BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has emphasized the importance of continuing the endeavors to promote ethnic unity from generation to generation.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a reply letter to descendants of the representatives from diverse ethnic groups who erected a monument in 1951 in southwest China's Yunnan Province and made a solemn pledge to stay united and follow the Party.

For over 70 years, people from all ethnic groups have stood in solidarity with the Party and worked in unity, making historic achievements in the economic and social development of border areas, Xi said in the letter.

Calling the Chinese nation "a big family where 56 ethnic groups love and care for each other," Xi stressed that people of all ethnic groups should sharpen the sense of community for the Chinese nation and work for greater ethnic unity and progress.

In 1950, representatives of different ethnic groups in Pu'er, Yunnan, were invited to Beijing to participate in celebrations marking the first founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China. On Jan. 1, 1951, the people of Pu'er held an oath-taking rally to put up the monument in accordance with their customs. A total of 48 representatives signed their names on the monument.

Their descendants recently wrote to Xi, providing an update on the lives of local ethnic communities under the Party's leadership.