Sichuan Provincial Military District Conducts 'Retrace the Long March, Render Meritorious Service in the New Era' Activity
Sichuan Provincial Military District Conducts 'Retrace the Long March, Render Meritorious Service in the New Era' Activity—— Seeking Roots Anew on the Snow Mountains
■ Zhao Liang, China Defense Daily Reporter Yang Mingyue
Officers, soldiers, civilian personnel, and militia of the Sichuan Provincial Military District climb snow-covered Jiajin Mountain. Photo by Guan Dawei.
"I volunteer to join the Communist Party of China, uphold the Party's program, abide by the Party's constitution…" At the Jiajin Mountain pass at an elevation of 4,114 meters, Bao Shanqian, a civilian employee of the Baoxing County People's Armed Forces Department, raised his right fist toward the bright red Party flag and renewed his Party membership oath.
In late May, the launch ceremony for the Sichuan Provincial Military District's 'Retrace the Long March, Render Meritorious Service in the New Era' activity was held at Red Army Square in Baoxing County. More than one hundred officers, soldiers, civilian personnel, and militia stood solemnly before a themed sculpture of the Red Army's Long March, observed a moment of silence in tribute to martyrs, and presented flower baskets. Immediately afterward, everyone boarded vehicles and set off toward Jiajin Mountain, embarking on the journey to retrace the Long March.
"Jiajin Mountain, Jiajin Mountain—birds cannot fly over it, and ordinary people dare not climb it." In June 1935, the Central Red Army, in desperate conditions of severe oxygen deprivation, hunger, and cold, braved freezing temperatures and wind and snow to successfully cross this towering snow mountain and achieve a victorious rendezvous with the Fourth Front Army.
As the convoy passed Qiaoqi Lake, Bao Shanqian told his companions the story of the "Red Army Umbrella," passed down through generations in Qiaoqi Tibetan Township. "This is not an umbrella made of oiled paper and bamboo ribs—it is a lush pine tree, its branches spreading like a canopy." Bao Shanqian told everyone that when the Central Red Army crossed Jiajin Mountain, many Red Army soldiers fell and never rose again. Local Tibetan villagers learned of this from the guides who had led the Red Army through the mountains, and spontaneously organized searches for the soldiers' remains, burying them on a hillside below the mountain called Bazha Jiao. Fearing discovery by the enemy, the villagers erected no marker but instead transplanted a pine sapling to mark the spot.
"Over the years, the sapling grew into the shape of an umbrella, as if sheltering this land from wind and rain. On holidays, Tibetan villagers come to the tree to offer hada scarves." Bao Shanqian had listened many times beneath the "Red Army Umbrella" as local elders recounted Long March stories. The elders often said: "Beneath this 'umbrella' rest the Red Army soldiers who came for us. This umbrella is the umbrella of the bond between the military and the people."
The convoy continued upward, crossing the famous "Five Hairpin Bends." As the elevation rose to around 3,900 meters, everyone disembarked and began hiking through the snow. The weather was clear at first, but the higher they climbed, the thicker the fog became; with gusts of fierce wind howling around them, their camouflage uniforms felt pitifully thin. "Everyone, keep moving—once you're moving, you won't be cold!" Heeding the Tibetan guide's words, the group pushed through the discomfort of altitude sickness and climbed upward step by step into the biting wind.
Portable oxygen canisters were kept along the route for safety. Bao Shanqian noticed that his companion Xue Yifan's lips had turned purple and went to get him an oxygen canister, but Xue Yifan waved it off: "The conditions the Red Army faced crossing the snow mountains were far harsher than ours. We came here today precisely to experience that hardship—how could I bring myself to use an oxygen canister?" Bao Shanqian then pushed him from behind as they pressed forward, and they ultimately reached the Jiajin Mountain pass. "Today we hiked for only one hour, but every step underfoot was a meditation on the weight of faith (信仰的重量)," said Bao Shanqian.
Among the group, Zhou Yang, a squad leader in the Baoxing County Militia Emergency Company, had heard his grandfather recount Long March stories many times since childhood. During the period when the Red Army fought its way through Baoxing, his grandfather had supported the Red Army. "Without walking it yourself, it's hard to imagine how the Red Army held on back then."
"Come, come—let me pour you some hot water." After the oath ceremony, a heartwarming scene unfolded: seeing this group of young people in camouflage, many vendors at roadside stalls called out to them and offered butter tea and yak jerky. The militia members smiled and waved off the offers. "The people may not be able to tell whether we are militia or PLA soldiers—they simply see this camouflage and feel a sense of closeness, just as more than ninety years ago they risked danger to support the Red Army." Zhou Yang recalled one past event: in the summer of 2023, a sudden flash flood and mudslide struck Baoxing County, and he led fifteen militia members in rescue operations, clearing roads, removing silt, and rescuing trapped residents. "Many people felt hope the moment they saw the camouflage team. The look in their eyes at that moment—I will never forget it for the rest of my life."
As the activity concluded, Zhou Yang told the reporter, still catching his breath, that he had not expected it to be so difficult to reach the Jiajin Mountain pass—even for someone who had grown up in the mountains. "We only walked a small stretch today. How did those young Red Army soldiers from the south hold on? We walked with our feet; they walked with their lives."