Comment on the Report of a Visit to Hebei and Henan Provinces
(December 1959)

An interesting report, worth reading. Send to all comrades for perusal. Return to Mao.
[1]

1. They unanimously acknowledged the rapid pace of our country’s development and the greatness of our construction achievements.
2. They were surprised by the development of large-scale iron and steel smelting by small-scale indigenous furnaces.
3. They considered the development of the people’s communes to be in good condition.
4. They regarded seeing the Sanmenxia Project as the climax of this trip.
5. They acknowledged that material supplies in all places were ample.

--- Notes

This report, published in *Foreign Affairs Bulletin* No. 115, printed on December 7, 1959, states that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized diplomatic envoys and diplomats from various countries stationed in China to visit Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Luoyang, and other places from November 12 to 21.
The foreign guests’ reactions were: