First Viewpoint丨Remember the instructions, be grateful and forge ahead——Return visit of General Secretary Xi Jinping after one year of inspection and research in Zhejiang Grand Canal | Maple Bridge | Xi Jinping

In the golden autumn of a year ago, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Zhejiang for the sixth time after the 18th CPC National Congress. This land, which has always carried earnest instructions and deep expectations, has once again been given a new mission - to always work in a practical way, be at the forefront, and stand at the forefront, striving to write a new chapter of Chinese-style modernization in Zhejiang.

Over the past year, Zhejiang has kept the instructions in mind and worked hard with gratitude. The vitality of scientific and technological innovation has surged, and new achievements have been made in key technology research. The construction of a demonstration zone for common prosperity has taken solid steps, and the "three major gaps" have continued to narrow. Reform has been deepened and opening-up has been expanded. The value-added reform of government services has continued to advance, and the level of opening-up has continued to improve. The construction of a high-level cultural power province has been steadily promoted, and cultural undertakings and cultural industries have prospered and developed. The overall leadership of the Party has been upheld and strengthened, and Party building has been strengthened and improved, and Party discipline education has been carried out in a solid manner.

Recently, we have followed the General Secretary's footsteps and visited rural communities, market enterprises, and cultural parks. Yiwu Lizu Village coordinated resources across villages to expand the "circle of friends" for common prosperity; Yiwu International Trade City, "new three things" went overseas to expand new markets; Zhuji Fengqiao solved new problems in grassroots social governance; the Zhejiang East Canal, a thousand-year-old cultural heritage has a new look...

Lizu Village, Yiwu City. Photo by Chen Yangbo, Sharing Alliance Yiwu

On the evening of September 10, Pumpkin Family Forest Kitchen held a small-scale food trial in a newly built log cabin at the entrance of Lizu Village. Young makers Zhu Jiali and Feng Ling brewed apple cider vinegar, roasted dried fruits, and served a colorful light vegetable dinner, inviting villagers and makers to taste and comment on the food in preparation for the official opening.

Originally, these two new Lizu villagers each ran a sweet business. Farmer Zhu Jiali has been in the village for five years, and her farming experience classes attract more than 10,000 people every year; Feng Ling came to Lizu in 2020 and opened a sweet soup shop in the village.

Young people flocking to the countryside is a common sight in Lizu Village. On September 20, 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited the village and saw many young faces at the "Common Prosperity Market", among whom was Zhu Jiali.

"The General Secretary said that rural revitalization provides a place for young people to display their talents, and he hopes that more young people will play an active role in rural revitalization. These words encouraged us and made us think further: As new villagers, how can we continue to bring new impetus to rural development?" Zhu Jiali told us.

This year, the farm expanded its operating area and added new study and learning experience projects such as ecological beekeeping and tree house building, but Zhu Jiali always felt that there was room for improvement. "80% of the farm's guests are repeat customers. How can we let them have more experiences besides study and learning?" One night, Zhu Jiali and Feng Ling got together and "brainstormed" a new idea: "The farming experience class is basically a whole day, and lunch is a blank spot. In fact, the farm's land and agricultural products are ready, so why not try adding a few more tables?"

The two young people hit it off immediately. In the past few months, Feng Ling has traveled to many places to learn how to cook and research the signature dishes of Forest Kitchen. During the hottest days of August, the two went to the "construction site" every day, "three ideas a minute", and even the carpenter couldn't help but complain.

Young maker Feng Ling prepares dishes in the Pumpkin Family Forest Kitchen. Photo provided by the interviewee

Now that the Forest Kitchen is about to open, the two girls are looking forward to the future: not only will it enrich the rural business format, but when it grows bigger in the future it will also allow villagers to participate, drive employment and help farmers increase their income.

Old formats are being updated, and newcomers are bringing new formats. Last year, two new stores popped up next to Gongfu Plaza, where the General Secretary stayed for a long time.

