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Research Base for Strengthening the Awareness of the Chinese National Community by Four Ministries
China’s Frontier Security Research Center at Lanzhou University
November 18, 2025
Author Introduction
Wang Haifei, male, from Lin County, Shanxi, professor at the China Frontier Security Research Center, doctoral supervisor, engaged in research on ethnology and film anthropology;
Lang Wenying, doctoral student at the Northwest Ethnic Minority Research Center.
Abstract
During the 1960s and 1970s, the large state-owned enterprises that emerged during the Third Front Construction period were an important part of China’s national defense and economic construction, while also fulfilling social functions to enhance the overall development level of local economies and maintain social stability. During this period, in the construction process of the large state-owned enterprise Jiuquan Iron and Steel Company and its affiliated mining areas in the Hexi Corridor, the enterprise shared transportation, energy, and other community infrastructure with local ethnic groups, providing public services in healthcare, culture, and other areas, greatly supporting the leapfrog development of local society. At this time, the state-owned enterprises and mining areas in the Hexi Corridor played a significant role as “embedded media” between the state and localities, forming an “embedded social structure” with local ethnic groups that had intrinsic close ties, becoming an important driving force for strengthening the national identity of local ethnic groups and guiding them to form a strong three-dimensional perception of the state. By excavating and organizing a large number of precious archives from the Third Front Construction period in the Hexi Corridor and oral materials from witnesses, this article summarizes the rich historical experiences of large state-owned enterprises in promoting local national identity during this historical process, which may provide important insights for continuously strengthening the awareness of the Chinese national community, enhancing the national identity of various ethnic groups, and building harmonious enterprise-local relationships in ethnic areas, as well as promoting broader ethnic exchanges and integration practices.
Keywords
Third Front Construction; Hexi Corridor; Embedded Media; Enterprise-Local Relations; National Identity; Ethnic Exchanges and Integration
National identity is a complex ideological system centered on political identity, based on historical and cultural identity and emotional identity, resulting from the interaction of rational and emotional, historical and realistic factors, with distinct contemporaneity and continuity. National identity does not have a universal model and often presents different temporal and regional characteristics due to different national forms, historical stages, and regional conditions. As a unified multi-ethnic country, national identity is an important bond for maintaining national unity and ethnic solidarity, as well as a crucial foundation for achieving long-term stability, social harmony, cultural prosperity, and economic development. Exploring the issue of national identity in specific regions of China during different historical periods has important theoretical value and practical significance for understanding the formation process and laws of national cohesion and further guiding various ethnic groups to enhance their national identity. The Third Front Construction period (1964-1980), as an important development stage of industrialization in New China, made significant contributions to enhancing China’s national defense capabilities, rational development of industrial layout, and socio-economic development in the western regions of China. According to the layout principle of the Third Front Construction of “relying on mountains, being concealed, and being dispersed,” many Third Front enterprises were located in the mountainous and multi-ethnic areas of central and western China, becoming typical representatives of local national industrial development and having a significant impact on the national identity of local ethnic groups.
Over the past decade, the academic community has achieved remarkable results in the study of the Third Front Construction, with considerable research on its historical practices in multi-ethnic regions, focusing mainly on the construction process, economic effects, social identity, and ethnic relations, laying a good research foundation for further exploring enterprise-local relations and the radiating role of large state-owned enterprises in multi-ethnic regions. Existing research has also noted that the industrial production during the Third Front Construction period, which had a huge demand for resources, created an inherent invisible competitive tension with local traditional agricultural and pastoral production, and some Third Front enterprises even encountered a “rejection” attitude from local ethnic groups in their early development. Additionally, some Third Front enterprises, under the influence of confidentiality principles and the closed, self-sufficient nature of their factory culture, became “cultural islands.” Although there was policy support to promote the “factory-community integration” model to break the boundaries between industry and agriculture, the results were often minimal. However, some Third Front enterprises, under the support and guidance of the national policy of industrial-agricultural cooperation, still established good cooperative relationships with local ethnic groups. For example, ethnic groups in the Liangshan area actively supported the Third Front Construction, gradually establishing deep friendships, and the Mianyang Third Front enterprises also established a mutually beneficial relationship with surrounding villages through “factory-community mutual assistance and targeted agricultural support.” Furthermore, some Third Front enterprises actively changed their strategies to help surrounding areas establish relatively modern infrastructure, promote local economic development, and gradually integrate with local people. Although the above research has deeply analyzed the historical logic of enterprises and local societies breaking barriers to establish good agricultural-industrial cooperation relationships, it lacks discussion on the further social effects after establishing these relationships.
This article focuses on the development process of Third Front enterprises in the Hexi Corridor, where large state-owned enterprises and mining areas have long interacted closely with local ethnic groups, generating intrinsic mutually beneficial relationships through embedded structures, leading local ethnic groups to leap into modern industrial society and profoundly perceive and identify with the state. By sorting through rare archives, documents, and in-depth fieldwork retained by enterprises, this article takes the large state-owned enterprise “Jiuquan Iron and Steel Company” (hereinafter referred to as “Jiu Steel”) and its two mining areas located in Qifeng Tibetan Township during the Third Front Construction period as examples, deeply excavating the historical interactions between the enterprise and surrounding ethnic groups, exploring how large state-owned enterprises effectively promote the national identity of local ethnic groups through their role as “embedded media” during a special stage of national development. This may provide insights for consolidating national spirit, strengthening the awareness of the Chinese national community, and continuously advancing the historical process of ethnic exchanges and integration from new perspectives such as social history and ethnic history, enriching the research on China’s industrial cultural heritage and contemporary history.
1. The Basic Conditions and Historical Background of the Third Front Construction in the Hexi Corridor
The ethnic distribution pattern in the Hexi Corridor gradually formed in the first half of the 20th century, with oasis agriculture and animal husbandry being the traditional livelihood methods. The corridor is rich in natural resources, especially mineral resources, providing a natural industrial development foundation. After the founding of New China, the state vigorously developed the defense industry and industry, discovering rich deposits at the Mirror Iron Mountain mine in the Hexi Corridor in 1955; in 1958, the Ministry of Metallurgy established Jiu Steel Company 22 kilometers west of Jiuquan, making it the fourth major steel industrial base planned and constructed in China after Anshan Steel, Wuhan Steel, and Baotou Steel; in 1961, the construction of Jiu Steel was temporarily halted. In 1964, due to the complex international situation faced by China, the national strategy of Third Front Construction was established. Chairman Mao Zedong specifically mentioned during a report on the “Three-Five Plan” by the National Planning Commission leadership group: “Jiuquan and Panzhihua steel plants must be built; I am always uneasy if they are not built. What if a war breaks out?” After the resumption of construction, Jiu Steel became a key project of the national Third Front Construction. In 1965, the construction report of Jiu Steel recorded: “The wind, water, electricity, and communication facilities required for mining construction have been basically resolved. The road from Jiayuguan to the Mirror Iron Mountain mine can fully meet the transportation needs.” In 1966, the basic construction plan of Jiu Steel emphasized: “Implement the strategy of concentrating forces to fight annihilation battles, with the construction in 1966 focusing on two mines (Huashugou and Xigou).” By May 1966, more than 5,600 construction workers had settled in the Mirror Iron Mountain mine, and more than 1,500 construction workers had settled in the Xigou limestone mine. During the Third Front Construction period, the national level repeatedly emphasized that “the work of all sectors of the national economy must truly face rural areas, placing support for agriculture as the top priority, and quickly launching a new upsurge of industrial support for agriculture… Some factories and mines distributed in various places and counties were organized by the local and county revolutionary committees to link them with counties and communes, fully exerting their positive role in supporting agriculture.” The basic positioning of enterprise promotion and driving comprehensive local social development became the fundamental orientation of enterprise-local relations at that time. In this context, the two mining areas of Jiu Steel located in Qifeng Tibetan Township shared infrastructure construction and public services provided by the enterprise with surrounding ethnic groups, leading to a harmonious symbiotic relationship often mentioned by local people: “What Jiu Steel has is equivalent to what we have” (Interview: 20240305QGL).
Qifeng Tibetan Township is under the jurisdiction of the Su Nan Yugu Autonomous County in Zhangye City, located at the northwest end of the Hexi Corridor, with altitudes ranging from 1,755 to 5,356 meters, belonging to a semi-humid alpine grassland climate zone. The grasslands are generally classified into four categories: alpine shrub, semi-desert, grassland, and desert, with the main river being the Beida River, a tributary of the Heihe River. The area is home to Tibetan, Yugu, Hui, Han, and other ethnic groups, traditionally relying on animal husbandry as the main economic method, rotating pastures by season, with the main livestock being yaks and sheep. Since the 1950s, Qifeng Tibetan Township has begun to develop a collective agricultural economy, with villages originally engaged in animal husbandry gradually developing small-scale farmland, not exceeding 100 acres (Interview: 20240308KYL), mainly planting barley and fodder, and establishing concentrated residential areas, mostly inhabited by the elderly and children, and storing fodder. The two important early mining areas of Jiu Steel, the Mirror Iron Mountain mine and the Xigou limestone mine, are located in Qiweng Village of Qifeng Tibetan Township. The residential points of Qiweng, Zhulongguan, and Taofeng villages are distributed within a range of about 7 to 16 kilometers from the Jiu Steel Mirror Iron Mountain mine, while the residential point of Yaoquan Village is about 5 kilometers from the Xigou limestone mine. By 1970, the four villages had a total of more than 150 households and over 500 people (Interview: 20240308KYL).
2. The Basic Construction Capacity of State-Owned Enterprises and Mining Areas as Support and Guarantee for Local Social Development(1) Transportation Infrastructure: Railways and RoadsRoads are the basic guarantee connecting local areas with the outside world, and as important infrastructure, they are significant for the economic, political, and cultural development of local society. Before the construction of transportation facilities in the Jiu Steel mining area, the villages of Qiweng, Taofeng, and others, located deep in the Qilian Mountains, had no modern “roads,” making travel extremely inconvenient. “We used to rely on donkeys and horses to go out, and there were no fixed roads. Some brave ones took shortcuts, which were faster, but it was unsafe. Generally, people walked from flat areas, and it could take a week to reach the agricultural area, at least ten days to half a month, with no places to stay along the way, so we rarely went out. Many elderly people here have never been out in their lives” (Interview: 20240305QJY). It can be seen that in the “pre-road era” of the Qilian Mountains, people traveled without fixed roads, only some paths, and riding horses and walking were the main modes of transportation, with the long “journey” limiting the production, life, and social development of various ethnic groups in several villages, confining people to a limited space.During the Third Front Construction period, Jiu Steel’s mining area delved deep into the Qilian Mountains, and the construction of transportation infrastructure objectively changed the transportation conditions for surrounding ethnic groups. The most impactful railway for local people was the Mirror Iron Mountain railway branch, a dedicated railway line for transporting iron ore from Jiu Steel, starting from the Lushui Station in Jiayuguan City and ending at Mirror Iron Mountain, with a total length of 78.83 kilometers, 10 stations along the line, crossing 39 bridges over river valleys, and a total tunnel length of 12.55 kilometers, completed in 1969. Additionally, there was a road from Jiayuguan to the Mirror Iron Mountain mine, completed in 1956, with a total length of 95 kilometers, and a road from Jiayuguan to the Xigou mine, 43 kilometers long, completed in 1959, with asphalt paving completed in 1974. The construction of transportation facilities not only supported industrial development and consolidated national defense as important national strategies but also became a strong support and guarantee for local social development. At the same time, due to the transportation difficulties suffered by local ethnic groups, local governments and residents along the roads actively supported the construction process by sending guides and providing materials, becoming a positive force in cooperation with enterprise infrastructure construction. For example, in November 1955, local Tibetans assisted geological team members in completing the survey task for the Mirror Road, and in May of the same year, Tibetan Chai Ang Alash helped geological team members complete road condition research and draw maps for the ice ditch road and railway branch. Additionally, Qifeng School organized students to provide food and water for road construction workers, with local herders recalling: “At that time, I was still in school, and the school specifically took a break to help the road workers carry water. We carried water