"Xi ... would be among 30 million "sent-down youth," forced to leave cities for the countryside and mountains under another of Mao's policies. From 1969-1975, or most of the Cultural Revolution, Xi was an agricultural laborer in Liangjiahe, Shaanxi, his ancestral province ... The experience had a positive influence on Xi's view of China and the world ... "Even after he became a leader, he helped farmers," Guo [Yanjun] said. His favorite story was of the Tsinghua University-bound Xi in 1975 being accompanied by villagers who walked 60 li (30 km) to send him off at a train station." (Quoted from article)