Grassroots CPC Delegates: Serving the People

Among over 2,000 delegates to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China c(CPC), which was convened in Beijing in October this year, 33.6 percent came from grassroots positions. Over the years, they have been working and serving the people wholeheartedly as Party members.

Wang Zhenqiang

36-year-old Head Driver of the “Mao Zedong” Locomotive

“The safety of our passengers is our top priority.”

Born in 1986, Wang Zhenqiang graduated from Beijing Railway Electrification School. On December 26, 2018, he was appointed the 13th head driver of the crew operating the “Mao Zedong” locomotive. Wang evolved from a student to an intern, driver, and supervisor all the way to a head driver and was elected as a delegate to the 20th CPC National Congress.

The “Mao Zedong” locomotive crew is the country’s oldest locomotive team with the most model workers, the best safety operation record, and the most completed tasks since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. It is hailed as “the locomotive of the locomotives.” The locomotive has navigated three eras of power supply: steam, internal combustion, and electricity.

One day in 2020, a 50-year-old female passenger suffered a heart attack on the train, requiring immediate hospital care. An ambulance was dispatched to the nearest railway station ahead, where the train wouldn’t stop according to the original schedule, but stopping a train at a specific location without any early guidance is quite a feat. It took a driver with Wang’s experience and skills to complete the task. Eventually, the heart attack patient arrived at the hospital in time and recovered.

 “The safety of our passengers is our top priority,” Wang said. “We always check information coming from each station, especially those where we’re not stopping.”

Jigme Dorje

59-year-old Postal Driver on the Plateau

“We not only deliver mails to their destinations, but also help those in need.”

In 1989, Jigme Dorje became a postal driver at the age of 26. Since then, he has been driving along a postal route that stretches 209 kilometers between two counties in southwestern China’s Sichuan Province. He navigates a narrow and dangerous road at an average elevation of about 3,500 meters above sea level, snaking through dozens of mountains.

Jigme Dorje has endured bitter cold and avalanches and has even been trapped in heavy snow several times. In his eyes, however, these difficulties are a small price to pay for the smiles he enjoys when people receive their parcels. Those smiles make him forget his fatigue and feel satisfaction from his work.  

For three decades, he has always offered to help transport materials for railway and road construction workers and often shared his oxygen bottles and medicine with tourists in need. “We not only deliver mails to their destinations, but also help those in need,” he said. “This is the tradition of postal delivery workers in snowy mountains that has been passed down across generations, and we mustn’t forget it.” On January 25, 2019, he was honored as a “Role Model of the Times.”

Pei Chunliang

52-year-old Party Secretary of Peizhai Village

“I aspire to help villagers create a better and happier life.”

In April 2005, residents of Peizhai Village in Henan Province rallied in support of Pei Chunliang, a returning former resident that had achieved success in business, and elected him Party secretary of the village. Since then, he has worked in his hometown for 17 years and led fellow villagers to create a better life with diligence and intelligence.  

A better life should be based on better living conditions. The village is located in Taihang Mountains, and the area is suitable for growing sweet potatoes. Previously, villagers could hardly sell their hand-made sweet potato vermicelli, and their sweet potatoes always went bad in their cellars. Pei was concerned about the situation. In the winter of 2016, he managed to organize a sweet potato vermicelli festival, which helped the local food gain fame in the market. Through efforts including a development mode of “company + farmers,” trademarking the name of the village, and promoting sales on cross-border e-commerce platforms, local sweet potato vermicelli finally found an outside market. Today, efficient agriculture, food processing, and high-end clothing manufacturing have lifted the per capita annual income of local villagers from less than 1,000 yuan (about US$143) to over 20,000 yuan (about US$2,857).

A better life should be built on sharing the fruit of development with villagers. Meager precipitation leaves the village constantly plagued by drought. Pei Chunliang led villagers to build dams and reservoirs. He also promoted cooperation between Peizhai Village and eight colleges and universities including Henan Normal University to help local children learn more. Pei also planned and built a multi-functional gymnasium to enable locals to enjoy more sports.

Chang Hongxia

44-year-old Beijing Bus Driver

“Our efforts are all about better serving the people.”

Chang Hongxia was hired as a bus driver by the Fourth Passenger Transport Branch of Beijing Public Transport Holdings (Group) Co., Ltd. in 2001 when she was 23 years old. Seeking to operate a bus more steadily and safely, Chang constantly sought out advice from more experienced drivers. She used to carry half a basin of water at home every day to strengthen her arms while training her legs to manage better control of the brake and accelerator. Such training also ensured that her driving would be stable even in an emergency. She often reminds herself that a smooth and steady trip makes passengers feel more at ease.