all day, and the next day many people came to repair the road in the mountains. We waited by the road, and those people were pitiful; each person could only get a small bowl of water!” (Interview: 20240305QJY). In the local herders’ perception, assisting in the road construction of the Jiu Steel mining area integrated them into the joint construction of the local community and the enterprise, representing a concrete contribution to the national construction goals, reflecting a positive response to the top-down actions of the state, and embodying the practice of national will.The mining roads and railways of Jiu Steel had restrictive regulations on employee commuting, while local groups enjoyed unlimited free rides until 1980 when ticket sales were implemented after the separation of government and enterprise. In this regard, a retired leader from the mining area recalled: “At that time, if you (referring to local herders) went to Jiayuguan, our transportation vehicles provided convenience, no cost, no tickets, you could eat and go down the mountain with us, and it wasn’t until the 1980s that we started selling tickets. At that time, we had a rule that employees could go once a month, those with families once a week, but herders had no limit on the number of trips” (Interview: 20230909HCL). Under the positive social effects formed by the construction and operation of transportation facilities in the mining area, the surrounding ethnic groups had a high recognition of the railways and roads built by the enterprise, even exaggerating some aspects that did not match the actual situation. For example, herders described the construction of the Jiu Steel Mirror Iron Mountain railway branch: “At that time, the railway at Mirror Iron Mountain had the most junctions in the country; it had to stop at every junction because herders had to cross, and they specially left it for us herders!” (Interview: 20230311CXCR). The actual situation was that due to special geographical constraints during construction, it was necessary to set up many stations. The interpretation of local herders in this case shows a solid emotional foundation between herders and enterprises. It can be seen that during the Third Front Construction period, transportation facilities, as representations of a modern national image, played an important role in strengthening the national consciousness of the ethnic groups surrounding the mining area.(2) Energy Infrastructure: Power Supply
The power infrastructure of the Jiu Steel mining area is a necessary condition for production, while also benefiting the production and life of surrounding ethnic groups, revolutionizing local social production and lifestyle, and bringing a strong cultural shock to various ethnic groups. During the Third Front Construction period, the production and living conditions of various ethnic groups in the Hexi Corridor were relatively backward, and electric power had not been widely applied. Taking the power supply in the Su Nan Yugu Autonomous County as an example, hydropower construction in the county began in 1958, and power generation officially started in March 1959, with the supply only meeting the daily office needs of county agencies. It was not until 1973, when the Hongwan No. 2 power station was completed, that the power supply for two districts, six townships, two fields, two coal mines, and 19 villages, as well as county-level agencies, was basically resolved. Electricity is the most basic condition for industrial development. In 1958, Jiu Steel received two train power stations allocated by the Ministry of Water Resources, with a power generation capacity of 6,400 kilowatts. In the same year, a 35 kV power supply line was built from the Jiu Steel factory area to the Mirror Iron Mountain mine. By 1966, the 35 kV transmission line of the Xigou limestone mine was basically completed, meeting the conditions for operation. In 1973, the No. 1 steam turbine generator of the Jiu Steel thermal power plant was put into production, starting to supply electricity to the Jiu Steel factory and surrounding ethnic groups at low prices (Interview: 20230314MJT). By 1967, relying on the power infrastructure of the Jiu Steel Xigou mine, all herders in the Yaoquan team had access to lighting electricity, becoming the first production team in Su Nan County to be electrified. Other villages around the Mirror Iron Mountain mine gradually gained electricity in 1971 and 1972 (Interview: 20240305QJY), all earlier than other areas in Su Nan County.
The demand for electricity among herders was mainly for lighting, which was the most widely used application. Electric lighting, as an important symbol of modern life, allowed the various ethnic groups in several villages around Qifeng Tibetan Township to transition from the previous reliance on fire basins and kerosene lamps to a more convenient, clean, and controllable electric lighting era, allowing them to experience the convenience of modern life first. Herders recounted: “Before electricity, we had no concept of it; we didn’t know what electricity was. After it came, we thought the light bulb was really bright! We finally understood what electricity was!” (Interview: 20240305QGL). In fact, there was even a child born in the year electricity was introduced in Qifeng Tibetan Township who was named “Electric Boy” (Interview: 20240305LXY). Names carry different historical and cultural representations, and the way children are named reflects the profound imprint of the development stage of national energy technology on the local community, expressing the deep recognition of the local people for the modern industrial culture brought by national enterprises during the Third Front Construction period.
At the beginning of the Third Front Construction, China proposed the grand goal of “Four Modernizations”: “In a not too distant historical period, we will strive to build our country into a great and powerful socialist country with modern agriculture, modern industry, modern national defense, and modern science and technology.” Field investigations clearly show that the promotion of the Four Modernizations by the state had a significant impact on local ethnic groups, with electricity supply becoming a symbol of modernization in the minds of local people. The local herders who benefited from the power infrastructure construction of the Jiu Steel mining area established a connection between themselves and the national modernization: “At that time, the state kept saying that after modernization, every household would have electricity and telephones, and we thought it was impossible! It was unimaginable for us, but after Jiu Steel came, they really brought us electricity, and we thought, the state is really powerful!” (Interview: 20231101QGL).
From the field investigation cases, it is not difficult to find that the national modernization construction was originally a longed-for yet unattainable wish for the ethnic groups in the remote northwest. When Third Front enterprises, as concrete carriers of national industry, defense, and technology, entered local society and achieved the application of electricity, local ethnic groups could tangibly feel the state’s ability to transform its will and goals into reality, thus generating a strong recognition of the national modernization goals.
(3) Community Infrastructure: Water Conservancy Projects
The traditional pastoral production method in Qifeng Tibetan Township involves rotating pastures by season, where the living areas in spring, summer, and autumn are generally not far from water sources. However, there have always been significant difficulties in accessing water during the winter pastures. The several pastoral villages around the Jiu Steel mining area are located in the cold high-altitude region of the Qilian Mountains, where herders need to rely on environmental conditions to store large amounts of ice blocks and snow in ice cellars and snow cellars as the main source of daily production and living water. The stored ice blocks and snow can be used until the following April or May, and during special periods, water is stored using flood dams.
