Why the Long March still matters 90 years later

In the autumn of 1934, after years of grueling battles against repeated Kuomintang encirclement campaigns, the Chinese Red Army of the Communist Party of China (CPC) faced a critical moment and decided to make a strategic military shift.

To break through the encirclement, the main forces of the Red Army left the central revolutionary base area in east China and embarked on a historic journey. Over the next two years, they crossed 14 provinces, climbed nearly 40 major mountains, traversed close to 100 rivers and fought more than 600 battles. The extraordinary journey came to be known as the Long March.

But why does a military retreat still matter 90 years later? Why is the Long March still remembered in China today?

For many Chinese, the Long March remains part of the country's collective memory not simply because of the battles fought, but because of the courage and resilience of the ordinary people and soldiers who endured extraordinary hardship along the way.

The following stories offer a glimpse into the sacrifice, solidarity and perseverance that defined the extraordinary journey.

Hands that paved the way

The Long March began in October 1934 in Yudu County, east China's Jiangxi Province.

In the month before the Red Army set out, women in Yudu worked day and night to make 200,000 pairs of straw sandals, providing each departing soldier with more than one pair. To help more than 86,000 Red Army soldiers cross the Yudu River, locals provided more than 800 boats and even dismantled doors, bed boards and burial coffins to build floating bridges.

At the time, of the 2.4 million people in southern Jiangxi, more than 330,000 joined the Red Army and over 600,000 took part in efforts to support the troops.

For the Red Army, such support from locals became an important source of strength throughout the Long March.

Keeping the connection alive

As the Red Army left Jiangxi and headed west, it carried two vital pieces of equipment: a radio transmitter and a 68-kilogram hand-cranked generator. With only one of each available, the Red Army formed a 128-member unit to transport and protect them throughout the Long March.

The journey was grueling, with enemy forces ahead, pursuers behind and repeated air raids from above. The escort unit suffered heavy casualties along the way.

After deadly battles, the Red Army also had to endure harsh natural conditions. In June 1935, extreme cold and high altitudes made crossing the snow-covered mountains increasingly difficult. By August, as the army prepared to cross the vast, swamp-ridden grasslands, only three of the original 128 soldiers remained.

They kept the lines of communication alive at great cost, embodying the perseverance and dedication of the Long March.

From setbacks to strategic successes

In the beginning of the Long March, the Red Army suffered a series of setbacks in its counter-encirclement military campaigns.

One of the bloodiest early battles came at the Xiangjiang River in in south China's Guangxi in November 1934. The Central Red Army suffered heavy casualties: It numbered 86,000 when it set out, but reduced to only just over 30,000 after the battle.

The losses prompted a reassessment of its military strategy and leadership, which led to the Zunyi Meeting in January 1935. The meeting corrected mistakes made in the military leadership at the time and reaffirmed Mao Zedong's approach to military strategy.

The Zunyi Meeting is widely regarded in China as a major turning point in the Long March, after which the Red Army achieved a series of strategic successes.

Crossings that turned the tide

One of the clearest examples came soon afterward at the Chishui River, which flows through Guizhou, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in southwest China.

From January 19 to March 22, 1935, the Red Army, with just over 30,000 soldiers, maneuvered to avoid direct confrontation with an enemy force of roughly 400,000 troops. They repeatedly changed direction and crossed the river back and forth four times to break through the encirclement.

In the first crossing, they avoided the enemy's main forces. In the second, they retook the city of Zunyi. In the third, they drew the enemy westward. In the fourth, they broke out of the military encirclement.

In 1960, British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery praised Mao Zedong's command of the Liaoshen, Huaihai and Pingjin campaigns, saying they ranked among the greatest battles in history. Mao, however, pointed to the four crossings of the Chishui River as the "proudest achievement" of his military career.

17 soldiers, one way forward

Another defining moment came at the Dadu River in May 1935.

Near Anshunchang in southwest China's Sichuan Province, the river cuts through steep mountains and treacherous rapids, making it a formidable natural barrier. The Kuomintang had mobilized more than 100,000 troops to trap and eliminate the Red Army south of the river.

Under the command of Mao Zedong and other leaders, the Red Army choose to cross at Anshunchang, where the river ran swiftly and the crossing was considered nearly impossible, but defenses were relatively weak. The move disrupted the Kuomintang's deployment.

On May 25, 1935, 17 soldiers were selected to lead an assault across the turbulent river. Under heavy fire, they reached the northern bank and seized the ferry point, opening a route northward for the Red Army forces.

Final reunion of Red Army's main forces

After the battles along the Dadu River, the Long March entered a new stage.

Seeking to establish a revolutionary base in northwest China, the Central Red Army began crossing a series of snow-covered mountains and vast marshlands before reaching Wuqi in northwest China's Shaanxi Province in October 1935, marking the end of the Central Red Army's Long March.

A year later, on October 9, 1936, the Fourth Front Red Army reached Huining in northwest China's Gansu Province and met with the Central Red Army. By then, the soldiers were exhausted and severely short of food and other supplies after crossing snow-covered mountains and grasslands.

While stationed in Huining, they received extensive support from locals. According to records, people in Huining provided more than 2.5 million kilograms of grain and 6,380 pieces of cloth and clothing to the Red Army. More than 400 local young people also joined the Red Army.

On October 22, 1936, the Second Front Red Army also arrived central Gansu and met with the Central Red Army, marking the final reunion of the three main Red Army forces and the end of the Long March.

The two-year Long March was a historic turning point. It thwarted the Kuomintang's campaign to encircle and eliminate the Red Army, shifted the CPC's revolutionary base to northwest China and set the stage for a new chapter in the Chinese revolution.