China's President Xi Jinping visits Zunyi city where historic party meeting was held
President tours site of Zunyi Conference, through which Mao Zedong established his dominance in the party
When President Xi Jinping visited southwestern Guizhou province on Monday, he chose Zunyi - the city where the Communist Party's famous Zunyi Conference was held during the Red Army's Long March - as the starting point of his tour.
Xi toured the site of the Zunyi Conference, a significant meeting held in 1935 through which the collective leadership of the Communist Party was formed. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the conference.
At Huamao village, the president was briefed on advanced agricultural techniques used in the area as well as tourism and commercial development.
He also visited villagers' homes. During his tour around the village, Xi chatted with some pupils playing ping-pong, state-run Xinhua reported.
In Bijie , another city in the impoverished province, four children - a brother and his younger sisters aged five to 13 - died after drinking pesticide last week. They took their own lives after having been abandoned by their migrant worker parents.
The tragedy sparked debate over the mainland's 60 million "left behind" children who are left alone or put in relatives' care by their parents who head to the big cities in search of better jobs.
