Zhu De in Wuxiang village, Shanxi province, 1940. [Photo provided by Liu Jian]

Transforming Nanniwan

In 1943, the song "Nanniwan" swept the country. It tells the story that after 1941, soldiers from the Eighth Route Army helped locals to work and transform Nanniwan into a wealthy and beautiful place.

It was Zhu De that proposed the Nanniwan Policy.

"I have fully scouted the area around Nanniwan. It is such a fertile farmland. What a place! The No 359 Brigade can help with farm work while defending this place at the same time," said Zhu to his wife Kang Keqing in 1940, after returning from the frontline. "When there is no battle, the soldiers can help to cultivate the land. Within a year, Nanniwan will become the Jiangnan in northern Shaanxi".

Zhu proposed the Nanniwan Policy the next day and it was soon approved by the Party Central Committee. In the following year, the No 359 Brigade helped to reclaim 11,000 acres of wasteland and to harvest 120,000 liters of grain. They also helped carve out more than 1,000 yaodong (house caves) and built more than 600 houses. This provided the basis of Nanniwan's prosperity.

"Grandpa played a leading role in this movement in Yan'an. He had a small piece of land for himself. According to Marshal Xu Xiangqian, grandpa took good care of his land. The tomatoes he grew were big and delicious," said Liu. "The Nanniwan Policy boosted production of the nearby area. It is the material basis for the victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression."