General Secretary's Northwest Tour | Reporter's Notes: Rivers and rivers share the same family and national dream

On the eve of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping embarked on a trip to the northwest: Yan'an, Shaanxi - Xining, Qinghai - Yinchuan, Ningxia, three provinces in four days and covering thousands of miles.

The Loess Plateau, the banks of the Yan River, the roof of the world, the Huangshui River Valley, the foot of the Helan Mountains, and the Jiangnan region on the Great Wall... In northwest China, the Yellow River flows far into the white clouds, with beautiful mountains and rivers and vast scenery.

On the afternoon of June 18, General Secretary Xi Jinping came to Qinghai for inspection after attending the Central Military Commission's Political Work Conference in Yan'an. His first stop was Golog Xining National Middle School to visit the teachers and students there.

These are a group of children from the source of the Yellow River. Their hometown is Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. They came from remote pastoral areas to the provincial capital Xining to study in this boarding school built with aid from Shanghai.

General Secretary Xi Jinping walked into the classroom of the first grade of senior high school. Here, an ideological and political class with the theme of "New Era, New Hometown" was in progress. On the blackboard at the back of the classroom, the words "When you eat the fruit, think of the tree; when you drink the water, think of the source" were written in chalk, which was childish and neat.

15-year-old Nidonglamao stood up and unfolded a hand-drawn picture. He told Grandpa Xi in standard Mandarin about the great changes in his hometown from the past to the present: "From herding on horseback to herding on motorcycles, and now to herding by drones, my hometown is becoming more and more modern!"

The girl from the pastoral area has clear eyes and is as tall and straight as a thriving young barley seedling. In September 2023, she left the county for the first time and took a car for more than 9 hours to come to this middle school. A few months later, Nidonglamao, who is both good in character and academic performance, took a plane to Shanghai for research and study for the first time. Looking at the tall buildings and bright lights along the Huangpu River, she set her life ambition - to be a Chinese teacher in a difficult area in the future and tell more people about the infinite and wonderful world.

General Secretary Xi Jinping looked at the students kindly and said warmly: "Coming here from the pastoral area, your living habits will change a little, but you will have more opportunities in your life." His warm and powerful words touched the children's hearts.

The light of education can transcend mountains and rivers. Paired education assistance has always been a deep concern of Comrade Xi Jinping.

When he was working in Fuzhou, he initiated the "Thousand Enterprises Build Thousand Schools" charity activity and donated to build the Yangjialing Fuzhou Hope Primary School in Yan'an, Shaanxi. On the eve of the 2015 Spring Festival, the General Secretary visited Shaanxi and made a special trip to visit and comfort the primary school.

When he was the Secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, he laid the foundation for the Zhijiang Primary School in Nanchong, Sichuan, which was relocated and rebuilt with the help of counterparts. Just last month, the General Secretary also wrote a reply letter to the students of Zhijiang Primary School.

Since the new era, education in central and western China has been given priority planning and design in the overall national education framework. A series of multi-level, multi-form and all-round collaborative assistance policy measures have illuminated the path for children in central and western China to study and become successful.

In the square in front of the teaching building, hundreds of teachers and students gathered around the General Secretary. The bright sunshine sprinkled on their simple faces, and the applause was sincere and warm.

“We should stick to the principle of ‘one country, one game’ and help each other. In particular, the coastal areas should help the western areas, and the developed areas should help the underdeveloped areas. Everyone should find their correct roles. Among these, one of the most important things is paired assistance in education. We should educate our children well, which has far-reaching significance.” These words brought tears to the eyes of many people at the scene.

Because, in this school, there are too many stories like this one:

The school principal, Chang Tu, is from Shanghai, where the Yangtze River meets the sea. He was admitted to Shanghai from northern Anhui and worked hard on the podium. He firmly believed that "education changes destiny" and stepped onto the plateau without hesitation when the organization called him.

Xiao Feixue, the head teacher of the first grade class, is from Luoyang, in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. The "eyes thirsting for knowledge" of the children in the pastoral area made her determined to take root here. "As long as the students can go out and step onto a broader stage, my choice will be worth it!"

The rivers are one, and we work together to build our dreams. As the school song of this school goes: "I live at the source of the Yellow River, and you live at the tail of the Yangtze River. The rivers are constantly flowing, carrying deep affection and friendship..."

