2019年CRI 习近平谈农村地区"中国梦"（在线收听）

Addressing a banquet in his honor on a state visit to Washington, DC in late September 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping took time to recount the situation he found himself in nearly five-decades earlier.

"Towards the end of the 1960s when I was in my teens, I was sent from Beijing to work as a farmer in the small village of Liangjiahe, which is near Yan'an in Shaanxi Province. This is where I spent seven years. Later I became the village's party secretary, helping them develop their local production capabilities. We did well, given the circumstances. But the one thing I always hoped for at that time was to create opportunities to allow all of us to eat meat, and to eat it often."

In 1969, a 15-year-old Xi Jinping was among 17-million students who took up then-leader Mao Zedong's call, leaving the cities to work in the countryside.

Despite being the son of a "first generation" Chinese leader, the young Xi Jinping, according to the locals in Liangjiahe, was not afraid of getting his hands dirty.

65-year-old Shi Chunyang, who grew up in Liangjiahe, was a year younger than Xi Jinping when they worked on a major project together.

"When we constructed a dam in winter, Xi Jinping rolled up his pant legs and smashed through the ice on the river without hesitation. He just went ahead and did it, regardless of the potential risks, health or otherwise he might face."

An avid reader, Xi Jinping kept busy during his off-hours in Liangjiahe pouring over the newspapers.

It was here that he read about a methane-generating pit in rural Sichuan.

Travelling to Mianyang County in the north of Sichuan at his own expense, Xi Jinping was able to learn the basics of natural gas extraction.

Returning to Shaanxi, he led the team which built a rudimentary natural gas project in Liangjiahe.

"It took a lot of effort to build our first methane-extraction pit. We saw the water rising on both sides of the pit, but there was no gas coming out. So after a while, I poked at the water, and the scum at the top of the water blew up in my face. But it worked. The swamp gas was there. We were able to hook up pipes. From there, we were able to create methane stoves."

It was initiatives like this which eventually propelled a young Xi Jinping into a leadership role as the Party Secretary of Liangjiahe Village during his 7-years in the countryside.

Looking back, the now-President of China says it was this experience which continues to spur him on, even today.

"It's really an amazing thing to see the power and determination of the people. It makes you truly understand how the people and society works in China. There were a lot of practical ideas that were spawned from that period of time. Even now, those ideas still tend to resonate with me."

A lot has changed in the 50-years since Xi Jinping toiled as a teenager in rural Shaanxi.

However, China's President has not forgotten his roots.

Just over four years ago, Xi Jinping made a point of returning to Liangjiahe ahead of the 2015 Spring Festival to visit with the same people he called friends five decades earlier.

"Zhanger, Yinger, Yingchun. Where are your parents?"

Unflinching about his time as a so-called "sent down youth," Xi Jinping recounted his return - and his time - in Liangjiahe during his state visit to the United States.

"Liangjiehe is different now. When I went back, they had paved roads. All of them are now living in houses made of bricks and tiles. Basically everyone in the village has access to the Internet. The elderly have basic old-age pensions, and all of the people in the village had medical care coverage. Children are in school. And, best of all, meat is readily available. This has made me keenly aware that the Chinese dream is, after all, a dream of the people. If we want to fulfill that dream, we need to be able to meet the desire of the people to have a better life."

For CRI, I'm Huang Yue.

2015年9月下旬，习近平主席对美国进行国事访问，他在欢迎晚宴上发表讲话时特别提到了近五十年前自己在乡下的情况。

“上世纪60年代末，我才十几岁，就从北京到中国陕西省延安市一个叫梁家河的小村庄插队当农民，在那儿度过了7年时光。后来，我当了这个村子的党支部书记，带领乡亲们发展生产。考虑到当时的情况，我们做得不错。我很期盼的一件事，就是让乡亲们饱餐一顿肉，并且经常吃上肉。”

1969年，包括15岁的习近平在内，1700万名学生响应毛主席的号召，离开城市前往农村工作。

梁家河当地人说，尽管习近平是“红二代”，他从来不怕脏活累活。

65岁的石春阳是梁家河本地人，比习近平主席小一岁，当时跟习近平一起做一个重要工程。

“我们当时冬天在打坝，习近平毫不犹豫，挽起裤腿就走上河面砸碎冰面。他不惧困难，也不怕影响身体健康，迎难而上。”

作为一个书迷，习近平在梁家河每天忙完工作之后，把业余时间都花在了读书看报上。

也正是在这里，他读到了四川农村地区建造沼气池的消息。

习近平自掏腰包前往四川北部绵阳学习沼气技术的原理。

回到陕西后，他带领团队开始了梁家河的沼气池项目。

“一开始建造第一个沼气池的时候，费了很多功夫。我们当时看到沼气池两边水位涨上来了，但是没有沼气。过了一会儿，我戳了戳水面，那个粪喷了我一脸，但是我们成功了。沼气出来了。我们接着连上管子。连通之后，我们用上了沼气炉。”

正是这样的初创，让年轻的习近平成为梁家河7年的村支书。

回首过去，习主席说，即便是今天，这种经历也依旧鼓舞着他。

“看到了人民群众的力量，看到人民群众的根本，真正理解了老百姓，了解了社会，这个是最根本的。很多实事求是的想法，都是从那个时候生根发芽的，以至于到现在每时每刻影响着我。”

习近平十几岁的时候在陕西农村工作，现在已过去了50年，发生了很多变化。

然而，他从来没有忘本。

四年前，习近平在2015年春节回到了梁家河，看望了50年前的朋友们。

“张儿，迎儿，迎春，你们爸妈呢？”

在美国进行国事访问期间，习近平讲述了他的知青岁月以及在梁家河的经历。

“梁家河现在不一样了。我回去的时候，村里修起了柏油路。乡亲们住上了砖瓦房，用上了互联网，老人们享有基本养老，村民们有医疗保险，孩子们可以接受良好教育，当然吃肉已经不成问题。这使我更加深刻地认识到，中国梦是人民的梦，必须同中国人民对美好生活的向往结合起来才能取得成功。”

CRI新闻，黄悦（音译）报道。