Beijing Women's Federation

To further study and grasp the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, help secretaries of Party branches better fulfill their obligations in the full and rigorous governance over the Party, and strengthen the capacity building of Party-affairs related workers in the fulfillment of their duties, Beijing Women's Federation (BWF) held a training session for Party-affairs related workers in Linzhou, a mountainous county-level city in Central China's Henan Province and birthplace of the well-known Hongqi Canal spirit, from September 1 to 4. The thematic training session was attended by Zhao Hongwei, Vice-President of the BWF, Li Xiangfu, Second-class Inspector of the BWF, secretaries of the BWF's affiliated Party branches, and Party affairs-related workers of the federation.

Liu Shuwei, Vice-President of Henan Hongqiqu Executive Leadership Academy, and Zhao addressed the opening ceremony of the four-day training session. Zhao said that attendees should grasp a deep understanding of the importance of this training session, make full use of revolutionary resources, gain a deeper understanding of modern values and rich content of the Hongqi Canal spirit, advance the Party-building campaigns with more solid outcomes, cherish the valuable opportunity and achieve sound learning results.

During the training, visits, thematic lectures, audio-video and discussion-driven instructions were organized to help trainees grasp a deep understanding of the Hongqi Canal spirit, which features self-reliance, hard work, solidarity and selfless dedication, the inspiring stories of Gu Wenchang, a role model devoted to the fight against desertification in Fujian's Dongshan County, the essence and contemporary value of "shoulder pole spirit" that builds a bridge between the Party and the people, firm up their ideals and convictions, and forge stronger motivation.

Participants engaged in lectures that helped consolidate their ideological beliefs, by integrating the study and implementation of the guiding principles of the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee with the inheritance and development of the Hongqi Canal spirit, and strengthening the understanding of the overall goal of further deepening comprehensive reform.

The lectures, which featured the construction of the Hongqi Canal and the formation of relevant spirit, led attendees to grasp a deep understanding of the courageous spirit behind local people in the completion of the "man-made river in the sky" in the 1960s from relevant social background, connotation, contemporary revelation and value, and the inspection tour by General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping in October 2022.

Participants also watched documentaries about the Hongqi Canal, and paid a visit to the Hongqi Canal Memorial Hall, major side projects , the exhibition hall of Gu Wenchang's life, the Shoulder Pole Spirit Memorial Hall, and the Yin Ruins, remnants of the capital of the late Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) in the northwest suburbs of Anyang, recalling the unforgettable history of canal construction in the 1960s and comprehensively learning about the Hongqi Canal spirit to further strengthen their ideals and beliefs.

The visit to the Hongqi Canal Memorial Hall helped attendees gain a deep understanding of arduous journey taken by local people in the building of the canal project. The Party-history class took them to review the glorious history of the Party and have a thorough thinking of Party members' historical responsibilities and missions in the new era. They became deeply impressed with selfless dedication made by builders and the commitment undertaken by Party members to fight for the wellbeing of the people after a visit to the Qingniandong (a major part of Hongqi Canal). The visit to the exhibition hall of Gu Wenchang's life helped them fully understand the firm belief of a Party member and learn more about dedicated efforts made by the model Party chief in the rebuilding of the former war-torn island county. After visiting to the Shoulder Pole Spirit Memorial Hall, they were touched by the huge sacrifices made by workers from Shibanyan Township in fetching daily necessities from the outside world for local people over the past six decades.

Self-reliance, hard work, revolutionary belief and solidarity became four hot words among attendees in their discussions and exchanges over the revelation of the Hongqi Canal spirit and the building of outstanding Party branches in the new era. They said they would pool new strength from historical memories, thoroughly understand General Secretary Xi's instructions about educating the people with the Hongqi Canal spirit, firm up personal ideals and beliefs, strengthen Party consciousness, carry forward the Hongqi Canal spirit, shoulder their responsibilities, redouble their efforts in the building of Party branches, forge consensus, make new contributions and strive for outstanding performance in the high-quality development of women's cause.

The Hongqi Canal is not only an iconic water conservation project but also a spiritual symbol. The special training session helped attendees gain a deeper understanding of the Hongqi Canal spirit and its contemporary values, and learned more about the wisdom, courage and perseverance of constructors. The attendees said they would carry forward revolutionary traditions, remain prepared to shoulder great responsibilities, build grassroots Party branches into strong fortresses, and make greater contributions to the further development of women's cause and the work of women's federations on the new journey.