In 2003, the opportunity came when Xu was appointed the lead designer of the Wu-Guang high-speed railway. The project was questioned by foreign counterparts in the beginning, mainly because the construction environment was difficult-the line had to be laid on a diverse terrain.

"We had to rely on ourselves and make breakthroughs in core technologies," says Xu.

He once led over 40 teams to work on different aspects of the project such as bases, bridges, tunnels, control system, communication links and the maintenance system.

In order to test sets of data, the teams sometimes worked for days without rest. The endeavor was stressful but satisfying.

Over 95 percent of the Wu-Guang railway tracks are welded together without ballast, because of the terrain conditions. The teams also improved the technology. The bases of these tracks are made of concrete and attached to concrete beds, which make the high-speed trains run smoothly and cost less in maintenance.

The application of advanced technology in Wu-Guang high-speed railway created new records, says Xu, giving the example of a bridge with an arch span of 140 meters as among the longest such bridges built without ballast tracks at that time.