After two morning meetings, Ning Weidong barely had time for a quick lunch -- while still listening to work reports -- before heading out for his routine afternoon inspection at the construction site of Beijing's subsidiary administrative center in Tongzhou District.

Ning Weidong is the project manager and secretary of the CPC branch of the "No. 1 Project" of building Beijing’s subsidiary administrative center. [Photo by Dong Ning/China.org.cn]

As project manager and secretary of the CPC branch of the "No. 1 Project" of building Beijing's subsidiary administrative center, Ning's daily schedule is packed with project planning and management of the site that covers 319,000 square meters.

Ning has worked in construction for 23 years, and over the years has become a well-known veteran in his professional circle, especially for his efficiency and speed.

Ning said a major turning point in his career came in the aftermath of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan Province.

"I used to simply take my job as a way to make a living, and it was good enough to do my job adequately," Ning said. "But I realized that the meaning of my job is far from that. What I built could help people, especially at the crucial moment."

After the quake, Ning was sent to the disaster areas for restoration and reconstruction. As he arrived in Wenchuan, he and his team had to overcome many obstacles, such as the lack of transportation and resources.

"When I saw the local victims building shelters on their collapsed houses, I feel an urgent need to construct the temporary housing for them as soon as possible in order to help them to have a place to live after the disaster," he said. "I really felt pride in my work."

With this new sense of duty, Ning came back from Sichuan to continue his work in various construction projects. Over the years, the sites he had worked on totaled some 2 million square meters. Last year, he became the project manager of the "No.1 Project."

"I used to be in charge of repairing the old building of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee," he said. "Though the transition to building Tongzhou's new administrative area is pretty familiar with me, I still feel the heavy burden which fell on my shoulders. And it pushes me harder to be more involved in this project and to make breakthroughs."

Under his leadership, Ning's crew completed construction of the major buildings of the new administrative area in only 92 days in mid-January. On average, the team built one entire floor of the buildings every four days, and created properties worth 6 million yuan (US$911,600) per day. This efficiency was dubbed "A1 Speed."

"Ning has already taken the construction site as his own home. Our workers always call him a workaholic," said Wang Shoujuan, Ning's co-worker and the deputy secretary of the CPC branch of the project. "With a great sense of commitment to the CPC, the courage to take responsibilities and the love for his work, Ning is the unquestioned leader for this project. We trust him."

Ning was not only strict and pursued the highest quality in his work, he also called on the 22 CPC members in his team to take on leadership roles in their daily work.

"The project is amazing," Ning said. "What I truly love is not the cold concrete and walls, but the people who build them. As a CPC member, it's my honor to take part in this construction."