Vietnamese Expert Reflects on the Enduring Spirit of the Long March

Duong Van Huy, Director, Department of International Cooperation, Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies (IAPS), Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS)

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Before taking part in this journey, I had developed a general understanding of the Red Army’s Long March through my research into China’s modern revolutionary history. I knew it as a strategic military movement of immense scale, one of the most extraordinary in modern history, and as an epic of revolutionary heroism. The Central Red Army alone marched 25,000 li, a distance of roughly 12,500 kilometers.

But words on a page can take us only so far. They cannot fully reveal what the Red Army experienced during the Long March. Our journey to Guangxi allowed us to step into the landscape of the Long March and gain a deeper understanding of why it is remembered as an epic of revolutionary heroism. Here, we came to appreciate the Red Army’s steadfast revolutionary conviction, its indomitable courage in the face of repeated hardship, and the enduring power of a spirit that still resonates today. Throughout the Long March, the soldiers crossed steep and rugged mountain ranges in southwestern China while suffering from hunger, thirst, and disease. Standing on the mountain trails of Laoshanjie, we felt more keenly than ever the extraordinary difficulties they endured. At that moment, I realized that such hardships could never have been overcome without an unbreakable will, an unwavering commitment to the revolutionary cause, and a fearless readiness to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Our journey took us to historic sites along the route once traveled by the Red Army. Every place carried a story. Jieshou spoke of the breakthrough from encirclement, Huajiang of the arduous mountain crossing, and Jinshi of the inseparable bond between the army and the people. Inside the Qianjiasi Red Army Slogan Building in Huajiang Yao Ethnic Township, words left by the Red Army remain visible on the walls. One of them reads, “The Red Army is the army of the workers and peasants”. These well-preserved slogans embody the Red Army’s commitment to the people, its dedication to serving them, and the profound solidarity that united soldiers and civilians. We also heard the enduring stories of “Half a Quilt” and “A Bag of Provisions”. Though they took place along different stretches of the Long March, they share the same emotional core. The Red Army and the people stood together and forged bonds that hardship could not break.

At Daping Ferry in Quanzhou County, Guilin, we entered one of the central historic sites of the Battle of the Xiangjiang River. Here, the Red Army fought to break through the enemy’s encirclement and cross the river during one of the most devastating battles along the Xiangjiang River. Learning about the fierce fighting and the immense sacrifices made there gave us a deeper appreciation of the historical importance of Daping Ferry as a crucial crossing point in the Red Army’s breakthrough across the Xiangjiang River. From the riverbank, the Xiangjiang appeared calm and still. Yet these waters once witnessed the loss of countless Red Army soldiers. The river flows quietly today, but it continues to carry the memory of those tragic and heroic years.

At the Shizishan Memorial Park and Memorial Hall of the Red Army’s Breakthrough of the Xiangjiang River during the Long March in Xing’an County, we heard deeply moving stories of Chinese farmers who left their villages to join the revolution. Many of them were the main breadwinners in their families. Yet they chose to say goodbye to their homes and loved ones, join the ranks of the Red Army, and embark on the Long March. They were not celebrated figures when they made that choice. They were ordinary people standing at a crossroads between personal responsibility and the future of their country and nation. By joining the revolution, they bound their own fate and that of their families to the fate of the nation. They placed the larger cause above individual concerns and displayed a remarkable sense of responsibility for the country as a whole. Their decisions embodied an unwavering belief that justice would prevail, a fearlessness in the face of seemingly insurmountable danger, and a willingness to sacrifice everything for the survival of their country and the well-being of its people. It was through these individual stories that the meaning of revolutionary spirit became clearer to us. They helped us understand how the Chinese nation endured immense suffering, overcame extraordinary difficulties, and ultimately emerged victorious.

At the Hengzhou Guild Hall in Xing’an County, historical documents and photographs brought another dimension of the Long March into view. As we listened to stories about the Red Army and the local communities it encountered, we became acutely aware of the close ties it formed with people of different ethnic groups, particularly ethnic minority communities. The photographs displayed there showed people of many ethnic backgrounds standing alongside the Red Army. Whatever their ethnicity, they were closely connected. These bonds would later contribute to the unity among China’s ethnic groups after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The visit brought home to me another defining quality of the Red Army’s revolutionary spirit, which is its belief in relying on the people, remaining rooted among them, and sharing weal and woe with them.

The triumph of the Long March marked the moment when the Chinese revolution began to emerge from darkness into light. It embodied the unyielding courage of the Communist Party of China and the Red Army, their unshakable faith in their revolutionary ideals, and their readiness to confront every obstacle and make every necessary sacrifice. This spirit became a lasting source of strength for the Chinese revolution and continues to shape China’s journey today. Along the route, we saw the slogan, “Carry Forward the Spirit of the Long March and Advance on the Long March of the New Era”. To me, this slogan vividly captured the way the spirit of the Long March continues to inspire new generations.

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