Xi stresses building beautiful villages

BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping has called for efforts to create villages that are prosperous, beautiful, civilized and livable.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a letter replying to Party members at a village in East China's Zhejiang province.

Xi said he hoped that all Party members in Hengkantou village, Liangnong town of Yuyao city in Zhejiang would play prominent and exemplary roles, and that locals and Party organizations would also play a part in building beautiful villages.

"Party organizations must work with firm resolve, and Party members must always hold themselves to the highest standards in a bid to handle rural affairs and pursue rural vitalization," Xi wrote.

Xi said that he was pleased to receive their letter and still remembered his visit to the village 15 years ago.

He said he was also pleased to know that the village had been built into a well-off and civilized village while people's livelihood had been improved due to the hardwork and the leadership of the villagers and village organization.

Located at an old revolutionary base, Hengkantou village had poor transport and living conditions at the beginning of the century.

When he was Party chief of Zhejiang, Xi visited the village ahead of Chinese Lunar New Year in 2003 and encouraged the villagers to shake off poverty and strive to build a prosperous village as soon as possible.

Over the past 15 years, the village adjusted its industrial structure, fully using its resources to become well-off.

The Party members wrote the letter to report the changes in the village and their resolve to lead the villagers to create a beautiful village.