Xi Story: A chat on the village bench

BEIJING -- Where does President Xi Jinping work? Beyond Zhongnanhai and the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, you are just as likely to find him far from the urban sprawl in one of the country's countless rural villages.

On Monday afternoon, that was exactly where he was: sitting on a bench at a drum tower, deep in conversation with folk song singers, batik artists, and college grads in a Dong ethnic village in Guizhou province, Southwest China.

Nestled amid lush mountains, Zhaoxing Dong village is a picture-perfect landscape of wooden stilt houses, canola flowers, and terraces awash in shades of deep and light green. Drum towers, a typical Dong architecture, stand as the heartbeat of their community life.

As a crisp spring breeze sharpened the air, the locals opened up, sharing how their lives have shifted.

"Ever since the Spring Festival in late January, sales of our Dong pipa have hauled in over 100,000 yuan (about $14,000). It looks like we're on track for a record," one villager said with a grin, referring to a string instrument used by local people.

Another piped up, "I'm scaling up my batik shop to hire more locals."

A third jumped in, "We're eyeing new tourism ventures to boost our earnings."

Xi leaned in, all ears, and offered his own words of encouragement and support. "Really inspiring," he said, "From the way you put it — and the look on your faces -- it's clear this village is thriving. Tourism's a large industry now."

"Regions with large ethnic minority populations must preserve their unique cultures, weave them into tourism, and let them glow even brighter," he added.

Before settling in for the chat, Xi had enjoyed a rendition of a Dong folk song -- a lively chorus style inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. He listened attentively as the group explained its origins, characteristics, and the various ways the folk art is brought to life.

He also toured a Dong culture exhibition center and watched batik making at a specialized industrial base. "Traditional yet stylish," he commented, nodding at its unique charm.

Xi's inspection tours often see him travel to some of the country's most isolated rural communities. "Every place I visit," he once said, "I'd make a point to check out the villages — they show a basic picture of how our people are doing."

His ties to the countryside are deep-rooted. Over a half century ago, he labored for seven years on the Loess Plateau, working the fields, herding livestock, and hauling coal. The work was tough, but the locals' care and love remain with him to this day. "One thing I wished most at the time was to make it possible for the villagers to have meat for meals and have it often," he once recalled.

In 2012, Xi was elected to the Party's top post — general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. When investigating the causes of poverty in Luotuowan, a village in North China's Hebei province, Xi took off his shoes, crossed his legs, and sat on a clay kang — a traditional heated bed — like one of the locals, holding the villagers' hands as he listened to their struggles.

The trip sparked a nationwide turnaround. Xi rallied the Party and country into an eight-year campaign against poverty, lifting nearly 100 million rural residents above the poverty line. For the first time in its millennia-long history, the nation eradicated absolute poverty.

Luotuowan shook off poverty in 2017 by cultivating mushrooms and fruit while branching into tourism. Tang Zongxiu, whom Xi visited in 2012, now works as a cleaner and tour guide at a local scenery spot, pocketing 2,100 yuan monthly.

With a moderately prosperous society secured, Xi's next vision for the country is common prosperity. In villages, he emphasized, this means a revitalization drive aimed at narrowing the gap with cities.

Key to this new effort is supporting the growth of thriving businesses. Xi encouraged people to play to their strengths and find a path that suits them.

The Zhaoxing Dong Village is ahead of the curve. The Dong people have leaned into their rich heritage, pouring effort into tourism in recent years. They've established over 400 hotels, bed-and-breakfasts and restaurants, plus more than 60 handicraft ventures, creating over 2,000 jobs.

In 2024, the village garnered over 1 billion yuan from tourism, and its collective ventures raked in 2.45 million yuan. This success translated into a per capita disposable income of 41,600 yuan — well above the national rural average of 23,119 yuan.

As Xi left the drum tower, more villagers gathered. Xi flashed a smile. "The Dong people are sincere, hardworking, cultured and wise," he said. "Keep pushing to revitalize this place as Chinese modernization moves ahead."

"May your lives get even more prosperous."