Retiree, 93, recalls Party spirit at country’s first steel factory

Her family then moved from Beijing to Baotou.

Gao worked in Baogang's publicity department. When she retired, she was office director.

"I still remember the natural disasters and lack of food. We were encouraged to save food for workers," she said.

As one of the country's three main iron and steel companies, Baogang was put into production in 1959. Since then its aggregate market value has soared in a steady trend. In the last two decades, for example, its value rose to 88 billion yuan ($13.5 billion) from just 7.1 billion yuan.

Since it first began producing in 1959, the company has produced more than 260 million metric tons of steel.

Gao remembers the beginning.

"On Oct 15, 1959, the first molten iron was produced by our blast furnace — the largest furnace by volume in our country at that time. I witnessed that moment in history," she said.

Gao was given a knot of fresh iron by a worker, and has kept it carefully as a cherished memento of that day.

"We have strong emotional attachment to Baogang because we spent our youth there with no regrets," she said. "I hope Baogang will be even better in the future."