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.

Xi Jinping was a changed man. He focused all his efforts to bridge the gap between himself as a child from Beijing and himself as a child of Liangjiahe. It was a transformation and a rebirth for him.

Still, there were challenges, for instance, nothing was more vexatious than the fleas. The locals called them "jumping ticks." Allergic to flea bites, Xi's skin broke into a red itchy rash, and scratching only worsened it. When working together with Xi, Shi Chunyang noticed the scabby scars on his exposed legs, all from flea bites. Some looked newly scabbed, others almost oozed blood.

Xi searched for all sort of tricks against the fleas. He dusted the bed with "66 powder"¹("66 powder" was a type of pesticide. - Tr.); he shook the cuffs of his pants before entering the cave dwelling; and he scalded his clothes in a cauldron of hot water. After two years, he finally became inured to it. Flea bites no longer kept him awake.

The latrines posed another problem. Rural latrines were crude, basically pits dug into the ground, privacy only shielded by stone or planks. They tended to be dirty, stinking, and icily drafty in winter. Summertime was no better, with flies and mosquitoes swarming overhead. And with the suffocating stink, using the latrine was a daunting task for anyone. Dai Ming, another urban youth assigned there, recalled, "We later developed the habit of getting our job done rather speedily."

No bathing facilities were available in rural China. Water in the cold season had to be boiled, for a simple rubdown. When it became mild, they would bathe by the river. Though they had swimming pants on, the villagers still laughed at them for being almost "naked." After that, they never bathed by the river again.

Brushing of teeth also provided a funny experience. The villagers had never seen toothbrushes. When they saw the urban youth brushing teeth in the morning, they became rather alarmed: "Something is seriously wrong with these urban kids. Their mouths are foaming with white froth!"

In Xing Wenying's memory, Xi was an "introverted lad, often standing by the door, reading." Xing came from Beijing's No. 57 High School, and had been assigned to the village of Gaojiaping, in the Wen'anyi People's Commune. Xi often went there to visit his friends among the urban youth. Dai Ming said, Xi was a tough guy who never vented his gripes or sufferings. In the villagers' eyes, Xi was highly knowledgeable, even-tempered, neither radical nor conservative, a real solid guy.

There was no "urbanity" about him that alienated the villagers.

Zhang Weipang's father-in-law, Zhang Guilin, was a veteran revolutionary. The Party branch of Liangjiahe was established in 1935, among the earliest in the revolutionary years in Yanchuan County. Since 1936, Zhang Guilin had been the Party secretary of the village until 1960. Soon after Xi's placement in Liangjiahe, Zhang Guilin's mother passed away. A heroic mother, she had encouraged her son to be part of the "Red Ruckus.''²  ("Red Ruckus": the revolutionary endeavor of the Communist Party of China during the Land Reforms, as referred to by the local peasantry. - Tr.) Xi paid his deep respects to her, making three deep bows before her open coffin. There were two veterans in the village, Xue Yubin and Zhang Zhizhong. Both joined the military campaign to liberate the expanses of northwestern China. Xue said, "Once we laid an ambush at Shipu (now Huanlong county seat). Xi's father Xi Zhongxun did the precampaign mobilization." Xi often visited these veterans, holding them in deep respect.

There was a young lad named Lingwa in the village, who was the son of Wu Yuhua, the foreman of the Infrastructure Construction Team. Lingwa was mentally disabled, often rash in words and deeds, but capable when it came to manual labor. The villagers treated him like a "happy nut," and often played pranks on him. Lingwa sometimes put others on the spot, for which he would suffer bouts of beating, Lingwa's ma was often heartsick with worry over her son. She often got involved in verbal wrangling with others because of her son.

When the urban youth were assigned into the Infrastructure Construction Team, both of Lingwa's parents felt very nervous. Those kids were all from the big city. What if Lingwa got into trouble with them? Worried that her son might find himself at odds with the urban youth, Lingwa's ma would stay nearby during the field work. However, there would be moments when her eyes could not be on her son. 

Xi and other urban youth all smoked at that time. During the breaks, they would roll some tobacco to smoke. Sometimes, when Xi was just about ready to enjoy his rolled cigarette, Lingwa would dart at him, snatch it from him, and crumble it up, before throwing it to the ground. This happened repeatedly, once, twice, and then again. But no one saw Xi fretting over it. The villagers would say, "Jinping is a super kind guy."

A scene of the people of Yan’an working in the fields in the 1960s or 1970s 

In 1993, during his visit to Liangjiahe, Xi made a special inquiry about Lingwa. He learned that both of Lingwa's parents had passed away and that Lingwa was in a seniors' nursing home. He gave 500 yuan to Wu Hui and asked him to take the money and put it directly into Lingwa's hands.

With no "urbanity" about him, Xi quickly grew close with the young people in the village. He gave his shoes to buddies from very poor families. He cut their hair sometimes. He taught them to swim in frog style in addition to "dog paddling" style, the only styles they knew. His friends and buddies at Liangjiahe included Wang Xianping, Shi Chunyang, Wu Hui, and Zhang Weipang. All of them, except for Wang (who soon returned to his native city), were native to the village. They were friends with Xi, despite knowing Xi's father had "made errors," as the "Dark Cabal."

Those who interacted with Xi would become deeply influenced by him in their life choices. Wu Hui interacted with Xi quite frequently, and later became a teacher; and Shi Chunyang replaced Xi to become Party secretary of the village, after Xi left the village.

Wang Cuiyu, an urban youth placed in Production Team No.1 of Liangjiahe, commented thus on Xi: "In his eyes, there was no higher or lower people, no favor for or prejudice against anyone. He was mild in manner and collegial with everyone. Truly a rare gift."

From the bottom of their hearts, the villagers accepted this child from Beijing. Xi also became the avenue or eyes through which the villagers learned about the outside world.