The lab was filled with expensive equipment, some of which was unique. More than 180 superconducting detectors cooled by liquid nitrogen alone cost more than 24 million yuan (US$3.7 million). They were part of Jiuzhang 3, China’s next world-leading quantum computer based on light, and Zhong was working late writing code for an experiment.

06:01

There’s a global semiconductor shortage and this is why it matters

There’s a global semiconductor shortage and this is why it matters

He found the water was coming from a locked laboratory. After calling for help, other students also still at work joined him in the rescue bid. With the help of security guards they forced the door open and stemmed the leak.

The authorities awarded Zhong and four other students 120,000 yuan (US$19,000) between them. In a statement on Thursday, the national research centre said much equipment might have been destroyed and the Jiuzhang 3 project “delayed by over a year”.

But China’s research community, where overtime is the norm, is asking why the students were working through the night and into the early hours of Sunday.

“We know they are working hard, but not that they are working so hard,” said a quantum scientist in Beijing who asked not to be named.

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It is widely believed that intensive investment by the government enabled China to catch up quickly in the field of quantum computing. The hard work and personal sacrifice of Chinese researchers, especially PhD candidates and postdoctoral fellows, remained little known.

Although a student, Zhong played a key role in China’s quantum computer program, according to a report by Xinhua in May. He was the lead author of a paper on the world’s first quantum computer based on light, and designed important experiments for Jiuzhang.

“In quantum research, every step is new and risky,” he was quoted by state news agency Xinhua as saying.

“In our team, quite a few members are in their 30s or 20s … doing an experiment is like looking for the right path in countless crossroads sometimes. Failures are the most common. When there is a problem, we have no choice but to redesign the experiment and repeat again and again,” Zhong said.

01:31

China’s new family education law bars parents from putting heavy academic pressure on children

China’s new family education law bars parents from putting heavy academic pressure on children

According to a recent study led by the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development in Beijing, nearly all Chinese scientists worked longer than the legal eight hours a day.

“It is also common for researchers in various scientific and technological institutions to work overtime on weekends, and the average length of work is more than two hours. In universities and medical institutions, the overtime work exceeded four hours,” said the study published in the journal Forum on Science and Technology in China in May.

The study found that in general, the quality of research by Chinese scientists did not increase with the excessive work. The long working hours also had “a significant negative influence on their physical and mental health”, especially those working on weekends.

“The mind and body of scientists are in a state of overload. They do not have time for exercise and quality sleep,” the study said.

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The Chinese government has introduced measures such as cutting the workload and increasing the frequency of health checks for researchers. But according to some Chinese science policy experts, it is unlikely the government will regulate to ban scientists from working overtime.

The overall pressure on China scientists was unlikely to drop in the near future as China’s competition with the US intensified, they said.