On October 18, the eighth stop of the "Youth Relay · Retrace the Long March" 10-leg relay themed practical activity for the young people of Huaihua took place at the Xinchang Battle Memorial Park in Jinxing Village, Jingzhou Miao and Dong Autonomous County of Huaihua. Fifteen young pioneers narrators from six primary and secondary schools across the county joined hands with young cadres. Starting from the Jinxing Village Committee, they trekked three kilometers along the westward march route of the 6th Red Army Corps and climbed the red highland of Doupengpo. The team members range from 10 to 16 years old.
At the Monument Square, all participants gathered to watch the patriotic documentary titled The Long March of Youth. The timeless question posed in the film — “What would you choose?” — seems to span nine decades of extraordinary, eventful years, striking a dialogue across time with youngsters of the new era. It lets the Long March spirit sink in and take root in their hearts.
Silent Green Hills Guard the Loyal Souls.
In the deep autumn of October, layers of verdant trees cover Doupengpo slope where pine waves seem to sigh through the breeze. The expanse of lush masson pine forest stands as a silent red monument.
After the completion of the Xinchang Battle Red Army Martyrs Monument in 1979, villagers from Zhailutun voluntarily planted pine trees to protect the martyrs’ cemetery. Over two years, they transformed the entire barren slope into an ocean of green pines. To local residents, the pines, standing firm against snow, evergreen all year round and imbued with unyielding integrity, embody the Red Army soldiers who braved hardships and pressed forward with indomitable will.
This collective forest covering more than 300 mu was once offered three million yuan by timber merchants for purchase. The deal would have brought each of the over 20 households an extra income of more than 100,000 yuan. Yet not a single villager was tempted, nor did any household agree to the offer. “We plant trees not for profit, but to guard the Red Army martyrs resting here.” These simple words speak of an unwavering devotion passed down through generations.
The stele corridor amid the woods stands in solemn silence. Fifteen stone slabs are engraved with Long March poems by Mao Zedong and other veteran proletarian revolutionaries. All inscriptions were handwritten with heartfelt devotion by local calligraphers from Jingzhou, letting the spirit of the Long March and its red heritage permeate the mountains and wilderness.
Ascending the stone steps, visitors behold the towering monument atop the slope. The large characters—Eternal Glory to the Red Army Martyrs —shine solemnly on the seven-metre stele. At the event, young representatives presented flower baskets. All participants stood in silence, bowed in tribute, and circled the monument to pay their respects. Fifty metres ahead of the monument lie the Red Army martyrs’ tombs, nestled deep among green pines. Here rest the unnamed heroes who fell bravely in the Xinchang Battle. Year after year, the soughing pines salute them, and generation after generation of local people keep watch over them.
One Battle Blazes the Vanguard Trail
“Peace never comes out of thin air. It is won through the bloody struggles of countless martyrs.” At the event, Yang Lan, narrator of the Xinchang Battle Historic Site Cluster, spoke these heartfelt words and guided the young participants to revisit that crucial ambush battle 92 years ago—a clash that reshaped the course of the westward campaign and lit the way forward for the Long March.
In 1934, the main force of the Chinese Red Army was poised for its strategic shift. On July 23, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission of the Chinese Soviet Republic issued an order, tasking the 6th Red Army Corps to march westward in advance to reconnoitre the route. On August 7, Ren Bishi, Xiao Ke and Wang Zhen led more than 9,700 officers and soldiers to set out from Suichuan in Jiangxi, embarking on an arduous westward expedition. On September 18, the troops entered Xinchang, Jingzhou. Having accurately detected that the Kuomintang pursuing troops had advanced deep into the area, cut off from their main force, they immediately devised a shrewd ambush plan: the Army Corps Headquarters was set up at the Luo Ancestral Hall in Zhailutun; forward companies were deployed to lay an ambush and lure the enemy; the 52nd Regiment of the 18th Red Division seized the two commanding heights — the main peak of Yanya Mountain and Jinxian Diaohulu; while the main force concealed itself on both flanks and circled around, forming a pocket trap.
