By Feng Lu (chinadaily.com.cn) 2015-05-14

Donglan county in Hechi, Guangxi, will hold activities to commemorate the 100th anniversary of General Qin Shimian in December.

The activities aim to carry forward the tradition of the revolutionary base areas and motivate people's enthusiasm at work.

Qin Shimian was a member of the Zhuang ethnic group born in Donglan county, who contributed to the revolutionary cause. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he was honored with the military rank of air vice marshal. The general passed away in 1981 when he was 67 years old.

According to Donglan's Deputy County Chief Wu Yanhua, the activities for the 100th anniversary of Qin Shimian provide an opportunity to promote revolutionary culture and build constructions for people's livelihood.

The activities include a documentary film and writing about Qin Shimian, a forum, artistic performances and education base construction. Donglan will also invest over 7 million yuan ($1.13 million) in building constructions, expanding and hardening roads to benefit all ethnic groups in old revolutionary base areas.

Donglan now has over 6,000 key entitled people, such as disabled soldiers and ex-servicemen, within three army departments. Since 2011, local troops has invested 586,000 yuan in agricultural production, donated over 300,000 yuan in improving infrastructure and 100,000 yuan for poverty-stricken students. The officers and soldiers have constructed 52 roads with a total length of 247 kilometers and built 20,045 biogas digesters for local residents.

Edited by Andrew Ancheta