Editor's note: Zhang Lei is an associate professor at the Joint Logistics College of PLA National Defense University. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

In modern Chinese and world history, the Long March stands out as a monumental event. Spanning two years and covering vast swathes of China, this strategic military shift not only rescued the young Communist Party of China (CPC) from an existential crisis but also profoundly influenced the historical trajectory of both China and the wider world, cementing its status as a major turning point in the Party's century-long history.

The Long March of the 1930s was not a matter of subjective strategic preference; rather, it was an inevitable historical imperative – a decision forced upon the young CPC under extreme peril to preserve its revolutionary strength and the Red Army.

Following the defeat of the revolution in 1927, CPC members were never cowed by the enemy's reign of terror. Pressing forward wave upon wave, regardless of personal sacrifice, they forged a path through bloodshed and sacrifice toward encircling the cities from the countryside and seizing state power by armed force, gradually building revolutionary momentum nationwide. At its peak, the Red Army grew to a total force of 300,000, sending shockwaves through reactionary forces both at home and abroad.

Yet, amid this favorable momentum, the CPC leadership of the time fell under the sway of "Left-leaning" dogmatism that was divorced from China's actual conditions. By blindly copying foreign models, they rejected and even discarded operational principles and institutional frameworks that had long proven effective for the Chinese Red Army, ultimately leading to the defeat of the fifth counter-encirclement and suppression campaign against the Kuomintang forces.

Consequently, the Red Army was forced to evacuate its Central Revolutionary Base Area and begin a strategic retreat. The ultimate victory of the Long March completely altered the destiny of the CPC, laying an irreplaceable foundation for the Party's maturity, the eventual triumph of the Chinese revolution and the birth of a new China.

Its significance as a defining turning point resonates throughout the course of the revolution and national construction. Specifically, this significance is manifested in several key aspects:

First, the Long March propelled the CPC toward political independence and maturity. The brutal reality of losing the Central Revolutionary Base Area after the failure of the fifth anti-encirclement and suppression campaign made the entire Party and army keenly aware of the disastrous costs of blindly copying foreign theories and ignoring China's realities. In the early stages of the Long March, erroneous military commands and strategic lines dealt severe setbacks to the Red Army. For example, during the Battle of the Xiangjiang River alone, troop numbers plummeted from 86,000 at the outset to just over 30,000.

In January 1935, the Zunyi Conference marked a life-or-death turning point in CPC history. It ended the dominance of "Left-leaning" dogmatism within the CPC Central Committee and effectively established a central leadership represented primarily by Mao Zedong. This historic meeting marked the first time the CPC independently applied Marxism to resolve its own strategic, military and organizational challenges, signaling the Party's political maturity and laying a solid foundation for the ultimate victory of both the Long March and the Chinese revolution.

Second, the Long March preserved and tempered the core backbone of the Chinese revolution. The extreme survival conditions and brutal warfare of the Long March weeded out the weak-willed, leaving behind the hardened core of the Party and the revolution. These individuals were far more than ordinary soldiers; they were the "sparks" imbued with unyielding resilience, a spirit of collective struggle and a readiness to sacrifice for revolutionary ideals.

The formidable spirit forged during the Long March became embedded in the bloodline of the people's army, giving it the courage to overcome every conceivable hardship and laying a robust foundation for victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation.

Third, the Long March reshaped the strategic landscape of the Chinese revolution and the anti-fascist war. Before the Long March, Japanese imperialist aggression had overrun Northeast China, while the Red Army remained heavily besieged by Kuomintang forces south of the Yangtze River. The strategic shift not only enabled the Red Army to break free from the enemy's military encirclement, shifting the revolution from passive defense to active initiative, but also brought it strategically closer to the anti-Japanese frontlines in North China.

This created vital conditions for broadly mobilizing the masses, consolidating revolutionary forces and fighting the war of resistance against Japanese aggression. Building on the strategic foundation laid by the Long March, the CPC gradually took the helm of the Chinese revolution, amassing the strength needed to establish the Anti-Japanese National United Front, lead the military and people to defeat Japanese militarism, overthrow Kuomintang rule and found a new China where the people are masters of the country.

Finally, the Long March amplified the spread of revolutionary ideas and catalyzed the awakening of the Chinese nation. The Long March served as both a vehicle for publicity and a seedbed for revolutionary ideas. Along the route, the Red Army actively spread anti-imperialist and anti-feudal ideals, called for national salvation in the face of Japanese aggression, awakened national consciousness, helped unite ethnic minority communities such as the Yi, Miao, Tibetan and Hui, and spread revolutionary thought far and wide. Furthermore, it sowed the seeds of revolution across the regions it traversed, establishing grassroots Party branches and local governing organs that continued to drive the Agrarian Revolution and sustain the anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines.

In summary, the Red Army's Long March not only rescued the Party, the army and the Chinese revolution from the brink of crisis, but also enabled the CPC to break free from dogmatic constraints, preserved the core pillars of the people's army and seized the historical tide of the nationwide War of Resistance, thereby laying the cornerstone for national liberation and the founding of a new China. This epic journey not only rewrote the CPC's destiny but also profoundly altered the historical trajectory of modern China and the wider world. Standing proudly across a century of history, it remains a beacon of inspiration for future generations and a monumental turning point in history.