Working with the people to create lasting change

In April 1998, 58-year-old Zhao Hualu arrived in Jitun in Huixian county, Henan province to serve as the township's Party secretary. He has been working there ever since.

At the time, the annual per capita income in Jitun was slightly above 1,000 yuan - less than $200 - and most of the farmers were living hand-to-mouth.

To raise incomes, Zhao encouraged the farmers to grow mushrooms in greenhouses. Scared of losing money, nobody wanted to try something new at first.

He encouraged local Party members to take the lead. Fourteen members from Fantun village built 15 greenhouses to grow mushrooms, each of which generated more than 30,000 yuan the first year.

With that, Zhao had proved his point. Today, there are more than 10,000 greenhouses growing mushrooms in Jitun - one on average for each household.

Realizing that better technology and equipment were key to the industry's development, Zhao visited Guangdong and Gansu provinces in search of ways to upgrade and succeeded in attracting Guangdong Star Way Bio-Technology Company to Jitun.

With an investment of 1.1 billion yuan ($172 million), Star Way Biotech Park was built in 2012. It now produces 300 metric tons of needle mushrooms a day and provides jobs for 60 percent of the town's working age population.

Jitun has become the largest producer of the edible fungi in the country, and per capita incomes have increased to more than 20,000 yuan.

Zhao said the moment he chose to work in the countryside was the moment he chose to make personal sacrifices for local development-as the four intravascular stents near his heart attest. He has steadfastly refused to be transferred elsewhere, and has been promoted three times.

If a person treats their official title as a symbol of power, they may well lead a tiresome life. However, if they treat it as a platform to achieve, they will not only work harder, they will enjoy life more.

At least that's Zhao's takeaway from his years of dedication. He had the words written on a poster, which hangs on his office wall to remind him that he should continue to work for as long as the people need.

Song Yuntian, a PhD graduate from Tsinghua University, used to work in Jitun as Party secretary for Yaocun village. He says he was very inspired by Zhao, who persuaded him to make himself one of the people by "getting close to them, speaking their language, listening to them and working and eating with them".

One of Zhao's main focuses is inspiring Party members to take the lead and setting examples for the people to follow.

Jitun encompasses 33 villages, 216 civil servants, 1,824 Party members and 1,066 village representatives. Zhao regards them as the "Three Forces" that he can always rely on.

"The development of Jitun, which is home to about 60,000 people, was achieved by the hard work of everyone under the leadership of the 'Three Forces'," he said, adding that the secret lies in team building.

The "Three Forces" are not only responsive to the people, but also come from among them and share their concerns.

Miao Haiyun, Party secretary of Xianlu village, still has fresh memories of how Zhao put himself on the front line, leading Party members and the people during serious flooding on July 19, 2016.

"As long as we see that Zhao is there, our hearts can rest assured, because he not only knows what to do, but also how to do it," Miao said.

When asked how he could work in an impoverished rural area for so many years, Zhao replied that as long as you work hard, time passes quickly.