In recent years, Chang has established and led an innovation team. The team has been consistently developing innovative devices and measures to provide better public transport services. Its innovations include an antifreeze filling machine, a filtered water recycling device, a bus glass window sealer, and many more. The team also designed more than 10 operational changes such as announcing stops like a tour guide to improve the services.

In Chang’s view, improving transportation is a systematic project that involves improving vehicles, brightening the spirit of the staff, and uplifting passengers. “Our efforts are all about better serving the people.”

Zhang Yugun

41-year-old Primary School Principal

“Sixty-three of the children I taught have been admitted to universities, which brings me the highest sense of accomplishment.”

After graduating from university, Zhang Yugun gave up the opportunity to work in the city in favor of teaching at Heihumiao Primary School in Zhenping, a mountainous county in central China’s Henan Province. He has served both as the principal of the school and a teacher of many courses. Seeking to change the fate of children growing up in the mountains, Zhang has continued teaching at the school for 21 years and cultivated generations of students.

In 2018, Zhang was honored as a “Role Model of the Times.” But he is more encouraged by seeing his students excel. Before he arrived at the school, only two of its graduates had gone on to college in decades. “So far, 63 children I taught have been admitted to universities, which brings me the highest sense of accomplishment.”

To improve the teaching of the school, Zhang managed to cooperate with well-known colleges and universities. Some higher institutes established teaching practice bases in Zhang’s school. They also provide the school’s teachers opportunities to engage in exchange and training activities. In the past few years, Zhang visited other primary schools in Zhenping County and witnessed how they were also receiving assistance from all walks of life. He has been extremely happy to see so many young people become more enthusiastic about returning to their hometowns. “Nowadays our school has a total of 15 teachers from supporting programs outside the school, and students have more courses to choose.”

Xu Chuanzi

38-year-old Extended Service Squad Head at an Energy Company

“Every day, I ‘pan for gold’ in power data to make Hangzhou smarter. I enjoy the process.”

After graduating from Zhejiang University in 2008, Xu Chuanzi has matured from a meter connection electrician to an outstanding expert on measurement. She is currently head of the extended service squad of the Binjiang Branch of State Grid Hangzhou Power Supply Company in southeastern China’s Zhejiang Province. Her tenacity and studiousness have resulted in a strong ability to solve electricity supply problems for customers, earning her the nickname “Master Xu” despite her relatively young age.  

As a young CPC member, Xu and her team creatively leverage big data to solve “tough nuts” in power supply. After noticing that the energy consumption in hotels was always 8 to 12 percent higher than other buildings, Xu led a project to design low-carbon hotels in 2019 and launched the country’s first “electronic carbon bill” to reduce the overall energy consumption of buildings by more than 20 percent. She also participated in research and development of the “green hotel” algorithm, which establishes a link between electricity consumption data and hotel operations. As of September 2022, energy consumption assessments for 1,159 hotels in Zhejiang Province were completed, which contributed greatly to achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.

Xu and her team have made considerable technological innovations. Over the years, five of her projects have been rated as national level, and she has secured 21 invention patents. “Every day, I ‘pan for gold’ in power data to make Hangzhou smarter,” Xu said. “I enjoy the process.”

Cai Rui

38-year-old Deputy Chief of the Fire Brigade Detachment Serving Beijing’s Tiananmen Area

“No firefighting is the best achievement.”

Tourists see the Forbidden City as a splendid palace, but what Cai Rui sees are potential fire risks, fire routes, and strategic positioning of resources.

The area Cai oversees has 308 water tanks, 167 underground fire hydrants, and more than 4,800 fire extinguishers. The fire control area is 780,000 square meters. “This place is the heart of the country, and the Forbidden City is the world’s largest ancient wooden building complex housing a collection of more than 1.8 million precious cultural relics, each a treasure of human history and culture.” For Cai Rui, these figures shape the heavy workload and responsibility. “We are always on call.”

As more and more areas within the Forbidden City open to the public, the fire station has continued prioritizing prevention and combining it with extinguishing. It has helped the Forbidden City formulate 106 regulations covering 15 aspects, design a three-level fire prevention system, and impose a comprehensive ban on smoking and fire. It also created tailor-made firefighting plans for 9,046 halls and rooms in the Forbidden City, introduced digital sand table simulations, and organized drills to ensure comprehensive protection for the Forbidden City.

“We don’t have a single banner or medal for firefighting in our honor room, nor do we want one,” Cai Rui declared. “For us, no firefighting is the best achievement.”