(90th Anniversary of the Victory of the Long March) Descendants of the Red Army martyrs pay tribute to the heroes at the first ferry in Xing'an, Guangxi: Xiangjiang River has not forgotten you

On November 11, when Liu Qinghua, the great-nephew and grandson of martyr Liu Zhongming, participated in the Xiangjiang Ferry Memorial Ceremony to Commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the Victory of the Red Army’s Long March at Jieshou Ferry in Xing’an County, Guilin City, Guangxi, he wrote a heartfelt message card for his great-uncle and martyr Liu Zhongming who died heroically in the Xinwei Blockade of the Battle of Xiangjiang River: Xiangjiang has not forgotten you, and our descendants have not forgotten you either.

Liu Qinghua said that martyr Liu Zhongming was my grandfather's biological brother. He was a native of Xingguo County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province. He joined the Red Army in 1933 when he was 20 years old. There was no news about him for a long time after that. In the past, I only knew that my great-uncle died in the Long March of the Red Army. When I came to participate in the event this time, I learned that he died in the Xinwei Blockade of the Battle of Xiangjiang River. I found Liu Zhongming’s name in the Hall of Fame of the Red Army’s Long March Breakthrough of the Xiangjiang Martyrs Monument in Xing’an County.

On the same day, an event to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army's Long March was held at the Xiangjiang River Ferry, an important crossing site of the Red Army's Long March breakthrough - the Jieshou Ferry in Xing'an County, Guilin City. More than 280 people attended, including relatives of martyrs from Fujian and Jiangxi, descendants of the Red Army lost in the Battle of Xiangjiang, and representatives from all walks of life.

Ouyang Xiaojun, the grandson of Red Army martyr Ouyang Guanyinsheng from Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, visited the Red Army Long March Breakthrough Xiangjiang Martyrs Monument Park in Xing'an County during the memorial event and found his grandfather's name in the Yingming Gallery.

Ouyang Guanyin was born in the spring of 1931 and joined the Red Army from Yudu. In 1934, he assembled from Yuduhe and set off on the Long March.

Ouyang Xiaojun said that our family did not know that my grandfather Ouyang Guanyinsheng had died until the 1960s. When my grandfather joined the Red Army, my father was not yet born. As descendants of the Red Army, we have finally found the place where he died. After that, I plan to inform my family and make an appointment for the whole family to make a special trip to pay homage to my grandfather.

Chen Wenyun, the grandson of Chen Bingshou, the martyr of the Xiangjiang Campaign, who was from Western Fujian, said at the event that our family originally only knew that his grandfather joined the Red Army in 1934 and then disappeared. This mystery has been buried for more than 80 years. In 2019, a local WeChat public account in Longyan posted news about searching for the descendants of the martyrs of the 34th Red Division, and we learned that our grandfather died in the Battle of Xiangjiang River. Since 2019, our family has been coming to the Xiangjiang River to pay homage every Qingming Festival. We have been to all the commemorative sites related to the Xiangjiang Battle in northern Guangxi. At first, we just went to visit my own grandfather, but later we changed to pay homage to all the martyrs of the Red Army who sacrificed their lives.

Martyr Su Daqing, leader of the 101st Regiment of the 34th Division of the Fifth Red Army, was born in an ordinary farmhouse in an earthen farmhouse in Dade Village, Guzhu Township, Yongding District, Longyan City, Fujian Province. He died in the Battle of Xiangjiang River in December 1934.

Su Huixiang, the step-grandson of martyr Su Daqing, recalled at the event that in 2008, the descendants of Su Qisheng, the founding major general of the People’s Republic of China, returned to their hometown and village. They mentioned that my grandfather died on the bank of the Xiangjiang River, and our family members confirmed his heroic deeds.

Su Huixiang said that since 2008, I have come to the bank of the Xiangjiang River to pay homage every year. Every year during Qingming Festival, we in western Fujian organize dozens of representatives to come by car to pay homage to the martyrs, bringing with them local specialties from their hometown such as Longyan peanuts, Changting dried tofu, and Longyan glutinous rice wine.

The Battle of Xiangjiang was a heroic battle of the Red Army's Long March. The Central Red Army's strength dropped sharply from more than 86,000 at the time of departure to more than 30,000. Tens of thousands of Red Army soldiers rested on the banks of the Xiangjiang River.