Welcoming the 20th National Congress, Striding Forward on a New Journey: Showcase of Outstanding Communist Party Members (Part III)

China National Geological Professionals Who Conquered the Sea of Death

Record of the Geological Research Institute of the China Chemical Geology And Mining Bureau, Geng Hao

Geng Hao, male, a native of Baoding City, Hebei Province, was born in October 1988. He joined the Communist Party of China in May 2011 and began working in July 2011. He currently serves as the team leader of the Luobei Production and Exploration Project Team and concurrently holds the positions of Publicity Officer and Discipline Inspection Officer within the Party Branch of the Water and Environmental Geology Center at the Institute of Geological Research.

As a member of the Communist Party of China, Geng Hao has consistently upheld the leadership of the Party and maintained a firm political stance. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, he has conscientiously fulfilled his duties as a Party member in both thought and action, rigorously adhered to the provisions of the Party Constitution, continuously enhanced his overall competence and professional capabilities, and inspired his colleagues through concrete actions.

As a geologist, he is deeply passionate about his profession and steadfastly remains wherever the project takes him, tirelessly working on the front lines in the field. During his first four years on the job, he spent 11 months each year in the field, crisscrossing much of China. On these projects, he has braved relentless floods, endured Category‑15 typhoons battering isolated islands, and faced blizzards that shut down entire mountain passes—among many other challenges. Yet in his eyes, the work itself often seemed even more important than his own family.

In 2018, upon joining the Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, he accompanied his project team to the Tongling environmental project. There, the summer climate was humid and sweltering, with dense vegetation and numerous marshes; for the sake of the project, he often had to navigate through thickets of weeds and thorns taller than himself, all while keeping wild boars and venomous snakes as constant companions. Despite these myriad field challenges, he never flinched, for he knew that life’s clearest footprints are often left on the muddiest paths. In Tongling, Anhui, he gained invaluable experience and insights.

In 2019, Geng Hao and several of his colleagues answered their organization’s call to head to Lop Nur in Xinjiang, lending support to the region’s geological endeavors. On his very first day there, as he gazed out from the bumpy cab of a pickup truck at the vast, desolate expanse of salt crust stretching endlessly before him, he couldn’t help but reflect: even in today’s highly developed economy, Lop Nur’s climate, communications, transportation, food supply, freshwater availability, and medical infrastructure still stand in stark contrast to those of the outside world. In this uninhabited zone, even the most ordinary things are of unimaginable importance to those who live here. With fervent dedication and boundless passion, he thus embarked on the daunting task of working in Lop Nur—known as the “Sea of Death.” Since the outbreak of the COVID‑19 pandemic, stationed in Lop Nur—a strategically vital area for national mineral resources and military operations—he has shouldered the dual responsibility of combating the epidemic. Across a 2,000‑square‑kilometer work zone encompassing the Gobi salt flats and yardang landforms, he has actively coordinated ten mobile operation sites, mobilizing nearly 60 project personnel. Traveling back and forth along the rugged salt‑crust roads to conduct nucleic acid testing and vaccinations—each round trip taking three to five hours—he has ensured the health and safety of both the local community and the project itself.

Since August 2019, he has participated in more than ten projects, including the “New Pressurized Groundwater Monitoring Network for the Luobei Depression Liquid Potash Salt Mine of SDIC Luojia Company (W2, W3, W4),” the “Drilling Works for the First Phase of the Brine‑Extraction Well Upgrade and Reconstruction at SDIC Luojia Company,” and the “Potash Resource Exploration Project in the Luobei Mining Area, Layers W1–W4.” These projects encompass technical services across multiple domains, such as hydrogeology, mineral resources, engineering geology surveys, and numerical modeling, with a total project value exceeding RMB 50 million. In addressing the challenges posed by these projects, his team has actively pursued technological R&D and tackled key scientific and engineering problems. Notably, the project team pioneered the development of a three‑dimensional visualization system for underground brine in the Lop Nur region, enabling prediction of dynamic groundwater level fluctuations and identification of optimal extraction strategies—crucial contributions to the sustainable development of mining enterprises. The “Research and Pilot Project on Horizontal and Vertical Well Brine‑Extraction Technologies at SDIC Luojia Company” marked the first application of horizontal directional drilling in the Lop Nur salt lake area, demonstrating advanced innovation within China and holding significant practical implications for enhancing brine recovery rates and advancing green mine construction. Meanwhile, the ongoing “Potash Resource Exploration Project in the Luobei Mining Area, Layers W1–W4” introduces a novel “layered, segmented water‑extraction” technique—also a first in the Lop Nur region—enabling precise extraction from distinct brine layers and real-time head monitoring, thereby substantially reducing labor and equipment costs. He and his team members continue to devote themselves wholeheartedly to advancing projects and driving technological innovation in the Lop Nur region.

In fieldwork, he frequently encounters challenges and unexpected situations, yet he remains undaunted, humbly learning from colleagues and senior mentors and patiently attending to every detail. He is analytical and places a strong emphasis on innovation. Over the past three years, he has filed four invention patent applications, two of which he authored as the first inventor; he has also published a total of three papers in Peking University–listed core journals and EI‑indexed publications, including one as the first author in a Peking University–listed core journal. He has been awarded honors such as the China National Chemical Corporation’s First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress, the Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources’ Excellence Award for Original Data Presentation and Quality, and the title of “Young Skilled Professional.”