Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao paid a visit to model workers in Golmud, a city 2,800 meters above sea level in northwest China's Qinghai Province, on the eve of International Labor Day on May 1.

Wen expressed holiday good wishes to the model workers, including farmers, intellectuals and other working people on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and encouraged them to grasp new knowledge, be innovative in their work to make new contributions, care more about their fellows in poverty and take the lead in "building a harmonious society."

The spirit of model workers reflects the great spirit of the nation and they have contributed noticeably to China's modernization drive, said Wen.

The premier called on the nation to respect, take care of and learn from the model workers, and hoped that more model workers would emerge during the modernization drive.