A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

The maiden flight day has finally arrived.

The first flight on the Kashgar route is scheduled to depart at 10:00 AM.

At six o'clock in the morning, before it was fully light, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from the roads outside the airport.

The security guard on duty hurriedly reported, "Mr. Han, there are... there are so many horse-drawn carriages outside!"

Han Jidong ran to the observation platform, and the sight before him instantly brought tears to his eyes. Hundreds of horse-drawn carriages were lined up in a long queue, each carriage filled with sacks containing golden dried apricots.

Fruit farmers in Hotan spontaneously organized a team to escort the first batch of agricultural products transported by air to the airport in the most traditional way.

Old Man Aili walked at the front of the group. When he saw Han Jidong, he tightly grasped Han Jidong's hand with his rough, calloused hand. "Mr. Han," he said, "our dried apricots used to take five days to reach Urumqi by land, and a third of them would be lost."

Today, they're taking an airplane!

The horse-drawn carriages slowly drove into the airport cargo area in the morning light, a scene that amazed everyone present.

Ground staff, flight crew, and even reporters who rushed to the scene watched this moment in silence.

Zhai Yang stood in front of the freight station where his father used to work, tears silently streaming down his face.

At 9:40 a.m., the first batch of 20 tons of dried apricots was loaded onto the machine.

At 9:50 a.m., passengers began boarding.

Zhu Laichen and three business representatives boarded the first-class cabin; they were on their way to Guangzhou to discuss an export order for cotton textiles.

At 10:00 AM sharp, the control tower issued the order: "Shandong Airlines 6147, you are cleared for takeoff."

Han Jidong, Lao Wang, Zhai Yang, and all the airport staff stood on the tarmac, watching the plane disappear into the clouds.

Old Wang suddenly spoke, his voice choked with emotion: "President Han, we...we've really taken off."

Han Jidong looked up at the sky and nodded emphatically: "This is just the beginning."

On the flight to Guangzhou, Zhu Laichen looked out the window at his hometown, which was gradually shrinking, and said to his fellow passengers, "From now on, we won't have to transfer flights and cause any more trouble."

Inside the cargo hold, the golden dried apricots lay quietly. They would arrive in Guangzhou in five hours and then appear on the shelves of southern markets, where they would be 15% more expensive than those transported by land, but they would be in perfect condition, plump and sweet.

The air corridor has finally opened.

And everyone knows that this is just the beginning.

On the day a new batch of intelligent security inspection equipment arrived at Shihezi Airport, Lao Xue, the head of the security inspection department, smoked half a pack of cigarettes at the warehouse entrance.

"Mr. Han, is this product really reliable?"

He stubbed out his cigarette. "Can machines be sharper than human eyes?"

"I've worked in security checks for thirty years. I've seen people stuff drugs in toothpaste and hide razor blades in their shoes. Can machines detect that?"

"Old Xue, technology is an aid, not a substitute."

This equipment can automatically identify prohibited items, reducing the workload of our security personnel—”

"pressure?"

Old Xue's voice rose eight octaves: "Security checks are all about creating pressure."

Without pressure, where does a sense of responsibility come from?

"If the machine scans the area and people relax their vigilance, who will be responsible if something goes wrong?"

The argument between the two quickly spread throughout the airport.

At the security meeting, Lao Xue slammed his fist on the table: "I disagree. This is not about money; it's about the bottom line of security."

Our airport has had zero accidents since it opened. What is the secret to that?

"With manual security checks, you have to watch everyone closely and check them repeatedly. What if you miss someone when it's a machine?"

Han Jidong tried to keep his tone calm: "Old Xue, intelligent security checks have been used in more than a dozen major airports in China for a year now, and the detection rate is 5 percentage points higher than that of manual checks."

We can't say it's impossible just because we haven't seen it before.

"A big airport is a big airport, and we are us!"

Old Xue wouldn't back down an inch, "Those machines are complicated to operate, can we old comrades learn them?"

Ask the people down there!

The dozen or so veteran security guards sitting below all lowered their heads.

Forty-five-year-old Lao Wang muttered under his breath, "I can't even use a smartphone properly, this high-tech gadget..."

Three days later, Han Jidong insisted on testing the intelligent security inspection equipment in Channel A.

The result was complete chaos.

The veteran security guards either stood helplessly next to the machine, or they still habitually stopped passengers for manual inspection.

When the device indicates an error, they are unsure whether to believe it or not.

To make matters worse, the security check speed at the manual lanes B and C has slowed down significantly. The veteran security guards seem to have made a pact to touch passengers from head to toe, and they shake every piece of clothing three times before opening and inspecting their bags.

"Comrade, I'm in a hurry!" A business traveler hurriedly checked his watch.

Safety first!

The elderly security guard said expressionlessly, "Please cooperate."

The passenger complaint call went directly to Han Jidong's office.

On that day, the on-time performance rate of flights plummeted to the third lowest in Xinjiang.

"This is a protest."

Old Wang told Old Xue privately, "Everyone just wants to show the leaders that machines are useless without people."

Old Xue didn't say anything, but stared at the intelligent security scanner in lane A for a long time.

That night, Lao Xue didn't go home; he wandered around the security checkpoint alone.

He walked up to the smart device and reached out to touch its cold body.

"Section Chief Xue?" Zhai Yang, who was on duty, happened to pass by. "You haven't left yet?"

Old Xue sighed: "Xiao Zhai, do you think this machine... is really better than a person?"

Zhai Yang thought for a moment and said, "Uncle Xue, it's not about being better than others, it's about being able to help others become stronger."

Look, this equipment has X-ray vision, metal detection, and can even analyze liquid composition; it's something the human eye can't match.

But without your years of experience, it can't tell which passenger's expression is off or which action is suspicious.

Old Xue's eyes lit up slightly.

Zhai Yang lowered his voice: "Actually, I've been working on a passenger safety profiling system recently, which is to digitize your experience."

For example, frequent travelers' travel records and ticketing habits, combined with real-time monitoring, can be used to give each traveler a security score. Those with high scores can pass quickly, while those with medium scores will be subject to more thorough checks...

"etc!"

Old Xue suddenly interrupted him, "Your line of thinking... is quite interesting."

The next day, Lao Xue took the initiative to find Han Jidong.

"Mr. Han, I'd like to go to Beijing and Shanghai to see how they use smart security checks at their major airports."

Han Jidong was stunned: "Old Xue, what's going on...?"

"If you're not convinced, you'll have to see for yourself."

Old Xue said in a low voice, "If it really works, then we have to work too."

A week later, Lao Xue returned with two thick notebooks and called a meeting with all the security personnel.

Old Xue's first words stunned everyone: "I was wrong."

Smart devices aren't here to steal our jobs; they're here to help us keep them secure.

He opened his notebook, which was filled with observation records: "At Beijing Airport, intelligent equipment detected three cases of prohibited items that were missed by manual inspection; at Shanghai Airport, human-machine collaboration increased security check speed by 40%."

The veteran security inspectors looked at each other in bewilderment.

Old Xue raised his voice: "But having machines alone is not enough; we also need people who know how to use them."

Starting today, I will lead the development of human-machine collaboration processes for our airport.

Young comrades learn how to operate the equipment, while veteran comrades share their experience.

Old Wang, you're good at reading micro-expressions; Old Li, you're good at checking hidden parts...

Let's integrate all these experiences into the system!

The conflicting emotions began to ease.

Old Xue personally took charge, leading several young security inspectors to study the equipment, transforming thirty years of experience into testing rules, and entering them into the system.

Zhai Yang's passenger safety profiling system was also developed simultaneously.

When Mr. Aili first experienced it, he was surprised to find that the security officer only did a simple check and then let him through.

"That's it?" Eric couldn't believe it.

The security officer explained with a smile, "Uncle Ali, you're a regular at our airport. You've flown eight times in three months, always carrying dried apricots. The system gives you a high rating, so you can use the fast lane."

What's even more surprising is the menu-style service provided by the flexible talent dispatched by Dalian Airport.

For cotton farmers' transportation, they designed a "green channel for agricultural products" - cotton farmers only need to make an appointment on their mobile phones in advance, and the airport will prepare the cargo process in advance, improving the efficiency of cotton bales from arrival to loading by 50%.

Three months later, the Civil Aviation Administration of China released data on the safe operation of airports across Xinjiang. Shihezi Airport's on-time security check rate jumped from the middle to fourth place, and its accident rate remained at zero.

At the commendation meeting, Lao Xue was invited to speak on stage.