Wu Xuan, who graduated from the China Academy of Art, and her husband Chen Xun opened a cultural and creative studio in Sanxun. Their main business is designing trendy toys with their own IPs. They also designed several trendy toy images for Lizu Village’s core cultural and creative brand IP, “Polite Joey”.

Next to the studio, Chen Yiji, who used to work in garden design, spent two months designing, constructing and landscaping the shop. The "Floating Green" shop became her ideal countryside and the most popular "new attraction" in the village.

"Lizu Village has kept the General Secretary's instructions in mind and created the most relaxed development space for young makers." Fang Haolong, Party Secretary of Lizu Village, said that in the past year, the number of makers in the village has increased from 209 when the General Secretary came to 260, and the business formats have also become more diverse. The young people who have taken root in Lizu Village have become "seeds" that create infinite possibilities for the village.

Last year, the number of tourists to Lizu Village increased by 350,000 compared with the year before, and the number of tourists in the first seven months of this year has exceeded 600,000. However, in Fang Haolong's eyes, the prosperous Lizu Village is still "primary". "General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized during his inspection in Zhejiang last year that Zhejiang should take the lead in promoting common prosperity." He said that the village has limited space and energy, and on the road to common prosperity, it needs to further expand its pattern.

On September 15, tourists from all over the country checked in and took photos in the quiet alleys of Lizu Village, relaxing and having a vacation. Photo by photographer Hu Xiaofei

This year, Li Zu planned and participated in two major events.

The first is to sort out the operating mechanism of Lizu Village and provide training for young entrepreneurs, so that more young talents can become the "basic plate" to promote the comprehensive revitalization of the village. So far, nearly 2,000 people have completed the training.

Another thing is to establish the "Da Li Zu" common prosperity alliance with the eight surrounding administrative villages. At present, "Da Li Zu" has planned 81 projects, many of which are cross-village projects that coordinate the resources of various villages.

"Lizu Village needs to open up new horizons for its own development and also drive more villages to develop together," said Fang Haolong.

Focusing on rural talent revitalization, Zhejiang is attracting more young people to the countryside and sowing more "seeds". In July, the province launched a training program for 10,000 "new agricultural entrepreneurs", which will drive the incubation and implementation of more high-quality agricultural and rural entrepreneurship and innovation projects in three years, and drive farmers to get rich together.

Yiwu International Trade City. Photo courtesy of Yiwu Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department

At the New Energy Products Market of Yiwu International Trade City, which has been open for more than a year, Senegalese businessman Sura Hat is greeting merchants in Chinese with a Zhejiang accent.

Sura came to China to do business in 2003. Initially he purchased small items such as needles and thread, and now he is engaged in the trade of the "new three things" such as new energy vehicles, photovoltaic batteries and lithium batteries. His business is thriving along with Yiwu, the "world supermarket".

Last year, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Yiwu International Trade City. Wherever the General Secretary went, people came out of the shops and gathered in the aisles, applauding, greeting and cheering one after another.

The General Secretary's words left a deep impression on the old and new Yiwu people from all corners of the world: "Yiwu's small commodities have created a big market and become a big industry. It is remarkable to have come this far. Everyone is a participant, builder and contributor."

"We foreign businessmen are not only participants in Yiwu's international trade, but also beneficiaries," Sura said with emotion.

This year, Sura was busiest in the "new energy" business. He imported new energy vehicles from Yiwu and, drawing on the model of China's "Didi Taxi", established the first local new energy online car-hailing company in Dakar, the capital of Senegal.

"Introducing new energy vehicles from China is an opportunity for Africa. It not only provides jobs but is also more environmentally friendly," said Sura.

