Xi Jinping visits people in Liangjiahe Village, Wen'anyi Township of Yanchuan County, Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 13, 2015. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)
SERVANT OF THE PUBLIC
"Xi is a very great leader. He works not only in his office, but among the people," said Keovichith Lamngeun, a Laotian who worked as one of the nine foreign linguists on the translation of the 19th CPC National Congress report.
"From my observation, the general public likes Xi because he has brought about changes," said Peggy Cantave Fuyet, who was responsible for the French version of the report.
Many times over the last five years, the general secretary popped up in crowds of ordinary people amid roars of cheering and the sound of mobile phone camera shutters.
He queued and dined with members of the public in a roadside restaurant. He bought festival gifts himself before visiting old acquaintances in the village where he worked as an "educated youth." He stood in heavy rain talking with frontline workers.
He has walked into farmers' barns and kitchens, checked the menu at nursing homes and stressed virtue to young students.
He stayed overnight in a makeshift prefab during a visit to the scene of an earthquake.
Xi Jinping visits villagers at a temporary resettlement site in Ludian County, which experienced a 6.5 magnitude earthquake in August 2014, in southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 19, 2015. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)
He once visited Beijing's hutongs in heavy smog, dropping in on residents to ask about their work, salaries, what they burned for cooking and heating, as well as how far their homes were from the nearest toilet.
Xi has visited all of the poorest areas suffering "abject poverty" in China.
At the 19th CPC National Congress, he was a delegate of southwest China's Guizhou Province, one of the poorest regions in China, with per capita GDP of around 33,000 yuan (about 4,980 U.S. dollars), close to 20,000 yuan lower than the national average in 2016.
When Xi sat down to talk with other delegates from the province in a panel discussion, no one was quite sure how the conversation would turn. Later, somewhat surprised delegates found themselves discussing pork delicacies, strong liquor and tourism with him, all of which are regarded as effective means to bring in extra income for locals.
Media reports of this discussion have drawn numerous clicks and many "thumbs-up" on the Internet.
The people always take the center stage in Xi's blueprint for "a great modern socialist country."
"The original aspiration and the mission of Chinese Communists is to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation," Xi told more than 2,300 delegates at the congress.
In November 2013, during an inspection tour to the central province of Hunan, Xi visited Shibadong, a Miao minority village labeled "poor" at the time.
"What should I call you?" asked illiterate villager Shi Pazhuan, as she welcomed Xi into her home.
"I am a servant of the people," Xi introduced himself.
