The Long March: Can China’s history of struggle still inspire its youth?

(Edited and refined by Vianne Chia, with the assistance of AI translation.)

“Everyone has their own ‘Loushan Pass’ and ‘Lazikou Pass’ to overcome.”

This was a key message in First Lesson of the School Year (《开学第一课》), a programme for young people aired by China Central Television (CCTV) in September, which drew parallels between the formidable obstacles encountered by the Red Army during the Long March and the challenges that young people face today.

Located in Zunyi, Guizhou province, Loushan Pass is known for its steep slopes and treacherous terrain. Long regarded as a strategic stronghold where “a single warrior can hold the pass against 10,000 foes”, it was the site of a major victory for the Central Red Army during the Long March. Lazikou Pass, in Diebu county in Gansu’s Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, was another formidable natural barrier that the Red Army broke through on its northward march.

The Long March was one of the most arduous and legendary episodes in the history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and is regarded as a source of party spirit. As China commemorates the 90th anniversary of the Red Army’s victory in the Long March this year, I joined an officially organised media tour to Guizhou and Gansu, retracing parts of the historic route, including Loushan Pass and Lazikou Pass.

Today, these historic sites have become nationally recognised tourist attractions, preserving memories of the Long March while serving as important platforms for promoting its spirit.

Ninety years ago, then CCP leader Mao Zedong described the Long March as “a manifesto, a propaganda force and a seeding-machine”. At the historic site of the Gouba Conference of March 1935, which further established and consolidated Mao’s leadership, propaganda slogans from that era have been recreated on the walls: “The Red Army is the main force of the people’s resistance against Japan and imperialism” and “The Red Army helps workers and peasants, while the White Army helps local tyrants and evil gentry”.

These slogans conveyed the Red Army’s opposition to Japanese aggression and imperialism; the strong class-based rhetoric also made clear whose interests the Red Army represented. By addressing issues that concerned young people at the time, they sought to win their understanding and support.

Over the decades, the spirit of the Long March has continually taken on new meanings in different eras, becoming a key source of inspiration frequently cited in China’s official propaganda and ideological education to motivate young people. One widely circulated slogan goes: “If you think life is hard, think of the Red Army’s 25,000-li (12,500 kilometres) Long March; if you feel tired, think of the revolutionary forebears.”

But as those born in the 1990s and 2000s grow up in a different social environment, with new ways of accessing information and changing personal values, a fresh challenge has emerged: how can this historical memory be brought to life for younger generations in ways that resonate with them?

From wartime slogans to classroom lessons

Wang Yali, head of the interpretation department at the Hadapu Red Army Long March Memorial Hall in Gansu, told Lianhe Zaobao that people born in the 1970s and 1980s generally feel an emotional connection when hearing stories about the Long March. But when the same stories are told to those born in the 2000s, they often seem unmoved.

Tang Zihan, a second-year university student from Chongqing, similarly said that most of what she knew about the Long March came from classroom lessons. “Climbing snow-covered mountains and crossing grasslands — generally, it all feels very distant,” she said.

Hao Yingya, a 45-year-old teacher from Shaanxi, was visiting the Red Army Street in Hadapu with her son. She said she had originally wanted her child to experience the hardships of the Long March, only to discover that “there isn’t really much hardship left to experience. The environment is quite good, and the food and accommodation are good too.”

Ma Xun, principal of Honghuagang District No. 11 Primary School in Zunyi, believes that children today live in a very different era from previous generations, creating a generational divide. Teaching young people about the Long March, he said, should not involve rigid preaching, but should instead incorporate a richer variety of approaches.

Tang cited clips she had seen online from The Great Turning Point (《伟大的转折》), a television drama about the Long March. She said presenting history in newer formats such as short videos and artificial intelligence (AI) would be more engaging.

I also observed that various revolutionary heritage sites had introduced virtual reality, augmented reality, digital projections, immersive performances and interactive quizzes to recreate historical scenes in ways that better appeal to younger audiences.

Li Qi, a researcher at the Centre for the Study of the CCP’s Revolutionary Spirit and Cultural Resources (Long March Culture Research Institute) at Zunyi Normal University, said when interviewed that unlike previous generations, those born in the 1990s and 2000s have grown up in an era of advanced technology and information overload.

Expanding the use of film, television and video-based platforms would help deepen their understanding of the Long March, he said. “The more communication channels and materials we develop, the deeper their understanding of the Long March will become.”

To mark the 90th anniversary of the Long March’s victory, China has released a range of productions this year, including television dramas, documentaries and micro-dramas.

