Rong Ruxia takes after her great-grandfather, who was the first ethnic Mongolian member of the Party

Rong Ruxia could barely contain her excitement when she visited the old site of the National Mongolian and Tibetan School in Beijing on March 28.

The school holds special meaning for her because her great-grandfather Rong Yaoxian, the first ethnic Mongolian member of the Communist Party of China, was once a student there.

Rong Ruxia, a judge in the Higher People's Court of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, told China Daily that she is proud of her great-grandfather's revolutionary experience.

"If you could witness our happy life, you would be very relieved," she said, expressing what she would say if she could talk to him now.

Born in 1896 to a Mongolian family in Tumd Left Banner, Hohhot — which was called Guisui and was the capital of what was then Suiyuan province — Rong Yaoxian used to farm and herd in his teenage years.

His life changed in 1918 when he was sent to study at the National Mongolian and Tibetan School, where he often attended lectures by Li Dazhao (1889-1927) and Chen Duxiu (1879-1942), two of the founders of the CPC, with his classmates.

On May 4, 1919, he was elected one of the representatives of the school. He and 3,000 other students from 13 universities in Beijing participated in demonstrations against the warlord-led Beiyang government (1912-1928).

"When I was a child, my grandfather and father told me about his patriotism and how he got along with people. When I grew up, I gained more understanding about his experience from reading about him," Rong Ruxia said.

Rong Yaoxian joined the Party in 1923, making him the first member of the Mongolian ethnic group to do so.

In the summer, he returned to his hometown, which is now part of Inner Mongolia, as a representative of the school to recruit students.

Eventually, 39 went to study in Beijing. Many of them joined the CPC, and later became leaders and key members of the Inner Mongolia revolutionary movement.

In 1924, Rong Yaoxian was sent to study at the Huangpu Military Academy. Later, he joined the army and served as a battalion commander.

"I was very surprised when I found out that my great-grandfather made such a great contribution to the training of ethnic Mongolian officials," Rong Ruxia said.