In Lotus Mountain, Shenzhen, a tall fig tree stands in the wind, tall and luxuriant. On the granite stone tablet in front of the tree,"Xi Jinping Tree Planting by Hand" is engraved.

In December 2012, Xi Jinping, who was elected General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee for more than 20 days, left Beijing for his first inspection after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and came to Shenzhen, the forefront of reform and opening up.

The sky is bright and the air is clear, and the wind is smooth. At about 9 a.m. on the 8th, in Lianhuashan Park, General Secretary Xi Jinping slowly walked up the steps and came to the hilltop square. He laid a flower basket to the bronze statue of Comrade Deng Xiaoping, chief architect of reform and opening up, and led everyone to bow three times.

Not far from the bronze statue, in an open grassland, General Secretary Xi Jinping used a shovel to shovel soil, watered the cofferdam, and planted a mountain fig tree with his own hands.

After planting the tree, he stared at it for a long time.

Ficus alata is a local tree species in Lingnan. It is evergreen all year round, vigorous and tall. In 1992, Comrade Deng Xiaoping also personally planted a fig tree in Shenzhen Xianhu Botanical Garden. "The characteristics of the mountain banyan are consistent with the spirit of reform that is tenacious and enterprising." Yang Yibiao, then director of the Shenzhen Lianhuashan Park Management Office, said.

Yang Yibiao remembers that four veteran comrades who witnessed Comrade Deng Xiaoping's trip to the south were invited to Lianhua Mountain that day. General Secretary Xi Jinping reviewed the process of Guangdong's reform and opening up with them. "This arrangement connects the reform stories of different eras in China. It is the intersection of history and the continuation of reform." Yang Yibiao said.

In the new era, General Secretary Xi Jinping issued a new call:"The decision made by the Party Central Committee on reform and opening up is correct, and we will still follow this correct path in the future. The road to enriching the country and enriching the people must be unswervingly followed, with new development and a new level."

In 2013, the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee kicked off the curtain on comprehensively deepening reforms. There are 336 major reform measures in 15 fields, covering everything from party building to economy, politics, culture, society, and ecological civilization.

Facing the sun and not afraid of wind and rain, the mountain banyan trees flourish, witnessing the myriad weather of reform and opening up in the new era.

In October 2020, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, General Secretary Xi Jinping once again visited Lianhuashan Park and laid a flower basket to the bronze statue of Deng Xiaoping. He Jinyuan, captain of the honor guard of Lianhuashan Park, was a member of the scene.

He Jinyuan said that on the afternoon of October 14, after presenting a flower basket, the General Secretary went to see the mountain banyan planted that year. A small tree that was once more than 3 meters high has grown into a big tree that is more than 13 meters high, and it has become like pavilions and luxuriant branches.

The general secretary walked under the tree and said with deep emotion:"It's been 8 years, just a snap of a finger. This place we chose is very good. The crown can spread out and the trees grow quickly."

Overlooking from Lianhua Mountain, you can see high-rise buildings and vitality, and you can have a panoramic view of Shenzhen's urban scenery. Rooted in the soil of reform and standing at the forefront of the times, Shenzhen has grown into a "big tree" in socialist China.

Standing on the mountaintop platform, General Secretary Xi Jinping looks forward to a modern future China. as he put:"In the future, we must deepen reform and expand opening up with greater courage, and continue to write more 'spring storys'."