China News Service, Yantai, October 15th. Title: "Scraping Dabai" World Champion: I just practiced and did it
Author Wang Jiaoni Yang Funing
Two weeks after the 48th World Skills Competition (hereinafter referred to as the "World Competition") ended, the Internet popularity of "Shandong guy scraping Dabai to become the world champion" gradually faded away. Xue Haoxin, who won the gold medal in the plastering and partition system project, has returned to his daily routine and appeared at the training station of Yantai Urban and Rural Construction School.
On September 27, 2026, the 48th WorldSkills Competition concluded in Shanghai. Xue Haoxin (middle) won the gold medal in the plastering and partition system project. Photo provided by interviewee
At 7:30, the sound of the chain nail gun sounded on time. In the last few days of the World Championships, related topics were on the hot search. Faced with the label of "winning the world championship for nothing" in the outside world, 21-year-old Xue Haoxin always laughed it off and immediately explained: "It's not the kind that everyone understands."
Why not? What is assessed in the world competition is not "scraping" as the public understands, but a set of architectural decoration technology systems covering 6 modules, distributed in a 4-day, 22-hour competition schedule. Among them, the two modules of partition wall construction and sound insulation cotton installation account for about 70% of the total score, and plastering is only one of the modules.
"The most difficult part is not plastering, but building walls and nailing." Xue Haoxin said that partition wall construction is the basis of all subsequent processes. If you make a mistake at one step, you will lose points at every step. Competitors must read complex construction drawings and complete the processes of building light steel keel frames, cutting and transporting gypsum boards, and fixing panels. The entire wall of the competition is 2.35 meters high, and the local detail error must be controlled within 1 mm. No garbage should be left on the construction site, and the dust generated by the work must be cleaned up in time. Comprehensive literacy is also included in the evaluation scope.
During the on-site capping operation, he had to step on the ladder, hold the board with one hand, and finish nailing and fixing it with the other hand, which consumed a lot of physical strength. The nail spacing on the wall is 25 cm, and the nail spacing on the top surface is 17 cm. If 50 or more screws fail to meet the standard, the sub-score will be reset to zero.
On October 9, 2026, Xue Haoxin was sorting tools at Yantai Urban and Rural Development School. Photo by Liu Hao
Recalling the early days of training, Xue Haoxin said that in the first year of training, his hands had not yet developed a stable feel, and the nails were almost all too deep. It was later discovered that the depth parameters of the chain nail gun were not adjusted properly. That year, he consumed nearly 20,000 chain strap nails.
It is strictly forbidden to polish the plastering module, and the "mirror effect" must be achieved by hand feel. Xue Haoxin said that when he first came into contact with decorative sand plastering, he could never meet the standards and was very anxious for a time: "There is no other way but to find the feel bit by bit by myself."
Behind these exquisite craftsmanship are years of almost closed-end repeated polishing. Xue Haoxin entered Yantai Urban and Rural Construction School in 2020. In 2021, the school's World Championship training base accepted new students, and the class teacher recommended him to participate. Since then, he has gone through various levels of selection at the city, provincial, and national competitions, breaking through among the training players and winning a ticket to the World Championships.
During the preparation stage, he came to the training station early every day, took a one-hour lunch break, and finished work around 21:00. When he encountered a module that was difficult to break through, he would practice more until 23:00. When a work fails to meet the standards, it will be dismantled and redone: “Tearing down parts that are not satisfactory is also a way to release stress.”
The picture shows Xue Haoxin in the game. Photo provided by interviewee
Standing on the world stage will not only test your skills, but also your on-the-spot response. During the installation of module two sound insulation cotton, with only 15 minutes left before the end of the competition, Xue Haoxin discovered that a small piece of sound insulation cotton was missing. He took the time to quickly reinstall and finally completed the installation.
In Xue Haoxin's view, this experience is not legendary. "I just learned it through practice and hard work." He said that there are no shortcuts to this skill, and it relies on years of practice over and over again.
Xue Haoxin's victory also attracted attention to the Yantai Urban and Rural Construction School where he works. The school is one of the earliest secondary vocational schools in China to participate in the World Skills Competition. It is a Chinese training base for plastering and partition systems, ceramic tile veneers and other competitions recognized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. It has undertaken national training tasks for several consecutive sessions.
Now, Xue Haoxin has chosen to stay in school to teach, passing on the practical experience gained from the competition to the next generation of contestants without reservation. At 7:30 every day, the sound of the chain nail gun rings at the training station as usual.