In the every early hours of September 19, drizzle hung in the air. General Xiao Ke delivered a pre-battle mobilization speech in front of the ancestral hall. At 11 a.m., the battle began. The Red Army outpost company feigned retreat to draw the enemy deep into the mountain valley. Torrential rain poured down in the afternoon. Undaunted by the harsh conditions, Red Army fighters closed in on the enemy in the rain. After five hours of fierce combat, they routed the pursuing troops in one strike, killing and capturing more than a thousand enemy personnel and seizing over 400 firearms.
This battle stands as a classic ambush fought by the 6th Red Army Corps during its westward expedition, in which a great victory was secured at a small cost. It thoroughly foiled the enemy’s plan of dogged pursuit and harassment, opening a vital passage for the Red Army to advance westward unhurriedly.
More than two months later, following this victory trail paved with blood, the main force of the Central Red Army passed through Tongdao and Xinchang and advanced into Guizhou. This laid an important strategic foundation for the Liping Conference and the Zunyi Conference, making the battle a vital vanguard reconnaissance engagement in the epic of the Long March.
Jingzhou is truly a cradle of revolutionary heritage and a key thoroughfare on the Long March. Between 1930 and 1935, over five years, the 7th Red Army, the 6th Red Army Corps, the Central Red Army, and detachments of the 2nd and 6th Red Army Corps passed through the county on four separate occasions. It is one of the rare counties nationwide where four distinct Red Army units successively campaigned.
In December 1934, the Young Communist International Division, whose soldiers averaged only 18 years of age with the youngest just 14, held off pursuing troops here to shield the Central Column as it pushed westward. This youthful iron army dedicated their lives to the nation and fought bravely against the enemy. Across time and space, their spirit is on the same wavelength with the young people of the new era retracing the Long March today.
Victory in a hundred battles is rooted in the people. With a time-honored copper coin, Yang Lan recounted the profound bond between the army and civilians, like fish and water. Back then, when the Red Army was stationed in the village, Ling Guiyin, a local villager, voluntarily vacated rooms for the soldiers to stay, lit fires to cook meals, mended their clothes, and tended to them with great care. As the troops prepared to leave, General Xiao Ke insisted on paying silver dollars for the board and lodging, yet Ling Guiyin firmly declined. With deep feeling, Xiao Ke told him: “The Red Army belongs to the people. We will never take even a needle or a thread from the masses.” He then gave Ling Guiyin a copper coin as a keepsake.
More than 90 years have passed through wind and rain. This tiny coin has been cherished and passed down by three generations of the Ling family, serving as the most vivid and precious physical testimony to the Red Army’s strict discipline and the profound fish-and-water bond between the army and the people.
Successors Guard the Green Hills
One green mountain guarded by generations; one copper coin bearing an age-old devotion.
For decades, the villagers of Zhailutun have planted pines and safeguarded the martyrs’ resting place, yielding not an inch of the land. The Lings have preserved the token and carried forward the gratitude. Local writers and calligraphers have left their brush marks, engraving the original mission in writing. Yang Lan, the narrator, has rooted herself in this red education site for five years without cease, telling the stories of the Long March well. Every Qingming Festival, local students come of their own accord to honour the martyrs, making tribute and inheritance an enduring tradition.
After the study tour session, the young participants visited the Luo Ancestral Hall, former headquarters of the Xinchang Battle. Through old oil lamps, battle maps and a battlefield sand table, they immersed themselves in the magnificent scenes of the Red Army’s careful planning and fierce combat back then.
They reflect on the extraordinary years and write down their youthful commitment. The children penned heartfelt words on commemorative postcards. Yang Shiqi, a student from Jingzhou No.2 Middle School, wrote: “The peace and tranquility we enjoy today across our land are forged by martyrs who trekked countless mountains and rivers as well as by fearless fighters who fought bloody battles.” The youngsters voluntarily cleared weeds from the memorial park, wiped the martyrs’tombstones, and carefully sorted documents of the red historic site. Through hands-on practice, they safeguard the red heritage and carry forward its foundational spirit.
The Long March is always an ongoing journey, and the youth relay never ceases. Young people carry forward the martyrs’aspirations with youthful spirit and compose new chapters of the times with youthful strength. They ensure the red bloodline passes down from one generation to another, and the Long March spirit shines eternally over the land.
(Translated by Dong Yue)