An important site

Guizhou was an important site during the Long March. From September 1934 to April 1936, the Red Army trekked across more than 60 cities, counties and districts in the province, leaving behind a rich trail of history and Red tourism resources.

From January 15 to 17, 1935, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee convened the Zunyi Conference in Zunyi, Guizhou, to solve the Party's most urgent organizational and military problems.

The conference established Mao's leading position in the CPC and the Red Army, and saved them at an extremely dangerous juncture. Disagreements were resolved and a new sense of purpose began to animate the Long March, transforming it from a tactical withdrawal into a call to arms against the Japanese invasion.

Japan's incursion into Manchuria in 1931 heralded the start of the 14-year war of resistance. However, Chiang Kai-shek initially attempted to wipe out the Red Army before turning his attention to driving the invaders out of China.

Under the command of Mao, the Red Army crossed the Chishui River in Guizhou's Xishui county four times from January to May 1935, escaping encirclement by more than 400,000 Kuomintang troops.

It was one of the Red Army's most brilliant moves during the Long March, and a great example of the disadvantaged gaining the upper hand.

With brilliant maneuvers throwing the Kuomintang troops off the scent, the Red Army advanced, doubled back, wheeled around and resumed its forward thrust. In May 1935, it reached the Sichuan border.

The route passed through the region of the Yi ethnic group — Sichuan boasts China's largest Yi habitat — who were persuaded to grant the troops safe passage through their mountainous homeland by Red Army commander Liu Bocheng.

Liu, a Sichuan native, convinced the Yi chieftain that the Red Army wanted to coexist peacefully with, not oppress, ethnic groups. He swore blood brotherhood with the chieftain, sealing his oath in the tribal tradition by drinking chicken's blood.

The next hurdle for the Red Army was the Dadu. Crossing it was to be the single most critical action of the Long March.

Leaving the Yi area, the Red Army soldiers seized the Kuomintang-controlled Anshunchang Ferry in Shimian county, Sichuan, and found four boats.