From 1969 to 1975, Xi Jinping lived in Liangjiahe, a small village in China's Shaanxi Province as an "educated youth." In the village, Xi joined the Communist Party of China and was elected Party branch secretary. The following is an excerpt from LIANGJIAHE VILLAGE：A STORY OF CHINESE PRESIDENT XI JINPING, published by FOREIGN LANGUAGES PRESS in 2018.

"Hilltop Troglodytes"¹

Liangjiahe was hidden behind a long narrow valley, a landscape of varied widths, crisscrossed by little gullies.

Wen'anyi was about five miles from Liangjiahe. The narrow footpath was covered with dust, so footsteps created flying tails of dust which assailed any pedestrian's nose.

Xi recalled, jokingly, "PM 2.5 may be considered a harmful level, but the dust at that time could be PM 250!"

Cave dwellings in Northern Shaanxi

The first meal of these urban youth at Liangjiahe was referred to as "Minjie."

It is a traditional food in Northern Shaanxi. Its main ingredients are peas and cowpea flour, blended with wheat or corn flour. The dough made from these ingredients are then coarsely grated over boiling water, dropping olive-like bits in to be cooked. This food, in those years, was considered no less than a "luxury." The villagers' daily staple, however, called "lumps," was buns made of millet bran and corn bran mixed with some compensatory corn flour.

Liangjiahe had a population of a little over 200 people in 60 households. A river cut through the village. The villagers resided in cave dwellings built on the hillsides flanking the river. Steep dusty hills dominated the landscape. At early nightfall the aerial view, from the brow of the valley, revealed a village sparkling with star-like dim lights issuing from the cave homes, a village whose largest area of level ground was less than 100 square meters.

"Isn't this like the life of the Hilltop Troglodytes!" said Xi Jinping.

The 15 urban youth were divided into two groups, assigned to the two production teams of the village: nine in one, and six in the other. Xi Jinping, Dai Ming, Lei Pingsheng, Wang Yansheng, and Yang Jingsheng, all boys, were assigned to Production Team No. 2. They were temporarily quartered in the house of Zhang Qingyuan, secretary of the Communist Youth League branch of the village.

The cave dwelling had an earthen bed, connected to and heated by the kitchen fire. Beneath the bed were channels that led the cooking smoke out of the house through the chimney. As a result, cooking fires also heated the beds — a product of local wisdom. Xi Jinping and his five buddies crowded onto the one bed.

Thus began their rural placement life.

Note

1 "Hilltop Troglodytes" refer to the hominids whose remains were unearthed in Beijing, used here metaphorically in reference to the urban youth living in the rustic cave dwellings.- Tr.