Decades later, the Yan'an Spirit of serving the people wholeheartedly remains vibrant across China, as civil servants at various levels continue to take it as a source of inspiration and dedicate themselves to addressing public concerns.
Cultivated by the Communist Party of China (CPC) during its time in Yan'an City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province from 1935 to 1948, when it served as the center of the Chinese revolution, the Yan'an Spirit features maintaining the correct political direction, seeking truth from facts, serving the people wholeheartedly, and being diligent and enterprising.
Zhang Guanghong, a township official in Ansai County of Yan'an, has been putting the spirit into practice for more than a decade.
For Zhang, a recent daily routine is to help farmers sell apples in livesteaming shows during the harvest season, before phone calls take him away to other villagers in need of help.
One of the phone calls was from local grape growers, reporting losses from hailstorms and seeking the government's assistance to put up hail nets.
Zhang told them there is no policy support for grape farming in Ansai, as it's a niche crop, but he would try to get some subsidies.
Before the conversation was over, Zhang's cellphone rang again. It was another village calling for help with their aging pipes, which break from time to time, failing to provide regular water supply for the villagers.
After visiting a villager's home, Zhang found the situation was worse than he had imagined. He promised to the villagers that he would try to find a way to solve the problem and replace the 4,000 meters of old pipes.
And then, Zhang started making calls to seek financial support from local businesses.
"I always keep in mind what President Xi said about being a servant of the people. So when people are struggling to move forward, we need to give them a helping hand," Zhang said.
Finally, a company called, offering to sponsor their highest-quality pipes, of which the installation was taken care of by a group of volunteers from the village.
As for the request from grape growers, the local government carried out extensive field research and discussions, and eventually approved a new policy to support the niche grape industry. According to Zhang, the assistance for hail nets was 12,000 yuan (about 1,790 U.S. dollars) per hectare.
"That's what President Xi means by 'sitting firmly on the side of the people.' For grassroots officials, it means working closely with the people, earning their understanding and trust. Only then can you truly be a public servant. And over time, as one problem is solved, then another, people gradually come to feel that they can turn to you," Zhang said.
Town official carries forward Yan'an Spirit in community governance