General Secretary Xi Jinping lamented: "The East-West cooperation and targeted support, including in education, have achieved remarkable results, fully demonstrating the advantages of the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and fully reflecting the warmth of the Chinese nation."

Hongjue Temple stands quietly in the bustling city of Xining.

This thousand-year-old temple has witnessed the grandeur and prosperity of the Ancient Tang-Tibet Road, heard the rumble of carriages and horses on the Silk Road, and is engraved with the thousand-year history of exchanges and the mark of unity among the Han, Tibetan, Mongolian and other ethnic groups.

During his inspection here, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "To comprehensively promote the construction of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation with Chinese-style modernization, it is necessary for people of all ethnic groups in the country, including the vast number of religious believers, to unite and work hard. I hope that the Tibetan Buddhist community in Qinghai will carry forward the fine tradition of patriotism and love for religion, promote religious harmony, social harmony, and ethnic harmony, and play an active role in the process of Chinese-style modernization."

"What people's hearts turn to is only the truth and justice." From history, we can reflect reality and look into the future.

As the General Secretary once pointed out: "The history of China is the history of the integration of various ethnic groups into a diverse and unified Chinese nation" and "the people of all ethnic groups are as close as one family, which is the fundamental guarantee for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."

Unity and struggle are the only way for us to create great historical achievements. General Secretary Xi Jinping personally decided to hold a political work meeting of the Central Military Commission in Yan'an.

On the afternoon of the 17th, General Secretary Xi Jinping led a group of people from the Military Commission and the main responsible comrades of various departments and units to pay homage to the Wangjiaping Revolutionary Site. The General Secretary pointed out that 10 years ago we went to Gutian to hold a political work meeting for the whole army. Today we came to Yan'an to hold a political work meeting of the Military Commission to trace our roots again. In the new era and new journey, the prospects for a strong country and a strong army are bright, and the tasks are arduous. Senior cadres of the whole army should bear in mind their original mission, take the lead in promoting the Yan'an spirit, take the lead in strengthening revolutionary forging, shoulder the historical responsibility entrusted by the Party and the people, unite and lead the officers and soldiers to fight the tough battle to achieve the goal of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the army, and continuously advance the cause of strengthening the army.

Traveling by train through the northwest, you will see the vast desert Gobi, endless grasslands, towering mountains and rolling rivers.

This is a vast land where many ethnic groups live and multiply together, but it has also lagged behind in the pace of rapid development.

In the 1930s, when Fan Changjiang was interviewing here, he once imagined: "If everyone in China had such a room in the future, on a moonlit night, everyone could listen to news and music on the radio. I wonder how happy everyone would be then!"

Time has passed. Today, Northwest China is experiencing the great changes of the new era, and the legendary stories of "dry sand beach" turning into "golden sand beach" are being staged one after another. Just two months ago, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a symposium on promoting the development of the western region in the new era, opening a new chapter in the development of the western region.

In the Party and Mass Service Center of the Great Wall Garden Community in Yinchuan, Ningxia, melodious and cheerful music is heard from the speakers. Neighbors are singing and dancing, cutting paper and doing embroidery here, enjoying themselves.

On the afternoon of June 19, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited this happy home where many ethnic groups live together.

"Sing, dance, the flowers are blooming in the spring breeze. The fifty-six ethnic groups are close to each other, bringing out good luck and happiness..." In the dance studio, dance enthusiasts are rehearsing to the melody of the song "China Hand in Hand".

They are all residents of the community, who sang and danced together after retirement. There are Han, Hui and Mongolian people. After watching their passionate dance, the General Secretary applauded.

Next to the community square, under a red pomegranate sculpture, the seven characters "National Unity as One Family" are particularly eye-catching. Just like the name of this community, "Great Wall Garden" - only unity can build a steel Great Wall; only unity can make the Chinese nation's garden of flowers colorful.

Under the golden sunshine, the excited people of all ethnic groups surrounded General Secretary Xi Jinping. He shook hands with everyone cordially and patted the children's shoulders with a smile. The applause and cheers were higher and higher...

General Secretary Xi Jinping said affectionately: "National unity is very important. Our 56 ethnic groups must hold together like pomegranate seeds. The 56 ethnic groups gathered together form the Chinese nation, and the Chinese nation is a big family. Let us work together to promote Chinese-style modernization and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!"

To the east of Yinchuan City, the Yellow River meanders and flows, injecting inexhaustible power into this vibrant land.