Xi makes tour of village where he joined Party

Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Shaanxi Province on Feb. 13, 2015. (Photo: Xinhua)

Chinese President Xi Jinping's inspection tour to Shaanxi Province was widely publicized as the top leader, along with the first lady Peng Liyuan, kicked off his tour of the Liangjiahe village of Yan'an, where he joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) decades ago.

"I feel excited traveling back to see everybody. I arrived in Liangjiahe in January 1969 and spent seven years here. I left the village at that time, but I left my heart with you all," Xi told the villagers on Friday.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, Xi was sent to the village during the height of "up to the mountains, down to the villages" campaign, under which millions of teenage urban students were dispatched to the countryside. In Liangjiahe, Xi joined the Party in 1974 and led the local production team.

Xi called many villagers by their nicknames and recalled the old times with them. He also bought every household gifts as the Spring Festival will fall on February 18.

"You taught me how to live and work. I was just a 15-year-old boy who knew nothing. But I could cook noodles and pickled Chinese cabbages later," Xi said to villagers. "I still miss the pickled cabbages."

Villagers said that Xi's visit caught them by surprise as they were expecting an inspection team from the National Development and Reform Commission, the news portal thepaper.cn reported.

As the then Party chief of Zhejiang Province, Xi had said on an interview of Yan'an Television in 2004 that he would "definitely" revisit Liangjiahe.

According to thepaper.cn, Xi and Peng had lunch with several villagers and Peng paid 200 yuan ($31.98) for three pairs of shoe-pads a villager made for Xi, but the top leader turned down the local specialties.

Xi often talked in dialect with the villagers. In particular, he referred to Peng as poyi, the local slang for wife, which has gone viral. Many Net users were impressed by Xi's amiable image, who traveled back to his hometown with his wife, like an ordinary person.

Meanwhile, Party papers stated that by selecting Liangjiahe as the first leg of Xi's inspection tour in Shaanxi meant more than good wishes for the Spring Festival.

"Through visits to old revolutionary base areas, Xi has demonstrated that the CPC will not forget who they were and where they started … The Party could draw more power from its roots as the nation deepens reform," read a Saturday article published by the People's Daily.