On June 17, 1967, a huge mushroom cloud rose in the desert of Xinjiang, marking the successful development of China's first hydrogen bomb. At the time, few knew the name of Yu Min, a key contributor behind this.

In the 1950s, China started to build an atomic bomb of its own for national security, with famous nuclear physicist Qian Sanqiang as the leading scientist. While the making of the A-bomb was in full swing, research into the hydrogen bomb was also on the agenda. In 1961, Qian invited Yu to participate in the preliminary study of the H-bomb theory. By then, Yu had already made great achievements in theoretical nuclear physics, so joining the group to study the H-bomb theory was a major change of his research direction. Yu later said that he preferred theoretical work to applied technology, but at the time he knew what he was obliged to do: "The Chinese nation did not bully others, nor should it be bullied by others." "Nuclear weapons are a means of protection." This national sentiment was his spiritual motivation.

In order to accelerate China's self-reliant hydrogen bomb program, Yu worked tirelessly and completed the design of the bomb after three months of doing calculations. "We used a computer for calculations," Yu's younger colleague Du Xiangwan recalled, "but Yu Min could discover a computer bug in doing a calculation. This was due to his profound knowledge of theoretical physics."

Yu's talent, hard work and leadership, together with other scientists' perseverance, led to the successful explosion of China's first H-bomb, merely two experimental months after the test of its first A-bomb on October 16, 1964, a miraculously shortest interval between both tests hitherto successfully completed.

In later years Yu moved on to the development of second-generation nuclear weapons until he retired in 1989. Having gone through all the hardships and risks, including radiation damage to his health, he finally came to make breakthroughs in bringing China's technology in this field to a new level.

For nearly 30 years, the personal sacrifices Yu had to make were enormous. Nuclear weapon projects were highly classified in the 1960s, so his name remained a secret until 1988. Even his wife had no idea of his involvement before then. Moreover, Yu could not publish his research papers or have his own students.

Yu's important role in China's national defense has now been publicly recognized. He was awarded the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" Achievement Medal in 1999, and honored with the country's top science and technology award in 2014. He was also presented with the Medal of the Republic in September 2019, some months after his death that year. It is China's highest honor for people who have made outstanding contributions to the pursuit of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation. Despite all the honors and awards, Yu declined to be called the "father of the hydrogen bomb". He said, "one's name will fade over time. When I can do my little bit to make our motherland prosper, that's enough to console myself."