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At the foot of the mountains on theNorthern Shaanxi Plateau, there is a small village called Liangjiahe. In 1969,the villagers welcomed an educated youth team that included Xi Jinping, who wasbarely 16 years old at the time. This marked the start of Xi’s 7 years offarming life.

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在陕北高原的山岭脚下，有一个名叫梁家河的小村子。1969年，村民们迎来了一队知青，其中包括当时还不满16岁的习近平。这标志着习近平七年插队生活的开始。

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Life was tough on the loessland.Therewas no electricity in the village, and Xi had to live with five other youths inan “earth cave” and sleep on an “earth bed”. At the very beginning, he wasincapable of even the most basic farm work such as digging, growing corn, andcutting wheat, thus he followed and learned from the villagers. In those years,Xi performed all types of hard labor and barely rested. The villager ZhangWeipang recalled, “It was a rough time for Xi Jinping, as rough as we villagerslived.”

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黄土地的生活很艰苦。那时村里没有电，习近平只能和其他五个知青一起住“窑洞”，睡“土炕”。一开始，他连掏地、种玉米、割麦子这些最基本的农活都不会，因此他就跟着村民学。那些年，习近平什么活都干过，几乎没歇过。村民张卫庞回忆道：“习近平是吃了苦的，跟我们一般苦”。

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Life was also full on the loessland. Thefarming life strengthened Xi’s perseverance and taught him various skills.Growing into a capable and hardworking young man in the eyes of the villagersof Liangjiahe, Xi was called “a tough boy” by the locals.

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黄土地上的的生活也很充实。插队生活增强了习近平的毅力，教会了他各种技能。在梁家河村村民眼中，习近平成长为一个能干、勤劳的年轻人，当地人称他为“吃苦耐劳的好后生”。

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On September 22, 2015, a large dinner washeld in the city of Seattle to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping. PresidentXi shared with the audience stories about the place that he would never forget.

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2015年9月22日，西雅图市举行了盛大的晚宴欢迎中国国家主席习近平。习主席向观众讲述了发生在他永远难忘的地方的故事。

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“At that time, life was very hard. Therewas no meat in our diet for months. I knew what the villagers wanted the most.Later I became the village’s party secretary and began to lead the villagers inproduction. I understood their needs. One thing I wished most at the time wasto make it possible for the villagers to have meat and have it often. However,it was very difficult for such a wish to come true in those years.

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“那时候，生活十分贫困。几个月吃不到一块肉。我了解乡亲们最需要什么！后来，我当了这个村子的党支部书记，带领乡亲们发展生产。我了解老百姓需要什么。我很期盼的一件事，就是让乡亲们饱餐一顿肉，并且经常吃上肉。但是，这个心愿在当时是很难实现的。

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“Atthe Spring Festival early this year, I returned to the village. I saw blacktoproads. Now living in brick houses, the villagershad internet access. Elderly folks had basic old-age care, and all villagershad medical care coverage. Children were in school. Of course, meat was readilyavailable. This made me very aware that the Chinese Dream is after all a dreamof the people. We can fulfill the Chinese Dream only when we link it to ourpeople’s yearning for a better life.”

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“今年春节，我回到这个小村子。梁家河修起了柏油路，乡亲们住上了砖瓦房，用上了互联网，老人们享有基本养老，村民们有医疗保险，孩子们可以接受良好教育，当然吃肉已经不成问题。这使我更加深刻地认识到，中国梦是人民的梦，必须同中国人民对美好生活的向往结合起来才能取得成功。”

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`Never forget why you started, and you canaccomplish your mission. Looking back, Xi says it is this experience thatcontinues to inspire him.

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不忘初心，方得始终。回首过往时，习近平说正是这段经历在不断激励着他。