Zhou Binghe is the son of Zhou Entai, the youngest brother of Zhou Enlai. His father suffered political prosecution during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76).

By the end of 1968, Zhou's five brothers and sisters had all left Beijing. He was not sure whether he should stay with his mother or follow his classmates to the countryside, so he asked his uncle's opinion.

Premier Zhou Enlai and his wife Deng Yingchao met their nephew in Zhongnanhai and supported his move to Yan'an.

"They told me that they had spent 13 years in Yan'an fighting for the country's freedom and revolution," Zhou recalls. "Although they hadn't been back for over 20 years, they still missed the life and cared about the local people.

"My uncle told me that Yan'an was still poor. If I had any problems, I should tell him and he would help. But he insisted that I should live independently and learn from local villagers.

"Auntie Deng told me to prepare for a hard life in Yan'an, especially the poor sanitation. She said she and my uncle had lice when they were in Yan'an, so they called the lice 'revolution worms'.

"They gave me 120 yuan to buy a radio and reminded me to write letters back."

One day in January 1969, an old truck took 18-year-old Zhou Binghe from Yan'an to Fengzhuang village 90 km away. The driver told him that many trucks had fallen off the winding mountain road into the deep valley below.

Zhou began farming, feeding goats and building houses with the locals. The heavy work and poor conditions didn't concern him but he felt compelled to tell his uncle about the villagers' extreme poverty and the plight of the zhiqing.

Local villagers were short for food and many had to beg in the streets; children went without clothes; mercenary marriages were popular. The Beijing zhiqing received no help when they were ill or in trouble. They often fought with, and stole from, each other.

In January 1970, Zhou was allowed home to visit his family and told Zhou Enlai what he had seen in Yan'an. "When I mentioned that a zhiqing girl from Beijing had drowned and the locals' miserable life, he made a sorrowful sigh," Zhou recalls.

"He said he felt sorry for the local villagers, who contributed a lot to the revolution."

On March 10, 1970, representing the State Department, Premier Zhou called a meeting with officials from Yan'an and Beijing to discuss how to solve the problems of the zhiqing in Yan'an and improve the local people's living conditions.

The central government realized there were problems with the zhiqing movement all over China. It launched an aid plan in Yan'an and sent 3,000 officials to maintain order and protect the zhiqing in north Shaanxi.

Zhou Binghe left Yan'an in 1972 and went to study at Tsinghua University. "My uncle told me not to forget my time in Yan'an and hoped I would go back to serve the locals after graduating," he says.

This year is the 110th anniversary of Zhou Enlai's birthday. Zhou Binghe and more than 30 zhiqing published a book Zhou Enlai in Zhiqing's Hearts to memorize the Premier.

"He cared about me, he cared about every zhiqing and he loved his country until the end of his life," Zhou says.