Among them are My Code Is Red Army (《我的代码是红军》) and Perilous Journey (《危途》), two productions from the micro-drama series 25,000 Li (《二万五千里》), which have been released on Tencent and the short-drama platform Hongguo. Meanwhile, the documentary The Great Expedition (《伟大远征》) uses cutting-edge audiovisual technology to recreate the geographical route of the Long March in panoramic detail, offering viewers an immersive experience.

Xu Zhanxiong, director of Crossing (《四渡》), a film released in June this year about the Red Army’s four crossings of the Chishui River during the Long March, said that before production began, he saw numerous online content creators using tabletop military simulations to reconstruct and analyse the campaign. These videos attracted growing numbers of views and considerable engagement from younger netizens, convincing him that “as long as the way the story is told resonates with contemporary audiences, stories of the Long March can move more people”.

Wu Yang, a lecturer in ideological and political education at Chongqing Jianzhu College, said the Long March is now presented in increasingly diverse ways, with new formats such as comics, short videos and live-action role-playing mystery games. For now, however, these largely serve as supplements to traditional channels of communication.

On how younger generations understand the Long March, Wu said those born in the 1970s and 1980s tend to approach it through a process of “affirmation”: they first accept its historical significance and overarching narrative before developing an emotional connection.

By contrast, those born in the 1990s and 2000s, who are separated from the Long March by a much wider generational gap, are more inclined to begin with individual characters, details and personal stories, gradually discovering its meaning as they learn about the events and develop an emotional connection.

Wang Qian, a postgraduate student at the School of Marxism at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, observed that young people around her still regard the Long March with respect and solemnity, but have only a vague understanding of specific historical events. She likewise believes that highlighting more personal details and individual stories from the Long March is key to reaching young people.

In August this year, Zunyi Normal University’s Li retraced part of the Long March route, crossing Mount Ganbala, the highest snow-covered mountain pass traversed by the Red Army. He found that his students listened with rapt attention when he recounted the experience.

He said young people need opportunities to experience history more directly. “When you’ve walked the route yourself and then tell the story, the effect is different. The impact is different from listening to a description at an exhibition.”

New ways to make the Long March relevant

Beyond constantly reinventing how the Long March is presented, efforts to promote its spirit also focus on new ways to connect its legacy with the concerns of different generations.

At a ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Long March victory in 2016, CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping said that every generation has its own Long March to undertake, and every generation must successfully navigate its own path.

When asked about the Long March’s relevance today, Lei Guangren, former director of the Zunyi Conference Memorial Museum, said the qualities it embodies — unity, a commitment to seeking truth from facts, and selfless courage — are essential for anyone seeking to achieve something meaningful.

Wu Yang said moral lessons about selfless dedication, resilience and frugality remained important and worth promoting, but they should not be the only way of conveying the spirit of the Long March.

“The suffering endured during the Long March can be a starting point, but the individual lives behind that suffering, and the vivid expressions of humanity they reveal, can create stronger connections with our times and with the destinies of individuals, families and the nation,” she said.

Wang Qian believes that while young people today enjoy vastly different resources and living conditions from those who endured the hardships of the past, they face challenges of their own, including academic pressure, intense competition for jobs and uncertainty about the future brought about by AI.

The Long March, too, was fraught with uncertainty. “Through constant exploration and perseverance, the Red Army ultimately achieved victory. Young people can draw strength from this in navigating their own lives and personal development,” Wang said.

Against a backdrop of mounting competitive pressures, growing uncertainty and a stronger sense of individual autonomy, many young Chinese have embraced the ideas of resisting involution or “lying flat” to relieve stress. “Lying flat” has even become a collective expression of how young Chinese cope with the pressures of an intensely demanding lifestyle.

However, both Wu Yang and Wang Qian pointed out that most young people only “lie flat” in phases. Wu said that young people sometimes become discouraged when confronted with difficulties, and one way to help them is to break down the problems into more manageable parts.

The lessons of the Long March — the determination to overcome adversity, the willingness to adjust course when necessary and the importance of teamwork — can all be applied to the challenges young people face today, she said, making the Long March “not just a source of spiritual guidance, but also a practical guide to life”.

Wang Yali, meanwhile, believes that helping young people develop a genuine emotional connection with the Long March takes time, and she is confident that as younger generations mature, their appreciation of the Long March will continue to deepen.

“After all, they haven’t yet truly experienced the challenges and setbacks that come with growing up, so they can’t fully relate to it. But when they reach a certain age and encounter difficulties and uncertainties in life, they may come to understand it differently.”

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “跨越90年 长征故事寻找与年轻世代新连接”.

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