenance assistant. Those early years not only strengthened his resilience, but also gave him extensive hands-on experience at the grassroots level.

When Wang joined Ningxia Wantong Construction Engineering in 2001, the company’s machinery and equipment were still relatively outdated. Determined to improve his skills, he spent his spare time studying electrical circuits, mechanical engineering, construction techniques and computer-aided design.

His self-taught expertise eventually enabled him to design and manufacture 12 mechanical components for the company. Through years of technical troubleshooting and emergency repair work, Wang became known among colleagues as a “grassroots inventor.”

Wang Baoguo works at the plant.

Innovation on the production line

Over the course of his career, Wang has participated in 52 engineering projects, including 11 major government projects.

He also led multiple technical innovation initiatives in natural gas storage well inspection, wellhead replacement and reinforcement technologies. Some of the techniques developed by his team broke domestic inspection records in the field and generated nearly five million yuan ($736,000) in economic benefits over the years.

In 2024, the innovation studio led by Wang was selected as one of Yinchuan city’s model worker and craftsman innovation studios. Since its establishment, the team, made up of model workers and technical specialists, has obtained seven national patents and generated more than three million yuan in economic returns for the company.

Wang Baoguo works at the plant.

Passing on skills and experience

Wang often credits much of his growth to the guidance of his mentor, Zhang Hua, from whom he learned both technical skills and the value of continuous self-improvement.

Combining mentorship with independent study, Wang later carried out 18 technical renovation and innovation projects for the company, helping save more than 1.2 million yuan in production costs.

Today, he also serves as an internal trainer, sharing his technical knowledge and practical experience with younger employees.

Wang Baoguo shares technical skills with a younger worker.

Remaining grounded

Despite receiving honors at the municipal, regional and national levels, Wang remains modest about his achievements.

“These accomplishments would not have been possible without the company’s support and the efforts of the entire team,” he said. “I’m just an ordinary worker doing what I’m supposed to do.”

For the man who once left school early to support his family, the title of National Model Worker stands as recognition not only of technical skill, but of decades of perseverance on the factory floor.