Xi Jinping visits residents of Tantou Village in Yudu County, Ganzhou City, during an inspection tour of east China's Jiangxi Province, May 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)
BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- As China's top leader, Xi Jinping is incredibly busy but he still finds the time to interact with children.
Xi is perhaps one of the world leaders who interact most with children: he visits schools, drops in on their homes, watches them play sports and practice calligraphy, and joins them in activities such as planting trees. On top of this, he frequently writes to children.
Xi Jinping poses for a group photo with ice hockey and skating fans at Wukesong sports center in Beijing, Feb. 24, 2017. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)
On Saturday, International Children's Day, children nationwide again received greetings from President Xi.
In a reply letter dated May 31 to Macao primary school students, Xi expressed his hope that the students could pass on the fine tradition of loving the motherland and loving Macao and make contributions to Macao's development and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation when they grow up.
This file photo shows pupils of the Premier School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School in Macao writing a letter. (Xinhua)
In the library of the Premier School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School in Macao, students clapped after hearing Xi's letter.
"I am so excited to receive the reply," said fifth-grader Dang Wing Zi, one of the students who wrote the initial letter. "I will study hard to be able to better serve the country."
Chan Lai Wing, a teacher at the school, said she believed the conviction of serving the country had taken root among children and would later blossom and bear fruit.
Xi Jinping meets with representatives attending the 7th National Congress of the Chinese Young Pioneers in Beijing, June 1, 2015. (Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng)
China has a large child population, with more than 248 million people aged 15 or below on the Chinese mainland alone.
Xi often shows his concern for their growth and has expressed his hope for them to carry on endeavors to realize the nation's dreams.
On June 1, 2015, when speaking to members of the Chinese Young Pioneers in Beijing, Xi called on all Chinese children to learn to be good persons from an early age.
"To be a good person means one has to have integrity, knowledge and responsibility," Xi said. "First and foremost one must have integrity."
In 2016, Xi wrote a reply to 12 primary school students in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province. They were the grandchildren of people who cultivated the uninhabited Dachen Islands in the 1950s.
Xi expressed his hope that the students would learn from their grandparents, as well as love the Party, the country and the people, and prepare themselves to contribute to the realization of the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.
When visiting a primary school in Beijing's Haidian district in 2014, Xi spoke of the need to guide children to set high goals and create conditions for them to grow up better.
Xi Jinping kisses a child at a temporary shelter for quake-affected residents in Lushan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 21, 2013.(Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)
In May 2013, while inspecting a school devastated by an earthquake in Sichuan Province, Xi told students to turn their trauma into a source of strength, urging them to be strong, brave and united.
The school has fully recovered and set a priority of developing science education. Brand-new research facilities were established.
Tang Qian, a former pupil at the school, said she would strive to become a scientist, exploring mysteries of the world.
"There is a strong interest among students to study science," she said.
In 2018, replying to a letter from a primary school in Shaanxi Province, Xi expressed hope that the students would learn more about the history of the revolution, follow the example of heroes and role models, love the Party, the country and the people, and carry on fine revolutionary traditions.
"We are aiming to be people with faith and responsibility and will grow up to build our motherland well," said Wang Tianjiao, a fourth-grader at the school. Enditem
Xi Jinping attends an initiation ceremony of Young Pioneers during his visit at Beijing Haidian National Primary School in Beijing, May 30, 2014. (Xinhua/Li Tao)