Large-scale purchase of cars is a "big business" that Sura has not done yet. He learned that Yiwu has deepened the comprehensive reform of international trade since last year and launched a series of facilitation measures in terms of customs clearance of goods, foreign exchange settlement, and personnel exchanges. After the reform, new energy vehicles exported from Yiwu only need to be inspected once at Yiwu Port. Not only does it save time, but each container can also save more than a thousand yuan in logistics and other related costs. This made Sura determined to order 100 new energy vehicles at a time.

Sura said that new energy online-hailing taxis are now running on the streets of Senegal.

Zhang Jiying, a merchant, has been doing umbrella business in Yiwu for more than 20 years. Last year, General Secretary Xi Jinping walked into her shop and said with a smile: "I wish you more and more success!"

This year, Zhang Jiying used the big language model in the commodity trade field of Yiwu International Trade City. In front of the camera, she held an umbrella and recorded a marketing video. After being processed by the AI ​​big language model, the commentary can be converted into 36 languages ​​and recommended to customers from all over the world. "The marketing method is closer to the user, and the product can go further." Zhang Jiying said. Today, her umbrellas are sold to more than 100 countries, and she has a group of foreign "fans".

When General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Zhejiang, he pointed out that Zhejiang should continue to write a new chapter in deepening reform and expanding opening up. It should plan reforms with a vision of serving the whole country and looking at the world, and steadily expand institutional opening up in terms of rules, regulations, management, and standards.

Over the past year, a series of new measures to deepen reform and expand opening up have added vitality to Yiwu's foreign trade. Yiwu has increasingly become an important platform for domestic small and medium-sized enterprises to connect to the global market and facilitate domestic and international dual circulation.

Last year, Zhang Jiying and many small and medium-sized business owners participated in Yiwu’s “brand going global” strategy and traveled to various parts of the world to explore international markets.

"There are many small and medium-sized enterprises doing business in Yiwu, and it is risky to go overseas alone." Chen Zhixing, a relevant person in charge of Yiwu Mall Group, said that in the past year, Yiwu has organized 28 overseas economic and trade delegations for small and medium-sized enterprises, attracted more than 1 million global buyers, and better served the new development pattern.

Yiwu is also a microcosm of Zhejiang's continuous promotion of reform and opening up. In the first half of this year, Zhejiang implemented 32 policies to promote the high-quality development of the private economy, with the in-depth implementation of the "No. 1 Reform Project" to optimize and improve the business environment and the "No. 1 Open Project" to upgrade the sweet potato economy. The total import and export value of the province reached 2.56 trillion yuan, and the export scale has firmly ranked second in the country.

"You can always find new opportunities here." Zhang Jiying said that she is confident that she can expand the "small commodity" business.

During this period, in Fengyi Community, Fengqiao Town, Zhuji City, neighbors congratulated Luo Ruyuan when they saw him.

Next month, Luo Ruyuan and eight other residents will bid farewell to their old houses and move into small villas. "When my granddaughter goes to school, she will live in the big room," "I am old and my legs are not so good, so the room on the first floor is convenient for me to go in and out," Luo has already made arrangements for the move.

A year ago, Lao Luo was not in such a good mood.

Last September, as soon as the building approval came down, the community held a democratic consultation meeting. The venue was packed with people and it was a mess. Luo Ruyuan was both happy and worried at the time.

His past experiences told him that building a house in the countryside would bring about countless and confusing troubles - this house is a little taller, that house is a little wider, and there are "quarrels from laying the foundation to erecting the roof beams."

Guo Xiaoying, secretary of the community party committee, was also worried. She reviewed the conflicts and disputes in the community in recent years and found that the common neighborhood disputes and fights in the past were less common, while new disputes such as farmers' house construction, sales contracts, and financial loans increased. In particular, disputes over farmers' house construction accounted for more than 20% of community disputes and involved at least half of the energy of grassroots cadres. Faced with new changes in grassroots conflicts, Guo Xiaoying is also seeking new solutions.

When General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Fengqiao, Guo Xiaoying was there. She recalled what the General Secretary said: "Zhejiang has given the 'Fengqiao Experience' new contemporary connotations based on the spirit of the Party Central Committee and the actual situation here, and explored ways to correctly handle contradictions among the people under the new situation by relying on the people."

"No matter how the contradictions change, we must rely closely on the masses, explore new methods, and better resolve problems in the bud." Guo Xiaoying was determined not only to take the initiative to meet this challenge, but also to solve the problem more thoroughly and beautifully.

Soon, the community held another democratic consultation meeting. After Guo Xiaoying put forward his idea, many "Zhuge Liangs" suddenly emerged:

Ask legal advisors to check ahead of time and let residents know the building regulations and sign them;

Each time a floor is built, the housing and construction department and town and village cadres will conduct on-site inspections, measure, and take photos, leaving traces of the entire process...

These practical and effective new measures have effectively prevented conflicts from arising, and no disputes have occurred in the construction of the eight new houses so far.

Talking about this, Luo Ruyuan was particularly excited: "I didn't expect the house to be built so smoothly. I thought it would take two or three years to finish, but it was completed in just one year."

This year, Xuan Kunhu, a 90-year-old man living alone, also had a happy event.

The "Love Canteen" in Xinchangle Village, Shanxiahu Town, Zhuji City held a collective birthday party. Photo provided by the Publicity Department of Zhuji Municipal Party Committee

In recent years, in order to solve the problem of rural elderly people eating, Zhuji has built 288 "love canteens" to serve more than 14,000 elderly people in 389 villages and communities. Fengyuan Village has one, which is built in the central village of Dawu.

However, it is a long way from Taishan Village to the central village. Every time he eats, he is a little conflicted: if he walks, the distance is too far and inconvenient; if he asks someone to bring him food, the food will be cold.

"We are all from Fengyuan Village, why are we treated differently?" He and several elderly people from the same natural village felt uncomfortable, so they reported it to the village committee.

Their questions coincided with the village cadres' thoughts on improving the mechanism for resolving grassroots conflicts.

When the General Secretary visited last year, Luo Gentu, Party Secretary of Fengyuan Village, was also there. He was thinking at the time that times are changing, conflicts at the grassroots level are becoming more and more diverse, and people's expectations for a better life are constantly increasing. The "Fengqiao Experience" in the new era must keep pace with the times.

Fengyuan Village has a commendable democratic decision-making "three ups and three downs" mechanism, but it is aimed at major matters such as village-level projects, and the process takes one or two months.

"Like Xuan Kunhu, when villagers encounter urgent and difficult issues, how can we ensure that they are handled in a timely and effective manner?" Luo Gentu called a meeting of villagers to discuss the matter together.

After brainstorming, everyone quickly reached a consensus: on the basis of the "three ups and three downs", we would supplement the "question, discussion, implementation and evaluation" of daily affairs and the "immediate discussion" of emergency matters to form a new "three matters separate discussion" mechanism.

Xuan Kunhu is one of the first beneficiaries of the "three matters discussed separately". The village cadres and grid workers held a joint meeting and decided on the spot: to add a "love canteen" distribution point in each of the two natural villages of Taishan and Dazhu.

Last December, Luo Gentu, as a grassroots representative, stood on the podium of the "Understanding China" International Conference and introduced to Chinese and foreign guests the new solutions of the "Fengqiao Experience" to new problems. From "three ups and three downs" to "three separate discussions", this is the vivid story he told.

Over the past year, Zhejiang has continuously promoted the innovative practice of the "Maple Bridge Experience" in the new era. The exhibition boards of the Maple Bridge Experience Exhibition Hall have also been continuously enriched.

