Henan Museum exhibition honors 25th Red Army on 90th anniversary of Long March

A joint exhibition featuring cultural relics belonging to the 25th Red Army opened on Wednesday at Henan Museum in Zhengzhou, Henan province, showcasing more than 200 artifacts and more than 500 historical photos to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Red Army's Long March.

The exhibition is co-hosted by cultural relic authorities from Henan, Anhui, Hubei, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces, as well as the Ningxia Hui autonomous region. It runs until Nov 5.

Chu Xiaolong, director of the museum, noted that the exhibition presents a comprehensive view of the hard‑fought journey of the 25th Red Army.

Known as the "Vanguard Marching North", the 25th Red Army set off from Luoshan county, Henan province, in 1934, becoming the first Red Army unit to reach Shaanxi.

Liu Hua, deputy curator of the Martyr Wu Huanxian Memorial Hall in Jingchuan county, Gansu, said that the 25th Red Army was arguably the youngest‑aged unit on the Long March. It was also the only unit that grew in number instead of losing troops along the way.

"These young soldiers fight fiercely during the Long March," Liu said. "Through their sacrifices, they wrote a stirring epic of revolutionary youth."