Farmer’s Submarine Dream

Zhang Shengwu, a 60-year-old farmer from Ma’anshan City, Anhui Province, successfully built a submarine (潜艇) named “Big BlackFish” by himself, which has drawn widespread attention, CCTV News reported.

Zhang is a villager from Zhangdu Village in Ma’anshan City, Anhui Province. He has been interested in invention since childhood. Over the years, Zhang has worked in carpentry (木工), welding (焊接), and the shipping industry. Over 20 years ago, he returned to his hometown and built a wharf (码头) to sell sand, where he spent his days watching cargo ships come and go.

In 2014, Zhang saw a person build a submarine through a TV program, and this made him decide to build one by himself. Despite his family's concerns over the cost and risk, Zhang still decided to build his own submarine.

Drawing on his practical experience with boats and handcrafting, Zhang spent about 5,000 yuan on materials. It took him six months to build his first submarine, which is 6 meters long, 1.2 meters high and weighs 2 tons. Although his first submarine suffered from sealing issues (密封问题) during submersion, the invention earned him a utility model patent (实用新型专利).

In 2016, he developed a surface ship that created minimal waves while in motion. This invention also received a utility model patent.

However, this grassroots inventor had a bigger dream. His most ambitious project is the current new generation submarine. He spent over 40,000 yuan on its construction. This new submarine has a length of 7 meters, a height of 1.8 meters, and weighs 5 tons. It can dive to 8 meters, hold a capacity for two people and travel at a minimum speed of 4 nautical miles per hour. To improve its stability (稳定性), Zhang made improvements to it. Watching his submarines grow larger and his techniques improve, he dreams of building an even larger, fully functional one.