Chinese leader visits low-income families

XI'AN - After knocking on three doors at a building in an affordable housing community and getting no response, a senior Chinese leader found himself outside during the coldest month of the year in Northwest China's Shaanxi province.

Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and his accompanying staff decided to move on to another building in the community, where he was welcomed by resident Yang Chunxia.

During a casual chat, the senior official asked about the lives and income of Yang and her family and listened to their expectations for the Party and the government.

Yang told Liu she took up pig raising after she was laid off in 2005. Her husband who was also laid off now works with a drilling crew.

"Life is sweet now," said Yang, who lives in an affordable housing unit built by the government to accommodate low-income individuals and families.

Liu visited nine families, as well as local villages and enterprises, during an inspection tour to Shaanxi from Jan 11 to 14.

During his inspection tour, the CPC leader stayed in common guesthouses. He covered 900 kilometers in three and a half days without any motorcade to clear the way.

He gave no special reception requirements for local officials, but did tell them to make arrangements for him to visit more families with difficulties.