Yubeng's annual electricity consumption increased from 70,000 kWh in 2012 to 4,385,500 kWh in 2022 thanks to the construction of a 10-KV power grid. (Xinhua/Cao Mengyao)

Wangden inspects power lines in Yubeng Village of Deqen County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 8, 2023.

Wangden, 34, is the associate director of the Yunnan branch of China Southern Power Grid's Yanmen power supply station in Deqen County. In 2015, he was assigned to take charge of maintenance tasks in Yubeng, a local village lying at the foot of snow-capped mountains. As Yubeng's longest-serving power supply worker, the man has witnessed tremendous changes in the village.

In the past, Yubeng was virtually cut off from the outside world, with no electricity or communication signal. According to Wangden, power service personnel had to walk 18 kilometers over a mountain pass at an elevation of 3,700 meters to complete a single mission that would take 10 hours due to poor traffic. In 2018, a road was built, reducing the time it takes to enter Yubeng to 40 minutes, saving a significant amount of time spent on the way.