Looking at the pictures on the first day of our visit at the Wuqi Central Red Army Long March Victory Memorial Museum and Yanchuan Museum, I found it hard to visualize how much they must have suffered for their cause. It was there I discovered I was at the hub of China's Great Revolution.
It was an epic journey; the journey lasted 369 days; though it was unintended, it did turn out to be a very Long March covering 6, 000 miles (9,650 kilometers); another author from Chinasage said the distance its almost twice the distance from New York to San Francisco. So, standing in the museum and looking at the various items that were displayed, I was reminded how the Long Marchers often had to cross difficult terrains like 24 rivers, 18 mountain ranges (5 snowy mountains), swamps and 11 provinces; it was an epic fight for survival for the Chinese Communists.
The total numbers involved in the march are hard to put down as many left and many joined the march along the way. Over 75,000 set out together with 20,000 non-combatants and only about 7,000 reached Yan'an. During the march, 236 days were occupied by day marches and 19 days by night marches; on average they took one day's rest for every 115 miles covered.
It was estimated that 55 per cent were aged 16-23; 45 per cent 24-40; only 5 per cent were over forty years old. Only about a quarter were actually members of the Communist Party. Part of the Communist effort was to spread support, so leaving people behind to organize local resistance was part of the plan. Fatigue, hunger and sickness claimed many lives and only one-tenth of the force that left Jiangxi completed the Long March.
Based on the story the tour guide was telling us, it was now clear to me that among those that survive the march were almost all the high ranking communist officials in Chinese regime for the next six decades -- Deng Xiaoping, Lin Biao, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai. As one of the surviving communist officials, Mao believed that during the Long March a powerful new weapon had been formed. The epic trek was inspirational, undeniable evidence of the superiority of men over weapons, and more broadly demonstrates the power of human will.
The epic event has inspired and guided the Chinese people, and it has by no means been easy for the Chinese people to improve their lives over the past eight decades. The hardworking spirit the world sees today in China is a result of the sacrifice from the Long March and it has never faded. The Long March spirit is with the Chinese people today as well as everyone who steps into China aiming to march towards their China dreams.
The march has gone beyond the boundaries of China; today, the Chinese development model and principle -- informal as it may be -- is quickly gaining momentum among developed and developing countries. Chinese investment is welcomed globally; according to research, this will soon place China to become one of the world's biggest cross-border investors by the end of this decade, with global offshore assets tripling $6.4 trillion to almost $20 trillion by 2020. The Chinese model of development is exceptional in history and has made China assume a very significant position within the global economy. The veterans of the Long March gave an outward display of unity and solidarity that laid the foundation for the victory of the Chinese revolution and is regarded as the critical moment for Communist party.
This epic march shows that when shared hardship forged bonds of unbreakable loyalty and understanding, it can turn into wealth creation and redefined a nation. The tough journey had left a legacy not only to the Chinese people but to other nations struggling with conflicts. "Let China Sleep, for when the Dragon awakes, she will shake the world." The saying is attributed to Napoleon and he seems to have been right.
The dragon is awake, and she is not going to take a great leap forward but instead is now on the long march; a march of victory. Today, China rightly remembers its heroes, whose bitter struggles would ultimately help build a steady, stronger, greater and better tomorrow for the Chinese generations of tomorrow.
By Ehizuelen Michael Mitchell Omoruyi
The author is a researcher from Institute of African Stuties Zhejiang Normal University
