Chinese President Xi Jinping has continued his tradition of spending time with members of the public ahead of the Spring Festival, the most important occasion of family reunions.
During his pre-festival inspection tour, Xi visited a village that had suffered floods last summer and chatted with a four-generation family to inquire about their livelihoods since the floods. He also checked on the vegetables at the greenhouses in the village.
In downtown Tianjin, Xi went to an ancient cultural street and visited some of the local distinctive shops, learning about the products, their sales, and the development of traditional culture. He also bought some of Tianjin’s famous specialty snacks.
Xi has made it a tradition to spend time with members of the public ahead of the Spring Festival since assuming the Party’s top post in November 2012.
These annual visits have seen him visit a village at an altitude of over 2,500 meters in southwest China’s Sichuan Province and inspect a subway construction site located more than 20 meters beneath the ground in Beijing.
During his visits, Xi interacts with people including frontline workers, and the elderly and children at welfare homes, leaving many heartwarming moments. Xi also places great emphasis on building a technologically strong nation for the prosperity of the people.
He stressed the significance of scientific and technological innovation on multiple inspection tours. During his inspection in Tianjin from February 1 to 2, he called on the city to strengthen the building of parks for sci-tech innovation, further integrate the digital economy with the real economy, and promote the high-end, smart and green development of its manufacturing sector.
Xi extended Chinese Lunar New Year greetings to the residents of Tianjin and people of all ethnic groups of the country, noting that the upcoming lunar new year is the Year of the Dragon, which symbolizes courage, vitality, and good fortune.