Due to the improvement of drinking water conditions and water conservancy infrastructure, as well as the sharing between state-owned enterprises and local groups, the mining area and local groups integrated into a close-knit community. First, the reliance of surrounding ethnic groups on traditional river water and stored water was gradually replaced by the clean and convenient tap water provided by the Jiu Steel mining area. For example, in 1979, the Qifeng Yaoquan Brigade invested in connecting the drinking water pipeline from the Xigou mine to the villagers’ drinking water pipeline. Second, local ethnic groups shared agricultural and pastoral water conservancy infrastructure with the mining area. Herders recalled: “At that time, the agricultural and pastoral water channels and medicinal bathing pools were all built by our village, but the water used was from them. We shared a medicinal bathing pool with Jiu Steel; when we washed our sheep, we also helped wash theirs without needing to pay. We helped them shear sheep, wash medicinal baths, etc., it was all just mutual assistance” (Interview: 20231031KYL). Third, the application of water gradually extended to other areas of local social life, significantly impacting the hygiene and health concepts of local herders. The employee bathing pool of the screening workshop at the Xigou mine, completed in October 1972, had a building area of 211.2 square meters, and the employee bathing pool of the residential area of the Xigou mining area, completed in 1973, had an area of 227.2 square meters, both open to local herders. Herders said: “They had a big bathing pool, and workers bathed there every day. We had never had a place to bathe before, but later, after getting familiar with them, they took us in to bathe, and we finally saw what a bathhouse was” (Interview: 20240305QGL). The sharing of water resources and water conservancy facilities changed the traditional production and living methods of local ethnic groups, narrowing the spatial and psychological distance between enterprises and various ethnic groups. Under the role of infrastructure in integrating local communities, local populations and enterprise employees formed a whole that shared resources, promoting more daily production and life interactions, and local ethnic groups constructed an intrinsic identity of unity between themselves and the enterprise in this process.
In summary, during the Third Front period, the large state-owned enterprise Jiu Steel and its mining areas not only completed the construction of enterprise infrastructure but also provided free transportation services to local groups and offered water and electricity resources at low prices, fully leveraging the construction advantages of large state-owned enterprises, demonstrating strong social cohesion, and attracting various ethnic groups in the region to gradually migrate and gather around the mining area. Local ethnic groups, together with enterprise employees, shared the benefits of national welfare systems and the achievements of national modernization development, with transportation, communication, water, and electricity infrastructure becoming strong support and guarantees for the subsequent development of local society, achieving a close connection between the state and rural society and strengthening the perception of various ethnic groups towards the state.
3. The Public Service System of State-Owned Enterprises and Mining Areas Supporting and Enhancing Local Social Development
(1) Public Medical ServicesAfter the founding of New China, the government vigorously supported the development of grassroots medical and health services. In 1954, the Su Nan Yugu Autonomous County established a people’s hospital. In 1955, the Qifeng District Health Center was completed, with 4-5 medical staff. In 1962, the first batch of health workers was trained in Qifeng District, capable of conducting simple medical treatments such as prescribing medicine and muscle injections (Interview: 20240305QJY). With the construction of Jiu Steel, the enterprise medical service system established in 1958 supported the development of local medical services with stronger medical service capabilities.“Jiu Steel Employee Hospital” was established in 1958. With the start of the Third Front Construction, 390 medical personnel from the affiliated Ping An Hospital of Beijing Medical College were transferred to Jiu Steel, bringing 250 beds and 718 various medical devices. By 1966, the total number of employees in the Jiu Steel Hospital had increased to 732, with a total of 350 hospital beds. The Jiu Steel Employee Hospital became a large comprehensive hospital in the Hexi Corridor with complete departments, advanced medical equipment, and strong technical force. The Jiu Steel Health Department established health stations at the Mirror Iron Mountain mine and Xigou mine in 1958, with doctors from the Jiu Steel Employee Hospital rotating for consultations. The health station at the Mirror Iron Mountain mine was transformed into the “Jiu Steel Mirror Iron Mountain Hospital” in the early 1960s, with a building area of 1,140 square meters, equipped with emergency rooms, laboratories, operating rooms, and rescue rooms. The health station at the Xigou mine was transformed into the Xigou Limestone Mine Clinic, completed in 1973, with a building area of 782.7 square meters, providing specialized medical services, radiology, laboratory, and wards, serving local ethnic groups. Due to its convenient geographical location and superior medical conditions compared to local hospitals, it gradually became the first choice for local herders seeking medical care. In this regard, local herders recalled: “In the past, we didn’t differentiate between illnesses; we just made a ‘Four Harmony Soup’ for everything. Later, when the second mine came, everyone spread the word that the hospital was good, so when home remedies didn’t work, we all went to the hospital, realizing that the hospital was indeed effective, unlike before when people just passed away without any concept of seeking medical help” (Interview: 20240305QGL). Through the long-term high-quality medical and health services of the Jiu Steel mining area, not only were the medical needs of local people addressed, but it also cultivated the awareness of the local ethnic groups towards the national “modern medical system”.The actions of enterprises in the local area can fully reflect the state’s redistributive capacity. The medical units in the Jiu Steel mining area charged local herders very low fees for medical treatment, providing certain medical assistance to those in financial difficulty. In this regard, herders recalled: “I had a facial injury that was somewhat dangerous, and the mining area hospital stopped the bleeding and directly contacted the Jiu Steel Hospital to send an ambulance from the city to perform surgery. I stayed in the hospital for a month, and I don’t remember paying any money; I think the brigade commune sent a sheep to the hospital. At that time, I was considered a relatively poor family. Usually, the medical expenses were very low, just a symbolic charge, almost free for us” (Interview: 20231101QJY). In emergencies, doctors would also go to the homes of herders for treatment, with herders recalling: “At that time, they had ambulances, while we had horses; some families had a leather car. If someone was sick, we had nothing to carry them, so we rode horses to inform the hospital, and they would immediately send an ambulance. They knew where we lived, and we didn’t even need to guide them” (Interview: 20230311ZXCR). During the Third Front Construction period, as a high-standard medical institution supported by the state for the construction of key Third Front enterprises, it treated local ethnic groups equally and actively. For patients with severe illnesses that could not be treated at the mining area hospital, they would also help transport them to the city Jiu Steel Hospital for treatment. The ambulance, as a symbol of the medical service capacity of the Jiu Steel mining area, became a common memory for local ethnic groups, as the practice of sending ambulances into villages to treat patients fully demonstrated the state’s redistributive capacity of scarce medical resources during a special development stage through important grassroots institutions like large state-owned enterprises, allowing various ethnic groups to have a deeper understanding of the state’s image of maintaining fairness and equality among different groups.Public services, as an important function and institutional arrangement of the state, are a crucial way for people to perceive the state in their daily lives. Through field investigations, it was found that the grassroots public service personnel in the Jiu Steel mining area, as executors of grassroots public services, are key factors determining the satisfaction of local ethnic groups with the public service capabilities provided by large state-owned enterprises, especially the on-site actions of medical staff in the Jiu Steel mining area, which are still fondly remembered by local ethnic groups. Herders recounted: “The attending physician there, an elderly lady, was an expert sent by the state, a vice professor from a medical university, who treated us very well. The old doctor holds a very high prestige in the hearts of our Yaoquan people” (Interview: 20230311ZXCR). The personal “identity” of the builders during the Third Front Construction period was determined by the state institutions behind them, and the medical staff in the enterprise medical system were all referred to as “state cadres,” representing the state in the minds of local ethnic groups. Their superb skills and dedicated services allowed local ethnic groups to deeply perceive the power of the state’s public service through medical practices.(2) Education and Public Cultural ServicesBuilding a solid social psychological foundation through a complete social value system helps concentrate social forces to complete construction tasks quickly and efficiently under difficult conditions. Therefore, during the Third Front Construction period, the state vigorously supported the development of education and public cultural service systems in Third Front enterprises.During the Third Front Construction period, the diverse public cultural service systems established in the Jiu Steel mining area provided local ethnic groups with multiple channels to understand the state. In the process of building “factory-run schools,” Jiu Steel established a total of 13 ordinary primary and secondary schools, as well as the Tieshan Ethnic Minority School, Jiu Steel Technical School, Jiu Steel Workers’ University, and health schools. Among them, the Tieshan Ethnic Minority School was established in 1957 at the suggestion of local representative Li Shoushan for the ethnic groups in Qifeng Tibetan Township, located in the living area of the Mirror Iron Mountain mine, implementing a boarding management system, with Li Shoushan serving as the principal. The school drew one female teacher from the Jiu Steel Workers’ School to teach various courses, with a total of 13 students, all local Tibetans, including 7 boys and 6 girls. In 1958, due to the relocation of local pastoral points, the school was closed (Interview: 20240405YZJ). In terms of public cultural services, Jiu Steel established three employee clubs at the beginning of its construction, two of which were in the mining area. The employee club at the Mirror Iron Mountain mine was completed and put into use in 1976, with a building area of 1,200 square meters and 940 seats. The Xigou mine club, completed in 1972, served as a dining hall for mine workers and a venue for various cultural activities, with a building area of 960 square meters and a stage for film screenings. Later, in 1987, the Xigou mining club was built, with a building area of 1,451 square meters and 768 seats. The employee clubs, as well-equipped cultural venues, became a common public space for cultural activities between the enterprise and the local community, hosting cultural events of the enterprise, village meetings, and other cultural activities. A retired cadre from Yaoquan Village recalled: “We didn’t have such a large stage in our township, so if we held a member meeting or any activities, we could borrow their venue at any time. They also held movie screenings and celebrations with us in the club” (Interview: 20231031KYL). The enterprise mining area clubs served as public spaces within the enterprise and also became shared spiritual spaces for local communities during this special historical period. In 1970, Jiu Steel officially established the Jiu Steel Workers’ Art Troupe, with more than 40 professional performers. During the same period, amateur art teams were formed in the two mining areas, with more than 30 people in the Mirror Iron Mountain mine and 20 in the Xigou mine. The art teams regularly performed cultural programs for enterprise employees and surrounding ethnic groups during festive occasions (Interview: 20240329MJT). The relatively complete public cultural service system provided rich spiritual and cultural nourishment for surrounding ethnic groups, laying the foundation for exchanges and integration among various ethnic groups, while fully leveraging the social function of large state-owned enterprises to strengthen the national identity awareness of local ethnic groups.Movies are an important carrier of mainstream values and a significant cultural resource provided by state-owned enterprises in the mining area during this special period, guiding local ethnic groups to continuously deepen their understanding of previously inaccessible worlds and accept advanced values. After the construction of the Jiu Steel mining area, the pastoral areas that previously saw movies only once a year began to have monthly screenings, becoming a profound memory for local ethnic groups: “The mine often screened movies in the club; for us, being able to watch a movie was a remarkable event, and we would ride our horses there early” (Interview: 20230311ZXCR). Many people still remember the content of the movies screened at that time, with herders recalling: “At that time, the main films screened were war movies, showcasing how powerful our liberation army was” (Interview: 20231031LXY). As an effective means of promoting the state’s mainstream culture, movies allowed the ethnic groups living in the Qilian Mountains to gain a clear understanding of the country’s history, current development, and cultural trends, stimulating a stronger sense of national consciousness and patriotism among local ethnic groups. Starting in the early 1970s, local communities and the Jiu Steel mining area also jointly held cultural celebrations and performances during festivals such as New Year’s Day and Spring Festival, with both sides preparing exciting cultural programs (Interview: 20240305LXY), showcasing distinct industrial and traditional pastoral cultural characteristics, providing each other with significant cultural shocks, and further triggering deeper cultural exchanges and integration. The public cultural services, centered on the core values of the state and characterized by sharing and integration, shaped a positive and beautiful national image, creating channels for consolidating “national emotions.”