The Long March is one of the greatest epics in the annals of human history.
In 1934, 86,000 Chinese Red Army soldiers began an arduous 12,500 kilometre journey to escape encirclement. They crossed 40 mountains, 100 rivers and a marshland known as the “death zone”. They fought more than 600 battles on their journey. Only about 7,000 survived the trek to Yan’an, where they established a revolutionary base.
Along the way, the marching soldiers formed deep connections with local peasants. In many ways, that experience formed the bedrock of China's revolutionary process, which was led by the peasantry and continues to be rooted in the countryside to this day.
China held a grand commemorative gala for the 90th anniversary of the Red Army’s Long March victory. This shot is epic.