Auld Lange Syne

By Tao Xing

The life path of many an international figure has crossed with that of the Communist Party of China （CPC） over the past 100 years. As China witnessed tremendous progress and change， their stories， too， have been remembered. Rewi Alley （1897-1987） was one of those international friends， who shared long-term ties with the CPC dating all the way back to the earliest of days when the Party was embracing the struggle to save the nation from peril.

The New Zealand-born writer， social reformer and educator spent 60 years of his life working in China. He arrived in Shanghai on April 21， 1927， and later decided to align himself with Chinas working class after witnessing their trials and tribulations.

During the Chinese Peoples War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression （1931-1945）， Alley and a handful of his both Chinese and foreign associates， including American journalist Edgar Snow and his wife， initiated and organized the Gung Ho movement， short for the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives movement， in 1938， mobilizing mass production to support the war effort. By 1942， they had set up about 2，000 such cooperatives.

“The movement made important contributions to the Chinese peoples victory against the invaders and the success in Chinas new democratic revolution，” Lin Songtian， President of the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship With Foreign Countries （CPAFFC）， a national organization engaged in people-to-people diplomacy， told Beijing Review.

Additionally， from the mid-1940s to the early 1950s， Alley founded the Shandan Bailie Schools in the northwestern county of Shandan in Gansu Province. Through the creation of a work-study program， students would use their brains as well as brawn. The school ended up generating a host of young technical staffs ready to support the countrys economic construction.

“After the founding of the Peoples Republic of China （PRC） in 1949， Alley spared no efforts in supporting Chinas development， promoting the people-to-people friendship between China and other countries， and safeguarding world peace，” Lin added.

Alley passed away in Beijing on December 27， 1987.

On July 10， the former residence of Alley in Beijing was reopened after having been renovated in memory of his years in China.

A friendly p（a）lace

Located in the CPAFFC compound， the house is also known as the Friendship Palace. However， strictly speaking， it did not just belong to Alley as four other expats also took up residence there at one time or another， according to Lin.