(3) Material Supply ServicesThe Hexi Corridor has long been an important trade and material passage in western China, but the traditional pastoral society in the southern part of the corridor, due to its production and living patterns and transportation issues, had low demand for external materials and infrequent exchanges, with daily necessities being mostly self-sufficient. The local population primarily sourced food from pastoral production and a small amount of agricultural products, with salt being simply processed from local soil salt, and tents and clothing mostly made from animal products, using cow and sheep wool to make threads, with daily medicinal needs sourced from the Qilian Mountains. It was not until the establishment of the township people’s commune that they could purchase grain and simple daily necessities nearby. The unique geographical environment of the Qilian Mountains meant that the township commune was a certain distance from surrounding villages, generally 20 to 40 kilometers of mountain roads. After the 1960s, to solve material supply issues, mobile shops using pack animals appeared in the Qilian Mountains, regularly transporting various materials to surrounding pastoral villages to meet their production and living needs.After the Jiu Steel mining area entered the Qilian Mountains, it established a daily commodity supply system and a long-term mutual assistance process, providing local ethnic groups with supplementary living materials, greatly improving the material supply situation for surrounding ethnic groups. First, the convenient commodity supply conditions not only met the needs of mining area employees but also provided convenience for surrounding ethnic groups to purchase materials. Herders recalled: “In 1958, when the mining area started, it became convenient for us to buy things; we didn’t have to walk so far anymore. We could buy needles, thread, matches, etc., at the store in the mine!” (Interview: 20240305LXY). The comprehensive store at the Jiu Steel mining area “organized mobile sales teams, crossing mountains and valleys to deliver production and living materials to the doorsteps, and the people called it ‘the good logistics for agricultural and industrial production, the close friend of workers and farmers'”. Second, the increasingly complete commodity supply system improved the material scarcity situation for surrounding ethnic groups. As the number of mining area employees’ families increased, the scale of the living area expanded, and the commercial system of the mining area became increasingly complete. For example, the commercial system of the Xigou mining area, including stores, canteens, and warehouses, was completed and put into use in 1973, with a total building area of 473.3 square meters. The economic life in the traditional pastoral society became richer with the changes in the material supply system. Additionally, based on the long-term established mutual assistance relationship between the Jiu Steel mining area and local ethnic groups, a material reciprocity relationship formed between enterprise employees and local herders, effectively enhancing the material living standards of both sides during special periods. Herders recalled: “At that time, we had a good relationship with the employees; when they passed by, they would stop to rest and drink tea, and they would give us fresh vegetables and fruits. When we went to the mine, we would bring some meat from home for the doctors and workers we had good relationships with, and they would also give us vegetables. During the New Year or in spring when we couldn’t get vegetables, we could go to their cold storage to get some; they took good care of us! Otherwise, how could we have vegetables to eat!” (Interview: 20240305QJY). With the arrival of the Jiu Steel mining area, local ethnic groups entered a relatively rich material life, and their cultural styles also underwent overall changes.4. Analysis of Historical Experiences of State-Owned Enterprises in the Hexi Corridor during the Third Front Construction Period in Strengthening Local National IdentityModern national identity is the product of organic interaction between individuals and the state. Identity arises from the self and is a complex of emotions, concepts, beliefs, and ideals. Regardless of how complex the formation process is, it cannot be separated from the interaction between the subject and object of identity. In the process of two-way interaction, the state needs actual existing “media” to symbolize, represent, and interact with citizens on a practical level. Such media typically include vertical government institutions and their staff, various political ceremonies during special festivals, materialized national symbols such as flags, anthems, and currencies, as well as policies and regulations that exist in ideological forms. During special stages of national development, some special forms of “media” may also emerge, becoming a medium through which local ethnic groups deeply perceive the state. During the Third Front Construction period, the large state-owned enterprise Jiu Steel, as a “key project of the National Construction Committee and the top priority project determined by the Northwest Bureau at the first Third Front Construction Committee meeting,” represented the state in the multi-ethnic region of the Hexi Corridor during a special historical development stage, becoming an effective medium connecting the state and localities. During this period, the construction of the Jiu Steel mining area not only aligned with the historical logic of large-scale embedded industrial construction projects implemented by the state in the Third Front areas but also, under the influence of the unique regional culture of the Hexi Corridor, broke through the prevalent state of separation and opposition between Third Front enterprises and localities, clearly presenting characteristics of integrated development, forming the social foundation for the Jiu Steel mining area to play the role of “embedded media” in the Hexi Corridor.As a psychological activity, identity is characterized by plasticity, variability, and processuality, evolving from implicit to explicit, from unconscious to conscious, and from shallow to deep. During the Third Front Construction period, the construction led by the Jiu Steel mining area and various services continuously shaped the consciousness of local ethnic groups. In this sense, the objective recognition of local ethnic groups towards the state was continuously materialized and deepened in the dynamic development process, ultimately achieving a transition from external media practices to the deepening of the subjective consciousness of local ethnic groups, which, through the continuous accumulation of subjective consciousness, guided their participation in social practice activities associated with the media, completing the evolution process of “embedded media” reinforcing the national identity awareness of local ethnic groups through social practice. This process is mainly reflected in four aspects: Third Front enterprises actively responded to the overall goal of national industrialization, embedding and supporting local economic and social development through infrastructure and public services, forming a social foundation for promoting local national identity; assisting local ethnic groups in forging their self-worth and significance, forming concrete practices of national identity; promoting the integration of socialist industrial culture, primarily characterized by modern industrial technology, with local traditional culture, embedding new values and moral norms into the daily lives of local ethnic groups, transforming the abstract “state” into the “everyday” in life; and through the interaction process of mining area employees serving local society, embedding emotional connections between individuals, promoting the generation of universal “group emotional connections,” and expanding the deep emotional attachment between local groups and the state, forming the psychological core that promotes local national identity.(1) Embedded Economic Development Forms the Foundation for Promoting Local National IdentityThe state becomes the individual’s belonging, and national identity is a necessary premise and manifestation, as well as the legitimacy of the state. In the context of modernization and globalization, national identity is a fundamental component of national construction and an important guarantee for national security and development. Although national identity is a subjective recognition, its formation requires a two-way construction between the state and the people. Marx, within the framework of essentialism, pointed out: “Everything that people strive for is related to their interests.” National identity is no exception; the ties that closely connect social members include not only culture and politics but also key real interests and opportunities. The greater the space the state can provide for members to share development results and opportunities, the higher the public’s recognition of the state. Only by fully and effectively realizing the interests and needs of ethnic subjects can effective national identity be constructed. If people’s basic interests are not met, the foundation of national identity may not be solid enough.During the Third Front Construction period, China was under a single public ownership economic system, and state-owned enterprises were one of the