Beijing: China’s media watchdog has approved a TV series featuring stories on farmers and “educated youth” from Liangjiahe village where President Xi Jinping started his career in the 1970s, part of the ruling Communist Party’s directive to youth to work in the countryside. The Shaanxi Liangjiahe Cultural Tourism Company said in a statement that the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television approved its proposal to shoot the 45-episode TV series, ‘Liangjiahe’, in Shaanxi province.
Liangjiahe tells touching stories of farmers and “educated youth,” also known as “zhiqing”, who were relocated to the village from towns and cities between the 1950s and 1970s, state-run Global Times reported. Describing their tough experiences during that time, the series aims to showcase their hardworking nature and spirit. The approval also comes in the backdrop of rising profile of Xi who has emerged as the most powerful leader in recent times after he took over as chief of the Communist Party, President and head of the military in 2013.
Xi, along with first lady Peng Liyuan, visited the village in February and told villagers that he felt excited to return. “I came to Liangjiahe in January 1969 and spent seven years here. Although I left the village, I left my heart with you all,” Xi said. Xi, together with millions of zhiqing, was “sent down” from urban areas to live and work in remote areas as part of the “Up to the Mountain and Down to the Countryside” movement initiated by then Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
Xi’s father Xi Zhongxun, who served as Vice Premier and was persecuted during the Mao years, also hailed from Shaanxi. While in Liangjiahe, Xi joined the party in 1974 and led the local production team. “We have yet to receive more information about the TV series from the production company,” the village head surnamed Gong told the Global Times. He added that creating a TV series about their village will help spread their history, culture and spirit.
