Sharpening the Blade Against the Red Wall: From Hong Kong to Handong

In the autumn of 2012, golden sunlight bathed the Loess Plateau of Yancheng, apple orchards covering the hillsides were laden with red fruit, photovoltaic panels in the new energy industrial park stretched into a silver sea, and tourists thronged the red cultural tourism scenic area. That year, Yancheng's GDP reached 9860 billion yuan, just one step away from the trillion-yuan mark, making it the first city in Northwest China to knock on the trillion-yuan threshold, and the name "Pearl of Northwest China" resounded throughout the country.

When the news came, leaders of Kyoto and coastal cities exclaimed in amazement: "Who would have thought that such an economic miracle could emerge in the inland northwest!" It should be noted that at the same time, most cities in the northwest were still trapped in resource dependence, while Yancheng, under Zhou Jin's six years of intensive cultivation, broke away from the old path of "coal, oil and gas dominance" and created a new world by relying on green energy, characteristic agriculture and red cultural tourism - a leap that is rare in the whole country.

This achievement is the result of the synchronized development of Party building and the economy. Over the past three years, the Party building pilot program in Yancheng City has yielded fruitful results: In rural areas, first secretaries have led villagers in developing industries, and nearly a thousand young Party members have returned to their hometowns to start businesses, transforming once "hollowed-out" Party branches into "backbone" forces for wealth creation; in communities, the "Party member-household linkage system" has achieved full coverage, with working Party members identifying themselves and doing practical work, and community service centers becoming "warm-hearted stations" that are always available to the masses; in non-public enterprises, the "unified construction of industrial parks and joint construction of industries" has increased the coverage rate of Party organizations from 40% to 95%, with Party members taking the lead in tackling technical challenges and expanding markets, and the advantages of Party building have been truly transformed into development momentum.

The cadre team has undergone a complete transformation. The "Young Cadre Cultivation Program" has allowed more than 300 cadres under the age of 35 to experience the challenges of grassroots work, with 80% of them rising to leadership positions. The "Dual-Dimensional Assessment" has broken down seniority-based promotion, making public satisfaction a key indicator, and the consensus is that "doing well or poorly makes a big difference." The "promotion and demotion" mechanism has adjusted the status of 47 cadres who were not performing their duties, and the tolerance and exemption from liability for mistakes supports those who dare to take risks. The entire team is both disciplined and dynamic. Zhou Jin, the driving force behind all of this, has also grown from a "new recruit" in Party building to an expert. He learns by doing and does by learning, embedding Party building work into the development context, allowing the "red roots" to grow into the "backbone of development."

Economic development has also progressed steadily. Although Zhou Jin focused on Party building, the "2010-2015 Development Plan" formulated by Mayor Wang Hao in 2010 has never deviated from its course: "Yanshi Apples" have gone from the fields to the world, with 50 mu of standardized orchards producing 300 billion yuan annually, and deep-processed products exported to more than 20 countries, becoming a well-known "red business card" in Asia and even the world; the total installed capacity of photovoltaic and wind power has reached 120 million kilowatts, and clean electricity is transmitted to the east, becoming an important fulcrum of the national new energy strategy; red cultural tourism has broken away from the old path of "visiting cave dwellings", with immersive theaters and research bases receiving 1500 million tourists annually, generating tourism revenue of over 200 billion yuan; even traditional black energy has completed clean transformation, with circular projects such as coal gangue brick making and coalbed methane utilization turning "major polluters" into "green benchmarks".

Behind his impressive achievements lies Zhou Jin's deep sense of guilt towards his family. For six years, he has been immersed in his work, returning home only a handful of times. His twins, Zhou Shouzheng and Zhou Nianqi, born in 2003, are now nine years old and in the third grade of elementary school. The older brother, Zhou Shouzheng, has inherited the Zhou family's composure and is thoughtful in everything he does; the younger sister, Zhou Nianqi, is like their mother, Chen Panpan, charming and adorable, always following her brother around.

That day, Chen Panpan brought her two children to Yanshi to see him. Zhou Jin canceled all her work and waited early downstairs at the dormitory. "Dad!" The two siblings broke free from their mother's hands and rushed into his arms. Zhou Shouzhen looked up and said earnestly, "Grandpa said that Dad is practicing the ancestral motto of 'upholding righteousness and seeking innovation' in Yanshi. We've come to see the place where you've worked so hard." Zhou Nianqi hugged his neck and said sweetly, "Dad, I want to eat the big apple you mentioned, and I want to go to Yangjialing to hear revolutionary stories."

Zhou Jin's heart softened instantly, and he tightened his grip on the children. Over the years, he had owed his children so much time and effort; he had even broken his promise to take them to the amusement park due to urgent work. He took his family back to Yangjialing, and in front of the cave dwellings, he told the children about the revolutionary predecessors' perseverance and their original aspiration of "serving the people," just as his grandfather had done for him, quietly passing on the family's revolutionary traditions. Seeing the reverence in the children's eyes, Zhou Jin knew that his great-grandfather's admonition to "uphold righteousness and seek innovation, prioritizing the nation and its people" had taken root in the hearts of the next generation.

In October, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee held a special meeting to study the development of Yancheng City and the appointment of cadres. The Provincial Party Secretary highly praised Zhou Jin, saying, "Comrade Zhou Jin has worked diligently for six years, transforming a resource-based city into a green model, achieving a double harvest in Party building and economic development. Such a cadre deserves to be given important responsibilities!" Shortly afterward, the Organization Department of the Provincial Party Committee spoke with him, conveying the decision to recommend him for a more important position, pending approval from the Central Committee.

Standing atop a hill in Yanshi, gazing at the breathtaking panorama of red berries and silver solar panels, Zhou Jin was filled with emotion. For six years, he had dedicated himself to the Loess Plateau, transforming Yanshi from a small inland town into a shining pearl of Northwest China. Behind him lay his family, whom he had neglected but who had always supported him, and the enduring legacy of his revolutionary family tradition.

Wherever he goes in the future, every fruit tree, every photovoltaic panel, and every smiling face of every cadre and ordinary citizen on this land will be his most precious memory. And the belief in "upholding integrity while seeking innovation, prioritizing the nation and its people" will carry the red gene of Yancheng City, guiding him on his new journey.