Pioneer

This film (drama)Also known as奠基者，is aMainland ChinaProducerbeauty live，At2010Released in year 。The dialogue language isMandarin，Current Douban rating8.2(For reference only)。

In early 1958, during the first five-year plan after the founding of New China, only the Ministry of Petroleum failed to meet its goals. Western countries attempted to "suffocate red China" using oil, leaving the young nation in a petroleum crisis, and leaders like Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai were at a loss. General Yu Qiuli, a one-armed general and Minister of the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army, took on the role of Minister of Petroleum during this critical time. After taking office, Yu Qiuli actively sought oil fields in the east, following Deng Xiaoping's instructions to shift the focus of oil exploration from the west to the east. At the second session of the Eighth National Congress, Yu led the Ministry of Petroleum with the determined tone of "achievements soft, but our words cannot be soft," catching various departments by surprise. In April 1958, while inspecting in Nanchong, Sichuan, Yu Qiuli introduced the military tradition of establishing party branches at the squad level into the oil sector, requiring each drilling team to set up a party branch and assign a political instructor, insisting on building grassroots party organizations even if it meant drilling fewer wells. As Sino-Soviet relations soured, the Soviet Union betrayed its commitments and withdrew its experts. The surrounding situation of young New China became increasingly tense. Leaders like Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Defense Minister Peng Dehuai were very concerned about the oil situation. Wells such as Longnvsi No. 2 and Nanchong Well No. 3 struck oil, bringing joy to the Ministry of Petroleum. Mao, attending a meeting in Chengdu, unexpectedly appeared at the Longchang gas field in Sichuan without informing Yu Qiuli, and inscribed "Sichuan has great hope." Soon after, the battle in central Sichuan experienced setbacks, placing immense pressure on Yu Qiuli. After the Eighth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee convened at Lushan, a struggle against "right opportunism" erupted within the party, impacting some leaders in oil factories and mines. Yu Qiuli risked his political position, argued against the majority, and defended his subordinates. On September 26, 1959, Songji Well No. 3 struck a gusher. Vice Minister of Petroleum Kang Shien directed the testing work at Songji Well No. 3, while Ouyang Qin, the first secretary of the Heilongjiang Provincial Committee, personally inspected it and changed Datong Town's name to "Daqing District." Yu Qiuli convened discussions with cadres and experts and ultimately decided to break with convention, shift from exploration, and concentrate all resources of the oil system around Datong Town for a major oil campaign in Songliao. He urged everyone to overcome narrow-mindedness and adopt a broader perspective to explore, develop, and build this major oil field as quickly and efficiently as possible. Under Deng Xiaoping's urging, the report from the Ministry of Petroleum's Party Committee on launching the major oil campaign was quickly approved by Chairman Mao and the Central Committee. A large number of excellent drilling teams, led by Wang Jinxie and others, actively rushed to Daqing to participate in the campaign. In response to some individuals' fears of difficulties, Yu Qiuli proposed the battle slogan, "We will go up if there are conditions; if not, we will also go up." On March 10, 1960, Sa No. 66 well gushed a high output flow of oil. Yu Qiuli continuously convened meetings of the party group, suggesting moving the main battlefront from Datong Town to the Saltu area. Relevant resources from across the country were continuously sent to support Daqing’s construction, and a large number of former military personnel arrived in Daqing as new energy for the oil industry. Wang Jinxie led his team, carrying drilling equipment and tools overnight to the well site, being the first to break ice and prepare for drilling. Yu Qiuli established Wang Jinxie and others as advanced examples in the campaign, and he analyzed the challenges and tasks already apparent in the battle while learning and responding to the situation. A wave of studying Mao's works and "Learning from the Two Theories" surged in Daqing, unifying the workers' thoughts. During the unprecedented rainy season that followed, Yu Qiuli, Kang Shien, and all oil workers overcame multiple hardships under the most difficult economic conditions, such as lacking resources, food, housing, and facing natural and man-made disasters. In just three months, on June 1, 1960, they achieved the first shipment of crude oil, breaking the prediction from Western countries that it would take "at least three years." The deterioration of Sino-Soviet relations led to a near-total halt of the import of aviation kerosene, leaving all Air Force planes grounded and even army vehicles forced to halt. Vice Premier Nie Rongzhen personally wrote to Yu Qiuli, requesting the Ministry of Petroleum to quickly organize the production of domestic kerosene to alleviate this severe situation. Yu Qiuli’s department took charge of the aviation kerosene project and soon achieved success, ending the reliance on imported aviation kerosene. With winter approaching, the biggest challenge facing the campaign team was how to ensure that tens of thousands of people could survive the winter. After research, Yu Qiuli followed the suggestion of Ouyang Qin, Secretary of the Heilongjiang Provincial Committee, fully mobilizing the masses. After four months of hard work, before winter set in, 300,000 square meters of "dry earth walls" were completed, ensuring that "people enter houses, machines enter rooms, vegetables enter cellars, and vehicles enter warehouses," thereby guaranteeing safety through the winter. However, the relentless pursuit of drilling speed by various drilling teams led to a decline in drilling quality, with even Wang Jinxie's benchmark drilling team experiencing issues with well deviations. Yu Qiuli and Kang Shien emphasized a robust approach to primary data collection, drafting an "investigation outline" to obtain 20 types and 72 data points during the drilling and development processes at Daqing, establishing geological technical standards. They held the timely "4/19" on-site meeting, which instilled a lifelong commitment and quality consciousness regarding oil fields among oil workers, significantly improving the quality of drilling and other related projects. They successively summarized experiences such as the position responsibility system and the "three old, four strict, four sameness." Just as the campaign team stabilized, an increasing number of family members arrived while some workers fled, adding tremendous pressure to a team already threatened by hunger and the outbreak of edema disease. In September and October 1960, as national food supplies tightened, the ration for campaign workers was reduced, leading to cases of edema disease among the workforce; the campaign faced severe difficulties. Yu Qiuli emphasized the need to simultaneously focus on production and living conditions, striving to overcome hardships by any means and refusing to waver, insisting on continuing the campaign, no matter how difficult the circumstances. Yu Qiuli promoted the idea of "cadres in the canteen, secretaries in the kitchen." Meanwhile, he mobilized a portion of workers and families to cultivate land creatively, promoting the spirit of "Nan Ni Wan," organizing hunting and fishing teams, and foraging for wild vegetables and fruits, ultimately overcoming hunger and surviving the winter of 1960. As spring plowing season approached in 1961, Yu Qiuli personally led efforts to develop farming and side-line agricultural production. With the expansion of land reclamation, workers' living conditions improved, restoring and enhancing their physical well-being, ensuring the smooth progress of the campaign. In November 1961, Team 1202 overtook the Soviet Gremyachyi team, becoming the world champion in well drilling after just nine and a half months. Leaders like Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and others praised the results achieved during the Daqing campaign. Before leaving Daqing, Yu Qiuli reminded everyone not to become complacent, stating that starting a business was difficult, but maintaining it was even harder. On December 25, 1963, Deng Xiaoping announced to the world that China could now meet its own oil needs, marking the end of more than a century of reliance on imported "foreign oil."