These stories at the Long March exhibition are moving

People’s Daily reporter Zhou Huan Li Weijun Su Bin Li Kaixuan

The "Great Expedition - Theme Exhibition to Commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army's Long March" held at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution has received a total of more than 500,000 visitors since it was opened to the public on September 25. Recently, Long March-themed exhibitions across the country have experienced a boom in visitors. Our reporters visited many museums and memorial halls and learned about the unbreakable faith of the Red Army from a wooden boat, an iron scale, three door panels, and a wooden barrel, and felt the deep love behind every stitch.

A wooden boat witnesses the unity of the military and civilians

At the Central Red Army Long March Departure Memorial Hall in Yudu, Jiangxi, a wooden boat is quietly displayed, its hull mottled with vicissitudes of life - Li Shengren, an old boatman from Yudu County, once used this boat to ferry the Red Army across the Yudu River.

In October 1934, more than 86,000 people from the Central Red Army gathered on the banks of the Yudu River. People in the Soviet area donated boats, dismantled door panels, unloaded house beams, and built pontoons.

"In October 1934, Li Shengren, a fisherman who was fishing in the Liyutan section of the Du River, was called to the shore by the Red Army. He said he wanted to cross the Du River at night and hoped to borrow a fishing boat." Xie Guilian, the commentator of the memorial hall, said, "Li Shengren immediately agreed. Later, he also took the initiative to contact the villagers and assembled 20 fishing boats to participate in the ferry ferry support."

Over the years, the Lee family guarded the ship. Later, relevant Yudu fishing boat management agencies solicited and took over this ferry carrying red memory, and handed it over to the Central Red Army Long March Departure Memorial Hall for permanent collection and display.

Walking out of the memorial hall and walking west for about 100 meters, you will find the former site of the Long March Ferry. Standing on the shore and looking into the distance, the five modern bridges on the river, namely the Red Army Bridge, the Long March Bridge, the Assembly Bridge, the Dujiang Bridge and the Victory Bridge, are very spectacular. Smooth traffic has enlivened the exchanges of people, industrial linkage, and trade circulation on both sides of the Yudu River.

From the original wooden boat and a section of pontoon to the five bridges today, they have jointly witnessed the development of the old area and the continuation of the deep love between fish and water from generation to generation.

An iron scale measures the original intention and mission

"Back then, the Red Army used this steel scale to trade with the common people on an equal footing in exchange for food..." Walking into the Red Army's Long March Xiangjiang Campaign Memorial Hall in Quanzhou County, Guilin City, Guangxi, the commentator Yang Shizhen was telling the audience the story of the "Sixteen Liang Scales".

In 1934, a Central Red Army logistics team passed through Xinfudong Village in Quanzhou County to buy food from the villagers. Villager Liao Zengqiong saw that the Red Army soldiers were polite to the common people, so he felt respectful and gave a bag of grain stored at home to the Red Army soldiers.

The Red Army soldiers refused to accept anything and insisted on weighing and paying. Liao Zengqiong had no choice but to take out the 16-tael scale inherited from his family. After weighing, the Red Army soldier handed the silver coins to Liao Zengqiong and continued on his way with the food.

Later, descendants of the Liao family donated the iron scale to the Red Army Long March Xiangjiang Campaign Memorial Hall. Nowadays, the red heritage also extends from the showcase to the ancient mountain roads.

In April 2025, the "Guilin Red Xiangjiang" red tourist bus line was opened, connecting the red landmarks of six counties in northern Guangxi. Visitors follow the footsteps of the Red Army, look back at the great journey in the red story, and draw strength for progress. Up to now, the Guangxi section of the Long March National Cultural Park has connected 296 kilometers of historical and cultural routes, and the "three gardens and three museums" along the route have received more than 21 million tourists.

Red Army door panels build a bridge between hearts

In the display cabinet of the Sidu Chishui Memorial Hall in Xishui County, Guizhou, there are three door panels that are particularly eye-catching - two front door panels and one kitchen door panel. The door panel is relatively simple, with nail marks of varying depths and dents from ropes on the surface.

Back on January 24, 1935, the Central Red Army entered Tucheng, Guizhou. Local people heard rumors of reactionary armed forces and hid in the mountains one after another.

The next day, the Red Army reminded the people to go to the salt warehouse to distribute salt, but the boatman Zheng Mingfu rushed over doubtfully. At the salt distribution site, the Red Army crushed the salt and handed it to the villagers. Zheng Mingfu also received a piece and was so excited that he was speechless.

News of the Red Army's strict discipline and the opening of warehouses to distribute salt spread quickly, and the people who had gone into hiding began to return home. The enemy is also in hot pursuit. In order to help the Red Army get out of trouble, the people took the initiative to remove the door panels of their houses and carried them to the river to help the Red Army build a pontoon bridge on the Chishui River.

"Zheng Mingfu jumped into the cold river water and secured the boat firmly with the Red Army soldiers. Each fishing boat and each door panel built a bridge between the military and the civilians." said Cao Xingyan, deputy research librarian of the Sidu Chishui Memorial Hall.

In order to prevent the enemy from pursuing them, the Red Army had no time to return the door panels and wood to the people, so they compensated them with silver dollars and items far above the supermarket price, and then blew up the pontoon bridge.

After the Red Army left, Zheng Mingfu picked up the three door panels that were not damaged by the bombing and used them for 1971. In Tucheng, such door panels are affectionately called "Red Army door panels" by the people. In 2006, when the Sidu Chishui Memorial Hall was under construction, Zheng Mingfu's son donated these three door panels to the memorial hall.

In Qinggangpo Village, Tucheng Town, the former battle site has been restored and protected and turned into a red study classroom. By creating red study routes, the integrated development of culture and tourism is promoted. Up to now, the village has undertaken a total of 789 party education and red on-site teaching sessions, covering more than 62,000 students.

Carrying water wooden bucket full of fish and water

Not long ago, the theme exhibition "Across Thousands of Rivers and Mountains, Deep Love and Meaning - National Unity on the Long March" was unveiled at the Sichuan Museum. In the exhibition hall, an old Tibetan wooden barrel attracted the attention of the audience.

In June 1935, the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army arrived in Lifan County (today's Li County), Sichuan, and was chased and intercepted by the Kuomintang troops along the way. Wang Nengyi, then captain of the traffic team of the Red Thirty Army's military headquarters, was shot through the right leg. The army sent him to the home of villager Yu Zhikun in Taoping Qiang Village to recuperate and paid the corresponding expenses.

After more than a month of careful care from the Yu family, Wang Nengyi's leg injury improved significantly. He didn't want to lie at home and cause trouble to his fellow villagers. He got up early every day and took a bucket to the river to fetch water until the water tank was full. Three months later, the army sent someone to pick Wang Nengyi back to the army. After that, the barrel was carefully collected by the Yu family. Later, the Yu family gave the barrel to Wang Nengyi's son Wang Shanping for safekeeping, and Wang Shanping donated the barrel to the Sichuan Museum.

The Secretary of the Party Committee of Sichuan Museum introduced to Hepin that a large part of the Long March journey passed through areas inhabited by Han, Yi, Tibetan, Qiang and other ethnic groups. How did the party and the Red Army win the trust of people of all ethnic groups? How can this kind of trust be transformed into the majestic power of life and death, and sharing weal and woe? This is exactly what the theme exhibition wants to tell the audience.

Xiang Hepin introduced that relying on rich cultural relics resources, the Sichuan Museum has developed a series of study courses for young people of different ages, allowing revolutionary stories to enter the classroom and into the hearts of children, and deepen the feelings of family and country.