Arduous progress
Briton Greg Fountain visited Sichuan from Sept 9 to 14. The snow-clad mountains and barren grasslands made the province one of the most arduous sections for the original Long March participants.
Even today, the route is grueling. Fountain had to rely on thick clothes and bottled oxygen to avoid feeling light-headed at the 4,600-meter summit of Jiajin Mountain, the first snow-capped peak the Central Red Army encountered during its mammoth trek.
During a visit to Guizhou province, Indian journalist Faisal Kidwai said the Long March is defined by the selfless spirit of the participants, even in the face of daunting difficulties. After their two-year struggle, barely a quarter of the 200,000 soldiers who began the trek made it to the end.
"Most of China, especially the western part, was underdeveloped 80 years ago. To put it mildly, the infrastructure was not world class and the army wasn't the strong force it is today. Finding even essential items was not easy. Given all those factors, it's truly remarkable that such people volunteered to face the sacrifices, suffering and heartaches just for love of their country," Kidwai said.
Fountain and Adam Hegarty, an Australian national, echoed that sentiment. In Jiangxi province, the starting point of the Long March, Hegarty spoke with a 101-year-old Red Army veteran and found inspiration in the hardships he recalled.
The reporters have been impressed that the Long March spirit has been inherited and adopted by local people in their "New Long March" to shake off poverty.
"One of the things that impressed me the most is the transformation that happened in Shibadong village in Hunan, where the people worked really hard for a better life. This is such a dynamic way of showing the intrepid character of the Chinese people," O'Neil said.
In the village, hidden in the mountains, O'Neil was deeply moved by the story of 76-year-old Long Decheng, whose family was mired in poverty until 2013. Shortly after President Xi Jinping raised the concept of "targeted poverty alleviation" in the village, the family began to prosper from the development of local tourism.
"She (Long Decheng) must have an incredibly hard life living in these remote mountains, but she still has this great positive energy. This is the greatest testament to the Long March spirit - resilience," O'Neil said.
