Yan Hongyu is setting an example for women, across China, who are pursuing their dreams of achieving successful careers. Yan is a worker with Xinjiang Energy Chemical Co., Ltd's Department of Security, Health and Environmental Conservation, in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Xinjiang Energy Chemical is a subsidiary of China Energy Investment Corporation (CHN Energy). In March 2025, Yan was named a National March 8th Red-Banner Holder.
Her accomplishments are well-deserved. Yan joined CHN Energy in 2014, and she has never wavered from her strongly held conviction "one shall perform work with full dedication, love the profession and strive for excellence and craftsmanship." With her unwavering commitment to environmental protection, and her pursuit and perfection of professional expertise, Yan has regularly achieved outstanding performance at work. For her efforts, Yan has earned many honorary titles, including National Technical Expert and Most Beautiful Worker in CHN Energy.
Highly Competent
In the cabinets in Yan's office, more than 200 well-preserved, yellowed, chemical process flow diagrams document her growth at workplace. "It seemed to be a three-dimensional maze when I first came to the facility zone," Yan recalls. As she was a new college graduate, in environmental engineering, she was overwhelmed by the complicated, coal-chemical-wastewater-treatment system, which were composed of pipelines, monitoring sites and sophisticated equipment.
Nevertheless, Yan showed extraordinary perseverance, and she quickly adapted to the complicated production procedures. At that time, she was always the first person to arrive at work. Yan shuttled between pipelines, especially the valves, to study the system and gain a better understanding of production procedures. She showed no fear when she climbed the pipe racks, more than 10 meters above the ground, and she continually asked her veteran colleagues for instructions. During her first three months with the company, Yan managed to acquaint herself with each pipeline, and she memorized the technical standards and operational principles behind wastewater treatment.
Given her outstanding performance, Yan was selected to participate in the commissioning of the advanced Distributed Control System (DCS). She worked hard to master the DCS equipment. For example, Yan spent hours learning how to verify the signal pathways against the piping and instrument diagrams (PID). She also conducted software simulations of trigger conditions, usually in the evenings, and she devoted her weekends to studying relevant historical cases of DCS commissioning.
Her efforts have paid off; as she has continued to learn and hone her skills, Yan has developed the ability to independently write operational-logic codes for DCS. Those codes, and her work ethic, have earned Yan high praise from the company's veteran technicians, who have praised Yan for her clear and logical thinking. Her near-obsessive dedication allowed Yan to pass the qualification assessment with zero errors. Yan became the youngest chief operator of the company's wastewater-treatment system.
Sense of Responsibility
During the past decade, Yan has held to the philosophy that "those who act persistently will succeed, and those who keep moving will arrive at their destination." Yan is not only proficient in daily monitoring and inspections, but also demonstrates a maturity beyond her years in project management. She is a true expert, from preparation of technical plans, in the early stages, to on-site tracking and final project acceptance.
In July 2024, the sudden failure of sludge dryers brought the wastewater-treatment system to the edge of shutdown. Yan immediately agreed to join the repair team. She led workers in adjusting the process parameters, for pressure stabilization, and she reviewed all of the operation records. She guided the team in repairing the system once she identified the breakdown point.
After 24 hours of intensive repair work, the sludge dryers were back in working order. In subsequent, preventive-maintenance efforts, she made effective suggestions to ensure the stable, long-term operation of the dryers. Her suggestions have saved the company nearly 1.5 million yuan (US $214,286) in basic, annual maintenance costs.
Innovation
Yan says innovation is like tightening a screw; in particular, it requires both strength and direction. In June 2020, an innovation-work studio was established in Yan's name. The studio has rolled out more than 10 sci-tech innovation projects, to tackle various bottleneck problems that arise in the operation of water-related systems. It has also elevated the utilization rate of recycled water to 98.88 percent, which in turn has helped the plant achieve its efficient-wastewater utilization and zero-wastewater-emission targets.
In 2024, Xinjiang Energy Chemical was named one of the Water Efficient Utilization Leaders, for key water-consuming enterprises, by the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It was also named one of the Water-Saving Model Companies, and one of the Industrial-level Water Efficient Utilization Leaders, by the government of Xinjiang.
Under Yan's leadership, the innovation-work studio, composed of 25 members, has achieved technological breakthroughs in the coal-chemical sector. The studio has also consistently ensured innovation drives high-quality development.
Yan refuses to rest on her laurels. She still inspects the facility zone every morning. She continues to hone her knowledge and skills, just as she did to transform herself from an ordinary operator into a technical expert. Her success proves anyone who moves forward with passion and determination can turn dreams into reality and lead a remarkable life.
(Source: CHN Energy/Women of China)
Editor: Cui Rui
