CCTV News Xundian County, Kunming City, Yunnan Province, is an important starting point for the Red Army's Long March to skillfully cross the Jinsha River. More than ninety years ago, the Red Army made a plan to cross the river here and achieved a strategic breakthrough with tenacious battles day and night. As time goes by, the spirit of the Long March of not fearing hardships and dangers and being hardworking and forging ahead has been passed down here from generation to generation.
Now walking between Dangui Village and the Lushaoxiao ruins, the red old sites are linked to the mountain forest products, and red research, pine nut processing, and mountain cultural tourism are blooming. The place where the revolution once broke out is opening up a road to rural revitalization for the masses to get rich on the spot.
In Dangui Village, the imprint of the Long March remains everlasting
Walking in Dangui Village, Kedu Town, the paintings on the walls of the streets and alleys reproduce the scenes of the Red Army getting along with the local people. Next to the memorial hall, farmers set up stalls along the street selling walnuts and local eggs. Two images of ancient times and modern times are reflected in the air. The friendship between the military and civilians has spanned 90 years and continues to this day.
The Red Army Long March Kedu Memorial Hall is located in the He family compound in Dangui Village. The old house with gray brick walls and wooden lattice retains the original appearance of the residence. In 1935, a column of the Central Military Commission stationed here and finalized the entire operational plan for crossing the Jinsha River overnight.
In the display cabinet of the exhibition hall, a stopped eight-tone clock is a special physical evidence of this period of history. The commentator Gao Fan said that the Eight-tone Bell was mistakenly taken away by the guards during the march. It was discovered after arriving at Jiaopingdu, and the troops tried to return it to the masses as soon as possible. In the 1970s, it was precisely with the help of this cultural relic that veterans who visited the site determined and confirmed the old site of the Cross-River Conference.
Today, the small bugles, marching kettles and other old objects displayed in the museum are all stained by the marks left by the Long March. Looking at the objects and listening to the past events, it is not difficult to imagine the tense moments when the Red Army was studying the enemy's situation and planning a breakout in the square yard.
In the Lu whistle, a piece of paper "extremely urgent" starts a strategic turning point
Drive from Dangui Village to Luxiao Shao. At that time, the Red Army completed the overall planning for crossing the Jinsha River in Dangui Village, and turned the operational concept into an action order for the entire army at Lukoushao.
In the early morning of April 29, 1935, the river-crossing message marked "Urgent" was sent from here, ordering the Central Red Army to quickly cross the Jinsha River north and break through the encirclement and interception of hundreds of thousands of enemy troops. On the Red Square, a relief sculpture engraved with the complete telegram stands majestically. The site also has a telegraph exhibition hall, a red lecture hall and a Long March poetry trail.
Ninety years have passed, and the ancient marching path where the Red Army marched has now become a field classroom for hiking and studying the ruins. Along the field path and past the Red Star Sculpture, the Red Army Road winds forward in the mountains. Although this roughly three-kilometer stone brick mountain road has been repaired and renovated, it is still difficult to travel. In 1935, the leading cadre regiment of the Red Army, which was tasked with crossing the river, set out from this area and marched nearly 100 kilometers day and night to attack Jiaoping Ferry, using their feet to seize the ferry before the enemy blocked it. The same mountain road at our feet allows today's people to personally feel the dangers and difficulties of long-distance travel in those days.
On the way back, 85-year-old local villager Grandma Chen stopped in front of the Little Red Army sculpture with a cane, her back still straight, her silver hair wrapped in a red scarf, revealing a pair of smiling eyes. Talking about the past, the old man said with emotion: "I was not yet born when the Red Army came, but my ancestors had been telling stories about the Red Army orally for generations. I saw with my own eyes that more and more people came to the village and the village became more and more beautiful."
The background of the Long March paved the way to increase income
Dangui made plans and Lu whistled to deliver orders. Each plan and order followed one after another. In this way, the past stories of the war were passed down orally from generation to generation in the local area. Today, the memory of the war has accumulated as the foundation for development. Xundian County has linked red old sites, mountains, forests, and pasture resources into a chain. Red research, specialty processing, and plateau culture and tourism have worked together to broaden the ways for the people to increase income.
In Dangui Village, the red inn built by Ma Han, a returned entrepreneur, incorporates elements of the Long March into the courtyard furnishings, and local "Red Army meals" such as buckwheat rice and pumpkin soup have become distinctive signatures. The B&B attracts local villagers to work all year round, and during the peak tourist season, it will also hire more people from the countryside. Nowadays, 8 farmhouses have been developed in the whole village. The positions of red explanation, B&B reception, and agricultural specialty product sales are given priority to the local people. More than 200 villagers have eaten "red tourist rice".
Diversified industries activate revitalization momentum
Beyond the red villages, Xundian County’s diverse industries that enrich the people are also vibrant. In the pine nut distribution center in Dengjia Village, Yuandian Town, machines roared, and the threshing, screening, and roasting assembly lines were running at high speed. Pine buds from many places in Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou gather here, with more than 25,000 tons of pine buds collected and distributed annually. The processed pine nuts are sold well domestically and exported overseas via the ports of Tianjin and Dalian. The deep mountain pine cones have transformed into a characteristic industry that increases the income of the people.
On the tens of thousands of acres of alpine meadows in Beidaying, camels and horses roam back and forth. Cultural tourism projects such as horse riding, camel riding, and travel photography are very popular. The Yuntuo Riding Project trains surrounding villagers on the spot, and currently has 14 permanent employees. During peak passenger flow periods, nearly 20 locals will be recruited to participate in feeding, on-site support and other tasks. The Cangmang Grassland is full of new vitality.
The smoke has cleared and the fighting spirit of the Long March has been passed down from generation to generation. In the past, this land witnessed the Red Army's life and death breakthrough. Today, the old district relies on hard work to achieve development breakthrough. The symbiosis between the red old site and the mountain industry transforms the spirit of the Long March into a tangible and tangible happy life for the masses.