organizational carriers for resource allocation in the economic society. During this period, the large state-owned enterprise Jiu Steel and its mining areas in the Hexi Corridor, while achieving the national industrialization and national defense construction goals, fully played the role of embedded media of the state at the grassroots level during this special historical stage, providing full support to local society and various ethnic groups by offering infrastructure, public services, etc., effectively safeguarding the basic interests of various ethnic groups in political, economic, and cultural aspects. For local ethnic groups that were still economically and materially scarce at that time, this led to a stronger sense of protection and assistance from the state, effectively solidifying the foundation of national identity.At the same time, the large state-owned enterprises in the mining area during the Third Front period promoted local society to achieve leapfrog development through long-term radiating effects. Development itself is not merely seen as a goal but as a process in which people can constructively ally with each other. The shared enterprise infrastructure and public service resources between Third Front enterprises and local ethnic groups were, in fact, the practical result of the national policy advocating “industrial-agricultural alliance.” Local ethnic groups, while personally experiencing the benefits of national policies, automatically constructed an intrinsic identity of unity between themselves, the enterprise, and the state, feeling their equal status as social citizens through sharing development results and more opportunities and spaces provided by large state-owned enterprises, thus generating a stronger sense of belonging to the state that granted them citizenship.(2) Embedded Interactive Practices Forming Support for Promoting Local National IdentityAccording to social demand theory, after external interests are satisfied, people will pursue self-value fulfillment, and prosocial behaviors that meet social expectations and benefit others and society are generally regarded as effective ways for individuals to realize their self-worth and gain a sense of meaning. In the early years of the founding of the state, a strong atmosphere of patriotism constructed the ultimate goal of realizing life value and meaning for people—building the nation. However, as an abstract concept, it is difficult for people to manifest the significance of building the nation in their daily lives. During special periods, although the state advocated that all productive labor was an act of nation-building, the familiar modes of labor were clearly not as close to the representation of nation-building as the modernized large state-owned enterprises and their production activities. Therefore, supporting enterprise construction became one of the concrete manifestations of local ethnic groups’ “nation-building,” and naturally became an effective carrier for forging the life meaning and value of various ethnic groups.National identity is closely related to patriotism; it can be said that national identity promotes patriotic sentiment, and patriotism manifests national identity awareness. Internally, patriotism can promote mutual recognition among various ethnic groups, leading to national identity. Patriotism is also a psychological bond connecting individuals of different ethnicities with each other and with the state. In a strong patriotic social atmosphere, local ethnic groups actively supported the construction of large state-owned enterprises in order to gain life value and social value, participating in a series of prosocial behaviors that concretely embodied patriotism, while also constructing the most relevant presentation of national identity for local ethnic groups. Large state-owned enterprises, as media, became the medium and means for local ethnic groups to connect meaningfully with the state, as well as the carriers and channels for transmitting and translating information, assisting local ethnic groups in forming concrete practices of national identity in the process of forging their self-value and meaning.(3) Embedded Cultural Integration Forming Guidance for Promoting Local National IdentityWhether from the historical experiences of ancient or modern states, the foundational role of cultural identity in national identity is undeniable; culture has always been a primary source of national cohesion. Previous arguments reinforcing national identity from the perspective of cultural identity have matured. The main viewpoints are: first, strengthening cultural homogeneity, mainly through emphasizing common cultural elements as the basis for belonging, constructing a common cultural foundation, symbolic representations, etc., increasing the common basis of cultural identity, thereby expanding the overlapping content of cultural identity and national identity, and constructing a unified national cultural identity; second, common historical memories shape common historical identities, leading to the generation of common ethnic or national identities; third, strengthening the role of propaganda and education, believing that the ways of national cultural identity are mostly formed through postnatal influences, which can be affected by improving cultural education levels and using mass media for propaganda and guidance. Through the construction process of Jiu Steel and its mining area during the Third Front period, it is clear that school education and public cultural services played a very important role in influencing national cultural identity, acting as political work teams and ideological propaganda teams. At the same time, with the embedding of large state-owned enterprises into local society, local ethnic groups learned and recognized the advanced mainstream culture of the state from shared life practices, integrating it into their own cultural value systems, becoming one of the main ways for the public to cultivate national cultural identity in their daily lives.As a concept that is difficult to define accurately, whether it is Tylor’s definition of culture as a complex whole that includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs, and any capabilities and habits acquired by individuals as members of society, or the definition in the Dictionary of Chinese Culture that culture is the sum of material and spiritual wealth created by human society in the process of historical practice, both indicate that culture is primarily characterized by its origin in life experience and its return to life practice. During the Third Front Construction period, the reinforcement of national cultural identity through the life practices of various ethnic groups in the Hexi Corridor with the industrial culture of Jiu Steel is a historical process that laid the foundation for the high national identity of various ethnic groups in the Hexi Corridor today. As mentioned earlier, during the Third Front period, the Jiu Steel mining area fully embedded itself in various aspects of local economic and social development through transportation, water and electricity construction, medical services, and material supply, allowing people to recognize the convenience and advancement of modern national industrial culture through daily practices such as travel, drinking water, lighting, and medical treatment, and through daily life, they practiced the mainstream culture of the state. In the process of industrial culture gradually integrating into social life, they completed a deep recognition of the state.The traditional local multi-cultural system in the Hexi Corridor has obvious characteristics of inclusiveness, playing a unique advantage in the integration of industrial culture and local traditional culture. For a long historical period, the Hexi Corridor, as a “national” corridor, has connected Eastern and Western civilizations, linking the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with the Mongolian Plateau, and the deeply integrated and coexisting culture has a profound “fusion power,” continuously accepting external and advanced cultures in an open state, forming a unique composite culture of the corridor. Therefore, the interaction process between the Jiu Steel mining area and its employees and local ethnic groups during the Third Front Construction period broke the psychological isolation of Third Front workers and the estrangement of locals, avoiding the cultural ecological imbalance phenomenon seen in other regions. Local ethnic groups actively responded to the state’s call, supporting the construction of Third Front enterprises in various ways, such as the specific cases of herders reporting mines, guiding lines, transporting materials, and providing food and accommodation during the early construction of the Jiu Steel mining area, as well as the “expanded acquaintance society” established during the provision of various public services after construction, all indicating the positive guiding role of cultural integration in promoting local national identity.