A series of activities to retrace steps of Long March have been held this year in northwest China's Shaanxi Province to mark the 90th anniversary of the Central Red Army's victorious arrival in northern Shaanxi, signifying the triumph of the Long March.
From October 1934 to October 1936, the Red Army, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), carried out a daring military maneuver that laid the foundation for the eventual victory of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
A commemorative event titled "Retrace the Long March" was held October in Yan'an City of Shaanxi, in which young people paid tribute to this epic journey, whose spirit endures and radiates, guiding the new generation as long-cherished aspirations come to fruition.
During the event, participants reflected on the enduring significance of the Long March spirit in the contemporary era.
"As young people of the new era, we have our own Long March to undertake. The torch of the times has been passed into our hands. Let the Long March spirit shine with renewed vitality in us. This is the finest answer we can give to history," said a participant.
"As young people of the new era, I believe we should, with the vitality of youth, carry forward the red gene of revolutionary heritage. With faith in our hearts, we will have strength under our feet," said another.
"The stories of the Long March are deeply etched in my heart. I have gained a deeper understanding of the responsibility I shoulder: to tell China's stories well in the the way well received across the world," said another participant.
Such commemorative activities also drew international attention.
In November, Eric Foster, nephew of renowned American journalist Edgar Snow, traveled to Yan'an, the same city where his uncle once ventured deep into China's revolutionary heartland. Yan'an served as the headquarters of the CPC from 1935 to 1948 and stood at the center of the Communist revolution during those years.
Foster said he has spent more than 12 years writing a book to present the real China to the world, following in the footsteps of his uncle who chronicled China's revolutionary in the 1930s and 1940s.
In 1936, amid China's internal strife and foreign aggression, Snow went to the CPC headquarters in Yan'an. As the first Western journalist to access the area, he conducted in-depth interviews and meticulous documentation.
Snow's reporting culminated in the book "Red Star Over China," which portrayed a resilient and promising nation seldom seen by the outside world, while challenging prevailing misconceptions and prejudices about China.
During his visit, Foster toured a former residence of Mao Zedong where Snow first met him. There, he was presented with a replica of the octagonal cap that Snow had received when he arrived in Yan'an.
"Look at the terrain, the water, the mud that they had to go through and so that was very meaningful to see. As I put on this cap, I can almost feel the weight it carried in those days. It feels not merely like nostalgia, but more like a form of inheritance and this is what they tried to do with their life, is to try to build a bridge between the two countries," Foster said.
Activities held to retrace steps of Long March
