In the 1930s, American journalist Edgar Snow came to China and spent years observing Chinese society while engaging closely with the country's youth. His encounters with Lu Xun and Madam Soong Ching Ling, together with his growing curiosity about the Communist Party of China, ultimately led him to undertake a "risky journey" to northern Shaanxi in 1936. Snow believed that the truth could only be uncovered through firsthand interviews and direct observation – not through rumors or secondhand accounts.