(4) Embedded Emotional Connections Forming the Core for Promoting Local National IdentityEmotions are the internal driving force for the lasting awareness of identity. Strengthening people’s emotional identification with the state to support national identity is a widely recognized path in current research on national identity. Some scholars have empirically found that local people have a natural emotional connection to the state, and this most basic and simple emotion is the source of national identity, which must be highly cherished to become a solid foundation for national identity. The international situation at the beginning of the founding of New China, combined with widespread and effective patriotic education, led to a strong national consciousness among people. The ethnic groups in the Qilian Mountains have completed the definition of national citizenship and emotional belonging to the state, forming a certain national identity, but this national identity tends to be an abstract understanding of the state. As a psychological activity, a deeply emotional national identity requires tangible media and certain practical actions to continuously reinforce and solidify it. Therefore, during the Third Front Construction period, large state-owned enterprises and their employees, as embedded media between the state and localities, generated rich emotional connections with local ethnic groups through actual interactions, leading to strong empathy and trust towards the state among local ethnic groups, thus generating emotional national identity, ultimately making emotional identification the dynamic foundation for national identity.Empathy towards the state, supporting the construction of Third Front enterprises, and strengthening the identity of unity with the state are manifestations of the embedded media function of Third Front enterprises. Empathy towards the state is a direct result of the emotional connections between local ethnic groups and enterprises. Empathy refers to individuals sharing, understanding, and responding to the emotions and feelings of others. People generate actions through empathy, which is an effective way to strengthen the emotional foundation between each other. During the Third Front Construction period, under the severe domestic economic situation, the state’s call for self-reliance and frugality, the construction difficulties faced by the Jiu Steel mining area, the high professional skills of its employees, and their spirit of sacrifice and teamwork evoked strong empathy from local groups towards the enterprise, leading them to deeply perceive the national spirit of the time, transforming it into practical actions to support the construction of the Jiu Steel mining area, thereby reinforcing their emotional identification with the state.Embedded emotional connections strengthened the positive evaluations of various ethnic groups towards the state. “Positive evaluation” is a deep emotional identification. After the enterprise embedded itself in local society, the local community and the enterprise continuously evaluated each other’s roles in the ongoing interaction process. From the perspective of the enterprise, local ethnic groups are compatriots actively contributing to the state by mining and supporting the construction of the mining area. From the perspective of local groups, the enterprise is the implementer of the state’s completion of infrastructure and public services for the locality. The individual employees who sacrificed their lives for construction, the dedicated doctors, and the drivers who provided vegetables and fruits, all these emotionally rich individuals in the enterprise, are perceived as tangible representatives of the state through their daily production and service, shaping a positive national image from various aspects of life.5. ConclusionFor a united and harmonious multi-ethnic country, continuously strengthening the national identity awareness of various ethnic groups is an urgent task of the times. In the construction of national identity awareness, effectively utilizing the main forces that promote social change in different fields is an important path to strengthen the national identity awareness of various ethnic groups. In September 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping made an important instruction at the National New Industrialization Promotion Conference: “In the new era and new journey, comprehensively advancing the construction of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the nation through Chinese-style modernization is a key task.” Industrialization, as one of the main forces driving social structural change, remains crucial in the process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in the new era.Through the sorting of the interactions between large state-owned enterprises in the Hexi Corridor during the Third Front Construction period and local ethnic groups, it can be seen that large state-owned enterprises in the mining area effectively drove remote ethnic regions to leap into modern industrial society, sharing the social welfare of a modernized state, serving as “embedded media” to strengthen the national identity awareness of various ethnic groups, and forming an “embedded social structure” with intrinsic close ties between local ethnic groups and the state. In the ongoing process of continuously strengthening the awareness of the Chinese national community and maintaining a unified and harmonious multi-ethnic country, the historical experiences of “embedded media” can still play an effective role. As the main driving force of modern national industrialization, large state-owned enterprises should, under the framework of “sustainable development,” ensure the development rights of local societies, share development dividends with local societies, and continuously enhance the sense of gain, happiness, and security of local groups through better technological innovation capabilities and social service levels, forming harmonious development relationships with various ethnic groups. At the level of shared cultural psychology, it is necessary to guide the continuation and development of excellent traditional cultures of various ethnic groups under the guidance of socialist cultural construction in the new era, strengthening the empathy, trust, and positive evaluations of local societies towards the state through emotional connections. The historical experiences of state-owned enterprises in promoting local national identity during the Third Front Construction period can provide new analytical perspectives for constructing national identity awareness in the context of social transformation in China. Based on this, attention should be paid to the embedded models between different social fields and local societies, exploring their referable experiences and lessons, which may have important implications for the current enterprise-local relations in ethnic areas and even broader ethnic exchanges and integration practices.(This article is sourced from the Journal of Lanzhou University (Social Sciences Edition), 2025, Issue 1, with annotations and references omitted; for citations, please refer to the original text)
Research Base for Strengthening the Awareness of the Chinese National Community by Four Ministries
China’s Frontier Security Research Center at Lanzhou University
Submission Email: [email protected]
Editor | Huang Qiuyan
Chief Editor | Xu Lili
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