The steel dome was hoisted onto the top of the No.1 reactor at Xudabao Nuclear Power Plant, funded and operated by China National Nuclear Power Co Ltd (CNNP), a subsidiary of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), on August 28. The plant is located in Northeast China's Liaoning province.

It marked the final stage of the construction of a large-scale steel structural module for the unit — laying a solid foundation for completing the nuclear island's building structure.

Sitting on top of the steel-plate concrete structure, the steel dome is the core load-bearing structure of the nuclear island.

It bears the full load of the passive containment cooling water storage tank and its upper components — playing a crucial role in safeguarding the structural integrity and reliable sealing of the reactor building.

Featuring a conical shape, it has a diameter of about 41 meters, a height of 11 meters and a total hoisting weight of nearly 1,000 tons.

During the construction process, CNNP Liaoning Nuclear Power worked together with other participating companies to draw inspiration from other successful experience in hoisting of steel domes of similar units.

What's more, it carried out a special review of construction plans and full-procedure simulation rehearsals in advance. In addition, it undertook preventive measures against component deformation, equipment collision and the center-of-gravity offset — ultimately achieving the precise hoisting and positioning of the nuclear island's steel dome.

The nuclear power plant consists of six million-kilowatt-class pressurized water reactor nuclear power units.

With a total installed capacity of over 7.6 million kW, it's expected to generate nearly 54 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually, reduce the burning of 19.2 million tons of standard coal each year, and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 56.7 million tons per year — equivalent to the annual carbon absorption of 360,000 hectares of forests.