Unveiling the secret to a 105-year-old institution's enduring vitality and strength

When I entered the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday morning, I saw people wearing red rosettes and medals exchanging greetings and taking photos ahead of a grand gathering marking the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.

The lively scene, set against the Party's history of more than a century, made me wonder what has enabled a 105-year-old political party not only to endure, but also to remain vigorous and forward-looking.

I asked several attendees the question.

Wu Meili, 69, a retired community mediator from Zhejiang province, initially responded as though I were asking about the secret to her own good health. "A strong body and a positive mindset," she said.

But soon enough Wu turned her focus to the Party. Its vitality, she said, comes from remaining true to its original aspiration of serving the people wholeheartedly.

Wu, who spent 42 years mediating disputes, said that what kept her going was doing each small task well and hearing a simple "thank you" from the people she helped.

Chen Fenxin, a veteran CPC member and a village Party chief from Shaanxi province, spoke of faith and gratitude.

Having grown up in a region deeply influenced by the revolutionary traditions of Yan'an, an old revolutionary heartland of the CPC, he views the Party's relationship with the people not as an abstract principle, but as something rooted in the experiences of his family and community.

His remarks took me back to Yan'an, a city in northern Shaanxi, where I made a visit only days earlier.

It was my first trip to the renowned revolutionary base, where Chairman Mao Zedong and other members of the older generation of revolutionaries lived and worked for 13 years. They stayed in cave dwellings and endured acute material shortages, and yet, they remained confident that their cause would one day change the fate of this country and its people.

More than 80 years ago, Mao delivered his well-known speech, titled "Serve the People", in Yan'an, declaring that the CPC's contingent was formed to liberate the people and work entirely in their interests.

China has changed dramatically since then, but the commitment to serving the people has remained a constant throughout the Party's history.

Guided by the fundamental principle of serving the people wholeheartedly, generations of CPC members have united with and led the Chinese people in an unremitting struggle, making possible all that China has achieved today.

Now, more and more young people are taking up the baton.

Among the younger faces I spotted in the hall was Zhang Zixi, a 21-year-old trap shooter, who attended as a representative of the sports community. Last year, she applied for Party membership.

Zhang told me that she was particularly encouraged by General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping's call to young Chinese people to "run well their leg of the historic relay", pave the way with their youth and let their ideals shine.

For Zhang, those words have translated into a concrete goal — to train harder, to achieve better results and to see China's national flag raised at international competitions.

As I looked around me in the auditorium, the answer to my question began to unfold.

I realized that the source of the Party's enduring vitality is not a secret after all. One must stay rooted among the people, keep working, keep renewing, and never stop passing the baton.