Cheng Jia (R) and staff member Wang Jinrong work at a test site in the Fenghuoshan observation station in northwest China's Qinghai Province, June 12, 2026.
The Qinghai-Xizang Railway is the world's highest and longest plateau railroad. During the construction and maintenance, Chinese researchers and engineers overcame the challenges of permafrost.
In 1961, researchers established the Fenghuoshan observation station on the northern slope of Fenghuoshan Mountain. Located at an altitude of more than 4,700 meters along the Qinghai-Xizang Railway, it serves as an important base for meteorological and permafrost observations.
Cheng Jia, 43, is a permafrost researcher at the Northwest Research Institute Co., Ltd. of China Railway Group Limited (CREC). Since 2009, he has been trekking between Fenghuoshan station and areas along the plateau rail lines to safeguard the Qinghai-Xizang Railway.
Although monitoring facilities at the station have become increasingly automated, Cheng believes fieldwork is still necessary. Over the past 17 years, he has visited the station five to six times annually, with his longest stay lasting one month.
As to the physical challenges of working on the plateau, Cheng said despite the impacts of altitude sickness, he still stays committed to his job. "Every time I see the railway, it feels like meeting an old friend," he said.
Thanks to the dedication of permafrost researchers and frontline workers, the operation of the Qinghai-Xizang Railway at the permafrost section has remained safe and stable over decades. (Xinhua/Qi Zhiyue)
Cheng Jia checks the ecological restoration on an experimental railway embankment slope at the Fenghuoshan observation station in northwest China's Qinghai Province, June 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Qi Zhiyue)
Cheng Jia (R) and staff member Wang Jinrong check the meteorological observation equipment at the Fenghuoshan observation station in northwest China's Qinghai Province, June 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Qi Zhiyue)
Cheng Jia watches a train running on the Qinghai-Xizang Railway from the Fenghuoshan observation station in northwest China's Qinghai Province, June 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)
Cheng Jia is pictured in snowfall at the Fenghuoshan observation station in northwest China's Qinghai Province, June 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)
Cheng Jia shows observation instruments used by previous researchers at an exhibition room of the Fenghuoshan observation station in northwest China's Qinghai Province, June 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)
Cheng Jia prepares lunch at the Fenghuoshan observation station in northwest China's Qinghai Province, June 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Qi Zhiyue)
An aerial drone photo taken on June 12, 2026 shows a view of the Fenghuoshan observation station in northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Xinhua/Qi Zhiyue)
Cheng Jia works at the Fenghuoshan observation station in northwest China's Qinghai Province, June 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Long)
