“I proposed that I must join the Hubei delegation. You represent the 60 million Hubei people. I want to give you my regards.” When joining the meeting of the Hubei delegation during the 3rd session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) on May 24, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, expressed his great care and concern for Hubei Province.

Being the province hit hardest and suffered with longest lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in China, Hubei has been under the spotlight during the two sessions. It witnesses all the key elements of China’s anti-epidemic stories. If we understand the revival of Hubei, we’d understand the Chinese Spirit that has kept the country on its feet through all the tribulations in history.

Hubei’s survival and revival depend on the commitment to always putting the people first.

During the pandemic, medical staff from all over the country rushed to help Hubei and grassroots Party members stayed on duty despite the high possibility of virus exposure. All COVID-19 patients were hospitalized and treated with dedicated personnel and targeted treatments. The Leishenshan and Huoshenshan hospitals were built at a record speed, and epidemic control supplies were shipped to Wuhan and Hubei from every direction...It was with such efforts that China was racing against time to fight the virus.

About 1/10 of the country’s ICU medical personnel were concentrated in Wuhan and about 1/4 of all life-saver ECMOs in Hubei Province, all medical expenses covered by the nation. From the oldest patient with 108 years old to the youngest one only 30 hours after its birth, China spared no effort in saving every life.

From SARS to the Wenchuan earthquake and this COVID-19 outbreak, the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government have always been putting the people’s lives first.

Hubei’s survival and revival depend on the immense power when the whole nation is united with one mind.

To protect the whole nation, Wuhan, the largest transportation hub in Central China, didn’t hesitate to quarantine itself. To assist Wuhan, 346 medical teams comprising more than 40,000 doctors and nurses rushed to the epicenter of the epidemic, 19 provinces, districts, and cities provided pairing assistance to the cities in Hubei. Fully loaded trucks were taking anti-epidemic supplies, vegetables, and fruits to Wuhan and Hubei from all over the country.

Thanks to nationwide coordination, forces and resources were quickly mobilized and dispatched, and the country, with three months of united and coordinated efforts, helped Hubei and Wuhan get through its darkest moments.

Now the Yellow Crane Tower, a landmark of Wuhan that has been closed for nearly 100 days, is re-opened to visitors again. To support the revival of Hubei, a new national wave of “crowd ordering” online was waged to boost its economic recovery.

It is stated in the 2020 government work report that “we will implement a package of policies to support Hubei's development, helping it ensure employment, public well-being, and normal operations, and spurring the full recovery of economic and social activity there.”

Always centered on the people and relying on the people, the CPC has demonstrated China’s institutional advantage of “pooling together all forces for great causes” to the fullest.

Hubei’s survival and revival depend on the indomitable will of overcoming difficulties at times of adversity.

The unexpected pandemic crisis is also a grave test. After the coronavirus broke out, more than 580,000 Party members across the Hubei Province worked in communities both as goalkeepers of epidemic prevention and control and as ferrymen of material supplies.

Gan Ruyi, a nurse born after 1995, rode a bike for more than 300km to go back to her post in Wuhan from Jinzhou; Gao Zhixiao, a takeaway delivery man, shuttled on the streets of Wuhan to deliver living necessities to numerous households even though he was under a great risk of being exposed to the virus...It was the fearless people like them that have forged an invincible force to fend off the epidemic.

This immense crisis does not defeat Wuhan and Hubei. Instead, they have picked up speed in a reboot, trying to make up for lost time and losses. Enterprises are resuming work and production one after another, Honeywell International Inc., an American company, has settled its emerging market headquarters and innovation center in Wuhan.

Moreover, the city and the province, once recovering from the outbreak, have lent a helping hand to Manzhouli and Suifenhe, where the situation of imported COVID-19 cases is serious, by donating large quantities of protective supplies.

“I believe that difficulties, no matter how serious, won’t crash the heroic Hubei people.” President Xi’s words at the meeting with the Hubei delegation were the affectionate praise to the people and also his expectations for the people of Hubei and the whole country.

Carrying on the enterprising spirit that has lasted thousands of years, the Chinese people will take more solid steps forward to achieve the victory both in epidemic control and in economic and social development.

A disaster mirrors a nation’s actual conditions and spirit. Having endured this outbreak, Hubei and Wuhan have embarked on a new life, and the Chinese people have grown and risen from the hardship to carry forward the Chinese Spirit in the new era. China will foster new opportunities from this crisis, blaze a new trail in the turbulent situation, and press ahead with new momentum.