On September 6, a group of US and Chinese students went to Weixin, a county at the junction of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces. In the three days that followed, they learned about the Long March of the Red Army.
On February 4, 1935, after crossing the Chishui River, the Central Red Army entered Zhaxi, Weixin inYunnan.They stayed there for eleven days and held the historic Zhaxi Meeting, establishing Mao Zedong’s leading position in the Party and the army.From then on, the Chinese revolution went from victory to victory. Therefore, the Zhaxi Meeting is considered the turning point of the Chinese Revolution.
According to Li Yan, president of ICN TV Network, which sponsored the event, the Long March tour started at Ruijin in Jiangxi province and will end in Shaanxi province’s Yan’an. The students will pass through ten provinces and autonomous regions and cover 12,500 kilometres over more than one month. This yearmarks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Long March of the Red Army. It is also the US-China Year of Tourism. It is hoped that the students, through such experiences, will have a more intuitive understanding of the history of the Long March, as well as the folk customs of different places in China.
Paige, a 22-year-old girl from Christopher Newport University, has come to China for the first time. She did not know much about the Long March before her visit. She was deeply impressed by the story of the Red Army and what she saw with her own eyes on the tour. “I’m a student of psychology. I admire Mao Zedong for giving the Red Army firm beliefs at critical moments, and then leading them through every hardship towards a final victory,” said Paige. Chinese students were also deeply touched and said they would remember their history and carry forward the spirit of the Long March.
Bai Ling, a Chinese-American actress, also joined this modern version of the Long March. “It is very impressive. We overcame various difficulties. The experience is sort of a baptism for my soul,” she said. In Huangtian Miao Village, where Red Army soldiers were once stationed, the US and Chinese students sang revolutionary songs, experienced Miao customs and enjoyed the natural beauty. They could feel that Miao people live a happy life.
After visiting Weixin, the students also followed the footprints of Red Army to Zhaotong and Kunming. Their experience will be made into a feature film to be broadcast on the ICN TV Network, Hampton University TV Station, other mainstream media in the United States and the LeTV Network in China.