In November 2023, 100 advanced models of the "Fengqiao-style working method" in the new era of Zhejiang Province will be released;

In the same month, 104 "Fengqiao-style working method" units were announced nationwide, including four typical ones in Zhejiang. General Secretary Xi Jinping cordially met with representatives of the selected units of the "Fengqiao-style working method" nationwide at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

The Hangzhou-Ningbo Canal, known as the "Golden Waterway", is prosperous with inland ships shuttling back and forth. Photo by photographer Zhang Hui

On September 20, 2023, at the East Zhejiang Canal Museum, General Secretary Xi Jinping specifically instructed local responsible comrades to explore the Grand Canal culture and coordinate its protection, inheritance and utilization. During the inspection, General Secretary Xi Jinping also emphasized that the ancient Grand Canal should be given a new look of the times.

Over the past year, the East Zhejiang Canal Museum has seen many new developments. The museum established its first foreign-language tour guide team. Ten international students from Shaoxing University of Arts and Sciences from countries such as Morocco, South Korea, and Russia told the story of the canal to foreign study and exchange groups.

Moroccan student Li Hua is one of them. One day in July this year, in the World Heritage Application Area of ​​the East Zhejiang Canal Museum, Li Hua introduced to foreign tourists in English: "The Grand Canal of China includes 27 sections of river heritage, 58 heritage sites, and the total length of the heritage river is 1,011 kilometers..." As he spoke, the antiquity and grandeur of the Grand Canal of China unfolded before our eyes.

Li Hua said that in Morocco, there is also a river in front of his house, called the Oum Rebia River. When he was a child, his mother told him that Morocco is at the intersection of Africa and Europe, so it has become a transit point for cross-continental trade. "After coming to Shaoxing, I learned that the East Zhejiang Canal witnessed the prosperity of ancient Chinese commerce and the splendor of culture, and I also saw the amazing historical relics and new cultural landscapes with my own eyes." Li Hua said that after becoming a volunteer guide, the East Zhejiang Canal is not only a waterway with a long history for him, but also another "mother river". "Just like listening to my mother telling stories when I was a child, I also want to tell the story of the East Zhejiang Canal to the world."

The efforts to continuously promote the creative transformation and innovative development of China's excellent traditional culture have been implemented and flourished along the Grand Canal. At the historic site of the Hangzhou Iron and Steel Plant, the Grand Canal Hangzhou Iron and Steel Park with a strong industrial style has become increasingly popular as soon as it debuted. The music festival held here attracted 60,000 spectators. The largest oil depot in East China has been transformed into a small river park, and the Starbucks converted from a huge oil tank has become a hit. Zhejiang's original large-scale dance drama "Meet the Grand Canal" has traveled through provinces and cities along the Grand Canal, and then to France, Germany and other world-famous canals, where it has met more than 300,000 spectators and told the world Chinese stories with Zhejiang flavor... More and more people are telling and spreading canal culture in various innovative ways.

The water of the canal flows to the world, and the water veins are also connected to the cultural veins. Looking across the province, key projects for the protection and inheritance of the Grand Canal heritage, such as the Ningbo Xitang River Canal Park, are being implemented smoothly; the main structure of the second phase of the Hangzhou Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Museum project is under construction. In April this year, in Keqiao, Shaoxing, on the bank of the canal, the Zhejiang Grand Canal National Cultural Park Construction Promotion Meeting was held as scheduled, and the Provincial Grand Canal Cultural Research Institute was unveiled; in May, the "Three-Year Quality Improvement Action Plan for the Construction of the Grand Canal National Cultural Park" was issued and implemented, and a series of landmark achievements were launched in research and interpretation, heritage protection, and basic supporting facilities, creating an ecological landscape river with a demonstration and leading role in the country and a humanistic economic belt for high-quality economic and social development in the province.

The Grand Canal, a long historical scroll, continues to add new chapters.

