Zhou Enlai Aided Xinjiang Construction Corps

Following the founding of New China, Zhou Enlai supported the establishment of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps to address urban employment issues by relocating young people to remote rural areas. During a July 1965 inspection of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Premier Zhou Enlai met with Shanghai youth. Zhou Enlai maintained close contact with comrades responsible for Xinjiang's political and defense affairs, understanding the situation to adjust work as needed. A large number of Shanghai's intelligent youth were sent to Xinjiang and settled in the Xinjiang Corps, which helped further consolidate border defense. In July 1965, Zhou Enlai inspected Xinjiang, spending two days in the Shihezikan area of the Xinjiang Corps. He pointed out that the Xinjiang Corps is a large enterprise and that the resettlement fees for youth from Jiangxi should be borne by the corps. During his inspection of the Xinjiang Corps, Zhou Enlai also pointed out that the corps should uphold the spirit of hard struggle and that living standards should not exceed those of the local population. In 1974, Shanghai dispatched a 74-person peacekeeping team to Xinjiang, which included three film projection teams. During their nearly year-long stay, they visited over 100 regiments and 600 teams and workshops, holding more than 1,000 symposiums and visiting over 12,000 families of border youth. This mission had a stabilizing effect on Shanghai's educated youth in Xinjiang. In 1966, the national resettlement plan designated 103,700 individuals for state-owned farms, with the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps receiving 30,000 from Shanghai. In August 1966, seven Shanghai youths wrote to Zhou Enlai about their growth in Xinjiang, inspired by his encouragement to work hard.