Road to perfection

Though proud of what his team has achieved, Lin concedes that there is still a gap between engineering in China and some other countries, and it will only be closed by innovation and attention to detail.

"You have to view it in a rational way. It's about the advancement of your craft, method, processes and knowledge. Innovation is also a kind of technology. China has entered an era in which it needs to innovate, and is capable of doing so," he said.

Further opening-up and exchanges will also be vital.

Lin gave credit to every foreign expert who contributed to the project, saying he learned a lot whenever he exchanged ideas with them.

While he hailed China's achievements in civil engineering over the past 40 years, he acknowledged that some people in the international engineering community still don't hold "built by China" in the highest regard.

"Foreign experts are fastidious about whether your product has enough advanced technology. It's about your attitude to detail and whether your product is user-friendly and convenient," he said.

"Our goal is very simple and clear - every brick needs to be the finest."

Future goals

He added that more exchanges will help other countries understand China's development.

"By opening up further, we can let other countries understand our level of development - seeing what we can do and how we do it," he said.

"We have an ingrained cultural barrier with other countries that we have to break through. Otherwise, it will become a bottleneck to the Belt and Road Initiative.

"As time goes by, I believe we will become as skilled as advanced countries (with regard to civil engineering), and that's when we will make our foray into the international market."