Heroic soldier sacrifices life for decisive Battle of Lazikou during Long March

An excerpt of a China Media Group (CMG) documentary tells the story about a heroic soldier who emerged as a pivotal figure in the life-and-death Battle of Lazikou, a strategic pass in Gansu Province, and sacrificed his life for the victory, during the epic 12,500 km Long March (1934-1936), a tactical retreat to evade Kuomintang forces.

In 1935, the Red Army arrived at Lazikou Pass, a narrow mountain pass that forms a gateway between southwest China's Sichuan and neighboring Gansu. It is the last line of defense for the Red Army to enter Gansu.

Lazikou has a dangerous terrain and is easy to defend but difficult to attack, with steep peaks on both sides, a narrow canyon in the middle, and a turbulent river flowing at the bottom of the valley. The Kuomintang army deployed heavy troops there in an attempt to stop the Red Army's advance. If the Red Army wanted to continue to move north, it had to break through the natural barrier of Lazikou.

In order to break through the enemy's defenses, the Red Army set up a death squad, which was tasked with breaking through Lazikou. This death squad consisted of the bravest and most determined fighters in the Red Fourth Regiment, who were ready to pave the way for the Red Army's march north with their lives.

In this death squad, there was an amazing soldier, 16 or 17 years old nicknamed Yun-Gui-Chuan (a name covering the name of three provinces) who emerged as a pivotal figure in the crucial breakthrough. Born from the Miao ethnic group, Yun possessed an innate talent for rock climbing nurtured since childhood. In order to find a way to break through the enemy's fortifications at Lazikou, this young Miao soldier volunteered to scale the daunting cliffs.

Facing the steep cliff, Yun used a long rod with an iron hook to slowly climb up the cliff, leaving many of the Red Army soldiers underneath dumbfounded. He successfully ascended to the summit, and was able to guide the troops to encircle and launch a surprise attack on the enemy's rear. In tandem with the frontal assault, they executed their mission with precision and determination.

To blow up the enemy's fiercest firepower point, Yun jumped into an enemy bunker with dozens of grenades strapped to his waist and perished in the battle with no one knowing his real name. He got his nickname because he had traveled through the three provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan since he joined the Red Army.

This excerpt is from the ninth episode of the ten-episode documentary aired on CMG's military channel from Oct. 17 to 26 in commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the starting of the Chinese Red Army's Long March.

From October 1934 to October 1936, the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army troops left their bases and marched through raging rivers, frigid mountains and arid grassland to break the siege of the Kuomintang forces and continued to fight the Japanese invaders.

Heroic soldier sacrifices life for decisive Battle of Lazikou during Long March

Heroic soldier sacrifices life for decisive Battle of Lazikou during Long March

Amid the rising fuel costs and airline surcharges linked to the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, Caribbean tourism officials gathered at the 44th Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Forum this month and expressed cautious optimism, citing resilient visitor demand, strategic marketing adjustments, and strong seasonal performance as foundations for continued recovery.

The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran is already affecting Caribbean economies as fuel prices surge and airlines pass costs on to passengers. This not only pressures the region's tourism-dependent economies but also raises the cost of imported food, electricity, and transportation.

Since the start of the conflict, the price of Brent crude has surged nearly 50 percent, prompting airlines to find the ways to share the burden with travelers.

"The impacts are unfolding in stages. In the first place, when the uncertainty, or the disturbance occurred in the Middle Eastern region, it actually cut the supply chain to some extent to the Pacific, and people started to look at the region in particular. We amplified out marketing presence, to ensure that when people are looking for an option or places to rebook, that St. Lucia would turn up. And we've actually seen some of that result," said Louis Lewis, chief executive officer of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority.

During the International Monetary Fund's Spring Meeting, the international financial institution expressed its concern for Caribbean tourism, warning that it could see a decline as ticket prices increase.

Lewis acknowledged the potential for longer-term disruption.

"The second thing is that if the conflict continues as a prolonged activity, we anticipate that it could impact us. We will have to diversify from our major source markets, hence the reason why we are looking at Latin America," he said.

But some of the region's top tourism officials are seeing positive signs. The region is coming off another successful year, where tourism arrivals grew by 2.5 percent, adding an additional 900,000 visitors over 2024.

"The region has been witnessing a very good winter season, and I have no doubt whatsoever that the forecast that we have for the summer will continue to be very strong," said Ian Gooding-Edghill, minister of tourism of Barbados.

Still, structural vulnerabilities remain. As an import-dependent region, the Caribbean is highly exposed to global price fluctuations. Concerns are mounting that rising prices in the United States could trigger sharper inflationary pressures, including higher operating costs in the tourism sector.

"In Saint Lucia, we just saw the cost of energy increase about 20 percent, and that's having an impact now going into the summer when our rates are lower. It rallies points to the importance of us building a bit more resilience into Caribbean tourism," said Sanovnik Destang, president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association.

Caribbean tourism shows resilience despite Middle East tension challenges