Citizens enjoy their leisure time on the outdoor lawn of the Grand Canal Hangzhou Iron and Steel Park. Photo by reporter Dong Xuming and his friend Bao Shenghui

From one village, we can see thousands of villages; from one shopping mall, we can see the big market; from the "Fengqiao Experience" in the new era, we can see the provincial governance; from the thousand-year water veins, we can see the thousand-year cultural veins... These vivid stories reflect the new development prospects of Zhejiang in implementing the important requirements of General Secretary Xi Jinping:

The vitality of scientific and technological innovation is surging. The province vigorously promotes the "deepening of innovation", "315" scientific and technological innovation system construction project and the construction of "three teams"; the leading position of science and technology strategy is constantly strengthened, and it ranks first in the national innovation map; a number of hard-core scientific and technological achievements have emerged in Hangzhou West Science and Technology Innovation Corridor, West Lake University, Zhijiang Laboratory, etc.; the province's science and technology commissioners write papers in the fields and bring technology to farmers' homes, which has promoted farmers' income by 6.353 billion yuan; young scientific researchers are gradually taking on important tasks.

The construction of the demonstration zone for common prosperity has been steadily advanced. The per capita annual disposable income of rural residents in the province has exceeded 40,000 yuan for the first time, and the income gap between urban and rural residents has reached 1.86, which has been shrinking for 11 consecutive years. The "Mountain-Sea Cooperation" project has been iteratively improved, and the number of "26 counties in mountainous areas" has been reduced and development has accelerated. Solid efforts have been made to "expand the middle" and "raise the low" to build and improve a "common prosperity" social security system. The per capita monthly minimum living standard in the province is 1,149 yuan, ranking first among all provinces and regions in the country.

New breakthroughs have been made in deepening reform and expanding opening up. The main leaders of the provincial party committee and the provincial government took the lead in conducting investigations and research, and provincial leaders led 39 key topics involving reform; they took the lead in exploring and implementing the value-added reform of government services in the country, and deeply implemented the "No. 1 Reform Project" to optimize and improve the business environment and the "No. 1 Opening Project" to upgrade the "sweet potato economy"; this year, 14 breakthrough reforms that affected the entire body were planned and proposed.

New achievements have been made in building a high-level cultural province. New discoveries have been made in the ruins of the Liangzhu ancient city and the water conservancy system, and a new chapter has been written in protection and inheritance; the research and utilization project of the "Chinese Painting Series of Successive Dynasties" has been implemented; the provincial civilized brand effect of "Zhejiang is polite" has continued to expand, demonstrating the power of civilized fashion; more than 1,500 cultural commissioners have entered the grassroots and have been widely welcomed by the masses, realizing the effective extension of high-quality cultural resources to the grassroots; 12,000 "15-minute quality cultural life circles" have been created across the region; a number of supported projects such as the Art Creation Town and the Qingdeng Market have become highlights of the cultural economy.

We will continue to strengthen the overall leadership of the Party and strengthen and improve Party building. The whole province will carry out the theme education of studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era with high quality; improve the incentive and protection mechanism for cadres to take responsibility and act, promote grassroots Party building to strive for excellence, effectively protect the overall situation, and accelerate the creation of a highland of Party building in the new era that emphasizes both diligence and integrity; accelerate the construction of a clean and unified government-business relationship, continue to expand the depth and breadth of the anti-corruption struggle, and focus on rectifying corruption and unhealthy practices around the people. A group of cadres who dare to take risks, are good at planning and working, and really work hard will accelerate their growth in practical work and responsibility.

Over the past year, changes in various parts of Zhejiang have once again proved that only by always working hard and taking the lead can we live up to our trust and achieve our dreams. In July this year, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee clarified the overall goal of further deepening reform in an all-round way and proposed more than 300 important reform measures. Not long ago, Zhejiang held the Fifth Plenary Session of the 15th Provincial Party Committee to study and deploy ideas and measures for Zhejiang to further deepen reform in an all-round way and promote the provincial lead in Chinese-style modernization on the new journey, and proposed to achieve the "three again" and "five more" goals by 2035, and promote the total economic volume, urban and rural residents' income and living standards to a new level and achieve a great leap forward.

Keeping the instructions in mind, being grateful and forging ahead, Zhejiang will continue to have new stories.