Xi leads Party oath at historic site

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee,leads the other six members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in reciting the admission oath as they face the Party flag on Tuesday, during their visit to the memorial hall of the first CPC National Congress in Shanghai. LAN HONGGUANG / XINHUA

The Communist Party of China's newly elected top leadership, headed by General Secretary Xi Jinping, visited two revolutionary historical sites on Tuesday, underscoring the new leadership's firm belief to stay true to the Party's original aspirations and serve the people.

Xi and the other six members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee — Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng — arrived in Shanghai from Beijing by air on Tuesday morning. It is the top leaders' first trip outside Beijing since they were elected last week at the First Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee.

At the memorial hall of the first CPC National Congress in Shanghai, Xi led the other six leaders in reciting the admission oath in front of the Party flag, reminding Party members to remain true to their original aspirations.

"The words of the Party's admission oath are not too many, and it's not difficult to remember, but it is difficult to observe for one's whole life," Xi said.

In July 1921, 12 delegates attended the first CPC National Congress, representing more than 50 CPC members nationwide. With more than 89 million members, the CPC has become the world's largest political party.

Noting that Chairman Mao Zedong compared the meeting room of the first CPC National Congress to the delivery room of the CPC, Xi said that the room is also Party members' spiritual home.

No matter how far the Party has marched, the original road should not be forgotten, Xi said.

The leaders traveled to South Lake in Jiaxing, Zhe?jiang province, in the afternoon. In 1921, the first CPC National Congress reconvened in a red boat on the lake after it was interrupted by authorities in what was then the French concession in Shanghai.

Beside the lake, Xi asked about patriotic education at the revolutionary site, saying that the red boat symbolizes the Party's spirit of bravery in taking the lead and devotion to the people.

The leaders then visited an exhibition at the South Lake Revolutionary Memorial. In 2006, when Xi was Party secretary of Zhejiang, he laid the cornerstone of the memorial. The memorial was completed in 2011 ahead of the Party's 90th birthday.

All Party members must adhere to the basic principle of serving the people wholeheartedly, Xi said at the memorial. He also called for joint efforts to fulfill the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Jose Leon-Manriquez, a professor of Chinese and East Asian history at Metropolitan Autonomous University in Mexico City, visited the site in the afternoon.

"The place hosted this very important meeting that bears great historical relevance," he said, "it's interesting to see this place in person, to learn how a very small group of people started to organize one of the most important revolutions in the 20th century."

Han Yaoguang, 33, a businessman who visited the Shanghai site, said that it is a place that every Chinese person should visit to learn how difficult the founding of the CPC was and cherish the nation's prosperous society now.