The "Red Boat" on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, has become a major tourist attraction. [Photo by Huang Zongzhi/Xinhua]

Birthplace of the CPC is embracing a future driven by innovation and motivated by the Party's hard work and dedication

Zhejiang province represents a juncture of China's past and future. The birthplace of the Red Boat spirit, the eastern province embodies the country's revolutionary hallmarks of innovation, hard work and dedication.

For the Communist Party of China's 90.6 million members, Nanhu Lake in the city of Jiaxing is far more than just a scenic attraction - it's the physical birthplace of the Party.

"Since June, at least 10,000 tourists a day have flocked to visit the lake at weekends, double the usual weekend average of tourists of around 5,000 to 6,000," said Lu Yi, deputy general manager of the Nanhu Tourism Development in Jiaxing. The higher numbers are due to both the upcoming 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China and the summer holidays, Lu said.

In 1921, the first CPC National Congress reconvened in a red boat on the lake after being interrupted by authorities in Shanghai's French concession area. It was here the 13 delegates announced the official founding of the CPC, with the Red Boat becoming a symbol of the courageous and pioneering spirit of the early Party leaders. The meeting encapsulated China's revolutionary spirit.

In October 2017, the CPC's newly elected top leadership, headed by General Secretary Xi Jinping, visited the site, where they vowed to stay true to the Party's original aspirations and serve the people. It was Xi's first domestic trip after the 19th CPC National Congress. The congress elected a new CPC Central Committee and drew up a blueprint for the country's development in the coming decades.

"We cannot forget the road that we have taken no matter how far we march," Xi said during the visit. 

Spirit lives on

That Red Boat spirit has strongly influenced the development of Zhejiang, an economic powerhouse that has evolved into a cradle of scientific and technological innovation over the past decade.

In 2003, Jiaxing Science City, a platform for innovation, was established to help upgrade local industry. 

Home to the Yangtze Delta Region Institute of Tsinghua University, the Zhejiang Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Shanghai University (Zhejiang-Jiaxing) Emerging Industries Institute, it has successfully explored a new way to leverage the strengths of academic agencies.

Given the favorable conditions and availability of talent, a number of enterprises have set up in the city, according to Wang Liting, director of the science city's exhibition hall.

Last year, it generated an output of 44.5 billion yuan ($6.32 billion), a year-on-year increase of 21 percent. Its fiscal revenue reached 2.02 billion yuan, up 17.8 percent year-on-year. 

Zhejiang also hopes to further develop internationally competitive high-tech industries by supporting science and technology services, new-generation information technology and high-end equipment manufacturing and biotechnology.

"Innovation has become the lifeline of all businesses in Jiaxing," said Zhu Jinsong, general manager of Jiaxipera, a leading manufacturer of refrigerator compressors.

His company is an international supplier and has partnerships with some of the world's biggest refrigerator manufacturers including Siemens, Bosch and Haier.

Jiaxipera is a leader in the development of small and variable-frequency compressors helping China to become a research and development hub for refrigerator compressor manufacturing.