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This clip shows the grasslands of Qinghai on the north-eastern part of the Songpan plateau in Tibet, terrain through which the Chinese Red Army marched in 1935 and where many of them lost their lives. A map shows the route taken by the 40,000 soldiers and the narrator explains the hardships and the effect of difficult terrain experienced during the 10,000-km journey. Images of the Latzu Pass and the Great Wall of China are shown, as well as black-and-white archival film of soldiers marching in threadbare footwear, to illustrate the description of the completion of the march.

Educational value points

• The grasslands of Qinghai were the scene of one of the most difficult episodes experienced by those on the Long March. Part of the Songpan plateau, the grasslands are between 1,800 and 2,700 m above sea level and the nights unbearably cold. It rains 8 or 9 months of the year and, because of poor drainage, the grasslands become a vast swamp. August, the month of the crossing, is the worst month for rain and mosquitoes. Many troops succumbed to malaria. Medical supplies were non-existent and food provisions were low.

• The Long March has become one of the most significant founding stories of the People’s Republic of China. The distance covered during the march is disputed, and ranges from 6,000 km claimed by two Britons who retraced the route, to 12,500 km claimed by Chinese leader Mao Zedong. The number of marchers is difficult to establish, with different columns taking different routes and recruitment occurring en route. Nonetheless, it was a year-long epic of endurance for the marchers. Approximately 25,000 arrived in Yan’an in October 1935, 8,000 of whom were soldiers under Mao’s command and survivors of the march through the Songpan grasslands. As many as 200,000 marchers may have begun the journey.

• Part of the power of the story of the Long March is that it transformed a military retreat into a victory. The Kuomintang (KMT), or National People’s Party, had encircled the Jiangxi base of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) forces in October 1934. The CCP had to break out or be wiped out, and through diversionary tactics a force of at least 130,000 managed to march west to Zunyi, all the time under attack from the KMT. However it was not until after the Zunyi Conference established Mao Zedong’s effective control over the Red Army that the retreat gained a clear forward plan.

• The authority of Mao Zedong was cemented by the Long March. In January 1935, during the period of the Long March, the Chinese communist forces rested in Zunyi and convened a meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCP). At this meeting Mao regained effective control of the CCP and took control of the Red Army. His leadership of the Long March also helped to establish the reputation of the indestructibility of the communist forces and to galvanise support from the peasantry for the communist cause.

• In 2006 Chinese historian and writer, Sun Shuyun, wrote a book challenging traditionally held views of the Long March. She retraced the route locating and interviewing Long March survivors, now in their 80s and 90s. Their stories reveal purges in the Red Army ordered by party leaders. Women and children were sometimes forcibly recruited and treated harshly. A huge number of marchers deserted and those caught were executed. Some of the stories she heard appear to challenge the heroic myth of the Long March that is still popularised in contemporary China.

• The clip shows the poorly equipped Red Army. Without the necessary equipment, conventional tactics were pointless and the communist army became experts in guerrilla warfare, out of necessity.

• The Long March established the Red Army as an extremely disciplined and organised force but the soldiers’ prowess as strategists and determined fighters was established at Latzu (Lazikou) Pass in September 1935 when they outmanoeuvred their enemy, capturing the single-plank bridge across the seemingly impregnable pass from the KMT, who had defended it with bunkers, trenches and guns.

This clip starts approximately 40 minutes into the documentary.

Footage shows grasslands covered by frost and snow.
Narrator The cold and a lack of rest took a heavy toll on the Long Marchers. In many parts of the grasslands they couldn’t sleep on the wet and icy ground so they had to stand all night, leaning against each other to keep warm. Many men collapsed or found their legs paralysed. Others were found crouched around the ashes of campfires, frozen to death. Of the 40,000 that entered the grasslands, 32,000 perished.

Sombre music plays. A map traces the route of the Long March as the narration continues.
Narrator Mao’s Central Red Army, after marching for a whole year, were almost within sight of their final destination in Shensi Province. But to add insult to injury, the nationalists had blocked the north road at Latzu Pass, in hope of destroying their obstinate enemy once and for all. But the Reds hadn’t come this far to be defeated within sight of their final destination. In a surprise attack before dawn, the Reds captured the pass and stormed home.

Long Marchers march in threadbare footwear. Footage of the Great Wall is shown and the map indicates the march coming to an end.
Narrator After one year and 10,000 km on the road, the footsore and weary survivors arrived at the communists’ northern base, Wuchichen, in the shadow of the Great Wall. The Long March, an epic struggle of survival unequalled in modern history, was over.