After the conclusion of the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 1978, Comrade Hua Guofeng withdrew from his front-line leadership position, handed over the power of the state to a more suitable comrade, and focused on foreign affairs activities as the head of state, so as to win China's reputation in the international community and consolidate its status as a great power.
In 1980, Comrade Hua Guofeng felt that he had completed his historical mission, so he applied to the Party Central Committee for his retirement, and in early 1981, he presided over the Spring Festival dinner in Zhongnanhai for the last time, during which many old comrades took the initiative to toast him to thank him for his contributions to national construction over the years. A month later, Comrade Hua Guofeng officially bid farewell to the political arena, and he moved out of Zhongnanhai with his wife and settled in Xishan, a suburb of Beijing.
In his later years, Comrade Hua Guofeng fell in love with planting grapes, he and his wife cultivated a small vineyard in the yard together, watering, weeding, and repelling insects every day, and in early autumn, the grapes were ripe in season, and Comrade Hua Guofeng could not finish eating them himself, so he gave the excess to relatives and friends, so that everyone could taste the sweetness and happiness of the harvest together.
Every night, Comrade Hua Guofeng will watch the news broadcast unmovingly, learn about the major events at home and abroad, and he will also watch the animal world on time, every wonderful moment, he can't help but laugh, sighing the wonder of nature and the greatness of life. In addition, it is worth mentioning that after the Japanese classic animation "Astro Boy" was introduced to China, it quickly aroused the interest of Comrade Hua Guofeng, who watched the whole drama episode by episode, and even wrote a review after watching.
In 1996, Huaxi Village, known as "the first village in the world", ushered in the 35th anniversary celebration of the founding of the village, Comrade Hua Guofeng learned of this, and personally came to the scene to send blessings to Huaxi Village, and at the same time he repeatedly told the village committee of Huaxi Village that it must give full play to the spirit of "getting rich first and leading the latter to become rich", and drive the surrounding villages and towns to "run to a well-off" together, and not just care about making a fortune for themselves. After leaving Huaxi Village, Comrade Hua Guofeng went to Shenzhen to inspect, during which he visited the business district, residential area, financial center and industrial zone, and saw that Shenzhen has developed from a small fishing village to an international metropolis, he was sincerely happy, and his heart also became more and more admired for Deng Gong.
At the beginning of 1997, Deng Gong died suddenly, Comrade Hua Guofeng was very sad after hearing the news, he wanted to participate in Deng Gong's memorial service, to send this old comrade-in-arms for the last time, but unfortunately, he happened to be sick at that time, can only rest in bed, it is really not suitable to go out activities, so he can only retreat, personally wrote a pair of elegiac trustees to send to Deng Gong's memorial service site, in order to express his grief.
In the middle of that year, Comrade Hua Guofeng suddenly wanted to write a memoir to tell his life deeds and analyze some major historical events, but the Party Central Committee resolutely expressed its support for this, and sent a literary and historical researcher to cooperate with Comrade Hua Guofeng in sorting out materials and writing drafts. A year later, the memoirs were officially published, and in order to fully express an objective and materialistic attitude, Comrade Hua Guofeng specially narrated it in the third person, which was also interspersed with many party history materials to corroborate. Soon, this memoir caused a sensation in the historiographical circles, and many scholars spoke highly of it, even hailing the book as "a treasure of modern history" for a time.
In 2007, Comrade Hua Guofeng suddenly fell seriously ill and was rushed to the hospital for treatment, during which his wife and children repeatedly encouraged him to cooperate with the treatment and strive for an early recovery. Although Comrade Hua Guofeng promised that his family would fight tenaciously against the disease, he knew in his heart that his body had reached the limit and he was afraid that he would not be able to support it for long. Sure enough, by 2008, Comrade Hua Guofeng's illness became more and more serious, he almost completely lost his mobility, and his mental state became more and more depressed, often half asleep, and his speech was slurred.
At this time, Comrade Hua Guofeng still has one last wish, that is, to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games and feel China's prosperity and strength face to face. But unfortunately, just when the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games was about to be held, Comrade Hua Guofeng suddenly became critically ill and was immediately sent to the intensive care unit for rescue, and finally could only watch the opening ceremony through live TV. On August 20, 2008, the great revolutionary who had dedicated his life to the revolutionary cause stopped breathing at the age of eighty-seven.
Before his death, Comrade Hua Guofeng specially left a will, wanting to move his body back to his hometown in Jiaocheng for burial, so that his soul could return to his hometown. However, the Party Central Committee believed that Comrade Hua Guofeng was a national leader after all, and according to relevant regulations, his body should be placed in Babaoshan, and it was not until 2011 that the Party Central Committee changed its mind and allowed Comrade Hua Guofeng to be buried in Jiaocheng after repeated requests from Comrade Hua Guofeng's children. Comrade Hua Guofeng was tenacious, heroic, and had a sense of the overall situation, and in 1976 he turned the tide, ended the turmoil that lasted for ten years, and saved the people's power from precariousness, and then in 1978, he retreated bravely and gave power to Deng Gong, which led to earth-shattering reform and opening up, and China has since shaken off poverty and backwardness, and has rapidly achieved its rise. There is no doubt that Comrade Hua Guofeng is an exemplary revolutionary, and he deserves to be remembered forever!