 When Mao visited the site, in June 1959, he was favorably impressed.Mao Zedong first met Hua in 1955, and apparently was impressed by his simplicity.Hua participated in the 1959 Lushan Conference (an enlarged plenary session of the CPC Central Committee) as a member of the Hunan Provincial Party delegation, and wrote two investigative reports defending communes and the Great Leap Forward.