Thirty years ago, a young government official with a plum job in Beijing made an odd request: reassignment to a poor rural area.

At the time, millions of young people were still clawing their way back to China’s urban centers after being exiled to the countryside in the Mao era. But 30-year-old Xi Jinpingbucked the trend, giving up a secure post as adviser to a top military leader to navigate the tumultuous village politics of Zhengding, in Hebei Province.

Read Here – New York Times