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At 82, Xiao Nandou still weaves straw sandals by hand, keeping a family craft alive.

He learned the craft from his father when he was 13 and has continued making straw sandals for nearly seven decades. His grandfather was a Red Army soldier who set out on the Long March from Yudu.

For generations, straw sandals have been deeply woven into the memory of the Long March in Yudu, in southeastern China's Jiangxi Province. Xiao recalls that when he was young, many villagers still made and wore straw sandals as part of everyday life. But since the early 1980s, as living standards improved, the tradition gradually disappeared from daily use.

Today, every pair Xiao weaves is more than a handmade craft. Each pair carries a piece of his family's history — and preserves the memory of a journey that began in Yudu more than 90 years ago.

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The Long March memory: Straw sandals and Xiao Nandou's family craft