LONG MARCH SPIRIT LASTS FOREVER
Today, many of the old battlefields have turned into bases for patriotic education. In Rucheng County of Hunan, a memorial hall has been built to tell people the 1934 story of three young female Red Army soldiers who halved their quilt for a local countrywoman.
Photo taken on June 14, 2019 shows the sculpture commemorating the story of three female Red Army soldiers who halved their quilt for a local countrywoman in Shazhou Village of Rucheng County, central China's Hunan Province. (Xinhua photo/Chen Zeguo)
In Guizhou, where the Red Army regrouped and developed through its most trying period, red tourism has been in full swing. Zunyi, a city witnessing a crucial turning point that led to the ultimate success of the Long March, drew more than 40 million visitors in the first 10 months of last year.
"The Long March is sui generis," the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Harrison Salisbury wrote in his 1985 book after retracing the route. "Its heroism has fired the dreams of a nation of 1.1 billion people and set China moving toward a destiny no man can yet divine."
It tested the will, courage and strength of the men and women who helped forge the genesis of a new China, and inspires the Chinese people today in chasing their dreams of a brighter future.
"Fear not the strong pass iron-clad on all sides, the summit's now surmounted with great strides," the words Chairman Mao struck off after a big win in 1935 remind the Chinese people of the hard-won victory of the Long March, forever striding on.
"The new long march today, although without snow-topped mountains and grasslands, still calls for our courage to keep going forward in spite of all dangers and difficulties," Hu Qunsong said.
