Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and his wife Peng Liyuan wave to a welcoming crowd in Singapore in this file photo taken in November 2015. Photo: Xinhua

On Qixi Festival, the People's Daily published an article on social media introducing the Chinese President Xi Jinping as a family man and devoted husband. The festival is known as Chinese Valentine's Day and fell on Wednesday this year.

The article soon went viral, as Chinese netizens got to know a Xi they were not familiar with.

It started by introducing Xi's marriage with his wife Peng Liyuan. The two have been together for 32 years.

Xi is widely recognized as an ideal leader in his work, but also a great companion in his family. He is a "capable husband," in Peng's words.

Xi and Peng have made appearances together multiple times on the international stage, and their love story has won admiration around the world.

Xi's romance

When Xi was young, he read Russian novelist Alexander Pushkin's novel-in-verse Eugene Onegin, a seminal work of Russian romantic literature.

Since their marriage in 1987, Xi and Peng have spent more time apart than together, but continue to understand and support each other.

Sometimes, Xi brings his wife little surprises. Four days after their wedding, Peng, a famous opera singer, had to leave Xi for a months-long performance. When she came back, Xi eagerly picked her up, presenting her with a bunch of flowers he just picked from a garden.

Peng once happily commented on his husband in a television program in 1999: "He is a very capable and successful man."

But Xi did not ignore his family because of work. Instead, as a husband, he is a true nuannan, a popular Chinese phrase that describes a warm-hearted family man.

Back in 2004, when Xi was the secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), he told Yan'an Television, "I have a very happy family. Although we all have our own work, we build our family together."

Xi said that he would phone his wife every day as they were not able to spend much time together.

Peng was invited several times to participate in the Spring Festival Gala on CCTV, an event to celebrate China's most important traditional festival, when family members are expected to reunite and sit down for a dinner.

As long as Xi was not on duty, he would sit by the TV, watching the gala while making dumplings, and waiting for his wife to come home.

A "late" reunion dinner may be simple, but also warm and sweet.

Xi and Peng also showed their love for each other abroad.

During Xi's inspection of China's Antarctic scientific research vessel Xuelong in Australia, when he stepped up to a higher cabin, he turned back and reached his hand out to Peng to help her up

Another case took place in India. After Peng sat down on a swing and played with it a bit, she patted on the seat beside her, inviting Xi to play with her together.

Family role

When Xi entered a leadership position, his mother summoned a family meeting, requesting other family members not to engage in business activities related to his position.

Influenced by his parents, Xi has always been strict with his friends and himself. Although he is very caring with Peng, he is still very strict with her on certain issues of principle.

Xi told Peng that since he is a Party official, Peng must not moonlight.

In many cases when Peng came to where Xi worked, Xi kept a low profile and did not let Peng join him at work.

Wang Jinshui, secretary of the Party Leadership Group of Xiamen City People's Government then, remembered that "the day they married was a Saturday. Comrade (Xi) Jinping told me that he wanted to bring Peng to Dongshan county in Zhangzhou for a visit. "The second day, a driver brought them to Dongshan, and they stayed there for one night. But he himself paid for the accommodation and gasoline. That was 30 years ago. He had such strict demands of himself."

Lü Juyong, a then member of the Standing Committee of Fujian Provincial People's Congress, was deeply impressed by Xi when he worked in Ningde, Fujian.

Lü remembered that in 1988, Peng was on vacation and came to Ningde. Xi did not pick her up in his car, but asked her to take a bus. 

It was quite normal for an official to use his car to pick up his wife, but Xi did not, Lü said, noting that he admired Xi's exemplary actions in not taking advantage of public property.

Xi and Peng named their only daughter Mingze, which means: "Be virtuous and contribute to society."

Families are basic cells of society, and also the first schools in people's lives. Xi said in 2015, "No matter how time and people's lifestyles change, we need to pay attention to family building, focus on families, family education and family traditions."

In Peng's eyes, her husband is an extraordinary man, but also an ordinary person. 

As a husband, Xi feels pleasure, anger, sorrow and joy just like any other person, and he also needs to meet close friends from time to time. But he has succeeded in his emphasis on affection and righteousness with family members, distinguishing right from wrong on matters of principle.

Xi has set an example to all of society with these lofty moral characteristics and sentiment, the article concluded.
Newspaper headline: Xi Jinping – A family man