Life
Long March stories inspiring to later generations
Updated: 2014-11-10( Xinhua )
In October 1934, an 80,000-strong Red Army force embarked on the Long March, a two-year odyssey that laid an important foundation for the Communist victory in the civil war.
Eighty years on, the touching stories that happened during the 12,500 km-long journey are still vivid in the memories of the people living in the areas along the march.
SPIRITUAL LEGACY BY RED ARMY
Huining county in Gansu Province is a revolutionary base where three fronts of the Red Army joined forces after the Long March. The courage and tenacity once demonstrated by the soldiers has been encouraging to the local people until today.
In October 1936, a regiment of the Red Army fought the Kuomintang soldiers in a mountainous area near the county, in order to ensure the successful reunion of the three fronts.
Vice commander Luo Nanhui, though seriously injured, stuck to directing the battle while lying on a stretcher. The 28 year old was finally killed by a stray bullet. The battle cost the lives of more than 800 soldiers.
Zhang Ding, a high school student in Huining, said he grew up with stories about the battle. "I heard that the soldiers were all in ragged clothes, and many of them were suffering from injury and starvation. Though having little food to eat, they did not rob any grains. They taught the villagers the importance of fighting the Kuomintang army and the fact that the Red Army belongs to the workers and farmers," he said.
Zhang Bin, deputy head of a high school in Huining, said, "Every year, the first lesson for newly enrolled students has been held at the historical site where the Red Army joined forces."
"Hopefully our children will borrow strength from the soldiers and study hard to change their fate, and more importantly, they should develop a sense of responsibility for the nation and society under the influence of the soldiers," he said.