On September 5, 2026, a press conference for the new-era "Forging the Soul with Red Culture" series of activities, themed "Carry Forward the Yan'an Spirit, Commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the Victory of the Red Army's Long March," was held in the conference room on the 6th floor of the State Council Information Office's Chaoyangmen office area. The year 2026 marks the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Long March of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. The Long March was not only a great feat in the history of the revolution, but also an immortal monument in the spiritual lineage of the Communist Party of China. General Secretary Xi Jinping has on many occasions delivered important remarks on passing on the red genes and carrying forward the spiritual lifeblood of Chinese Communists, pointing the way for carrying forward the Yan'an Spirit in the new era. These remarks are a valuable spiritual asset for pooling strength and tackling tough challenges in the new era.

The activities were jointly initiated by the Zhonghaiyang Academy of Culture and Arts and a number of other organizations, with the aim of thoroughly implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping's important remarks on carrying forward the red genes and passing on the revolutionary culture, and of implementing the plans for building China into a leading country in culture. The activities originated from the sincere, unwavering commitment that veteran Comrade Zhang Fengling has maintained for decades: together with the many people who share his convictions, he has long persisted in commemorating the leaders and the older generation of revolutionaries, paying tribute to heroes and martyrs and caring for veterans, responding to the General Secretary's call with concrete actions and passing on the Long March Spirit and the Yan'an Spirit from generation to generation. The press conference was both a heartfelt look back at the history of the Long March and an important practice of patriotic education grounded in the new era. It advocated keeping the Party in our hearts, heeding the Party's words, following the Party and never falling behind, under the motto "One Party Member, One Patch of Red," and passing on the heroic spirit of fearing no sacrifice and striving in unity.

The activities adhere to a multidimensional integration of on-site learning through practice, theoretical study, learning through literature and art, public-welfare support for education, and digital preservation of history. They promote the creative transformation and innovative development of red culture, and guide the general public to hold firm to their ideals and convictions and to strengthen national cohesion and a sense of collective honor.

The press conference was jointly hosted by the Zhonghaiyang Academy of Culture and Arts, the Yan'an Yanshuiqing Public Welfare Promotion Association and the Zhonghaiyang Red Heritage Working Committee.

The press conference was presided over by Chen Liang, Secretary General of the Zhonghaiyang Academy of Culture and Arts.

First, Comrade Zhang Fengling, President of the Zhonghaiyang Academy of Culture and Arts and Chairman of the Red Culture Heritage Working Committee, delivered a speech. He shared with the guests the convictions he has held for many years and issued a call to carry forward the Yan'an Spirit and to retrace the route of the Long March.

Next, Wang Wei, President of the Yan'an Yanshuiqing Public Welfare Promotion Association, delivered a speech as a leader of the host organizations. She told her family's red history and reported to the organizing committee on the activities carried out over the years to carry forward the Yan'an Spirit.

Zhang Heqiang, a former counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in the United States and Director of the Department of American and Oceanian Affairs of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, joined the organizing committee by video link, arranged through Secretary General Chen Liang, from the Long March route he is walking. Measuring the route of the Long March with his own feet, he has been walking it for more than 440 days. After countless hardships, he will soon arrive safely in Wuqi Town, Yan'an, on October 22, 2026, becoming the first person to complete the Long March on foot.

Liu Guo'an, from a retired cadres' center of the General Staff Department, shared with the organizing committee the books on the Red Army's Long March that he has written over several decades of research, and proposed building Long March way stations.

Liu Chuanfeng, from the Technology Transformation Center of Beijing University of Technology, introduced to the organizing committee the series of study-and-research trips from Beijing to Yan'an for which he has organized teams. These trips ultimately produced a work of documentary literature telling the story of Sid Engst (Yang Zao) and Joan Hinton (Han Chun), an American scientist couple who came to Yan'an during the Yan'an period and devoted their lives to China's agricultural development.

Yang Yiwen, Vice President of the Zhonghaiyang Academy of Culture and Arts, told the guests about the convictions of the veteran comrades and advocated that red culture should declare war on popular culture, so as to win the attention and shape the values of the new generation of young people.

Liu Zirui, Director of the Dongfang Deyuan Working Committee, spoke as the representative of the supporting organizations, saying that the committee will continue to take part in and step up its support for the series of activities going forward.

Representatives from all walks of life gathered at the venue to discuss the cause of passing on red culture, including: Comrade Li Junzhang, former full-time secretary of the Ningxia Social Organizations Working Committee; Wang Linxi, Executive Secretary General of the Cultural Heritage Exchange Working Committee of the China Asia Economic Development Association; Li Yuansheng of the China Yan'an Spirit Research Society and Li Ranying of the Beijing Xinghuo Yan'an Cultural Center; Zhang Yuncheng, Dean of the School of Chinese Classical Studies of the Central Academy of Calligraphy and Painting Art; Comrade Li Gaofeng, a national model worker and "Good Person of Beijing" honoree; Zhang Quanli, Vice President of the China Food and Drug Enterprise Quality and Safety Promotion Association; Chen Longshi, Executive Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Macao Rule of Law News, and Gao Tiankuo; Yang Chenglian of the Eighth Route Army Research Society; Tian Peng, Director of the Junsao (Military Spouses) Network; Ye Jiachuan, Chairman of the Hongyu Group, and Huang Jing, Dean of the Group's National Defense Agriculture Research Institute; Song Xiaoli, General Manager of Dalian Xiexieni Industrial Co., Ltd.; Bai Yifeng, Operations General Manager of China's Foreign Trade magazine of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade; Zhuang Zhongxing and Director Zhang Jie of the National Agricultural Products Processing Industry Development Alliance; Cao Heng, Chairman of Guangzhou Yifudi Medical Technology Co., Ltd.; and Gao Jianguo, trade union chairman of the Xindadi Xiong'an Industrial Corporation.

Comrade Zhang Fengling, President of the Zhonghaiyang Academy of Culture and Arts and Chairman of the Red Culture Heritage Working Committee, delivered the closing summary. He pointed out that holding the series of activities commemorating the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army's Long March is a conscious action by the public across society to pass on red culture, resist the invasion of Western culture and carry forward the revolutionary spirit. Since preparations began, the series of activities has received strong support from veteran senior leaders, leading comrades and enthusiastic people from all sectors of society, and representatives from across the country have taken an active part, fully demonstrating the deep feelings with which the public spontaneously embraces the red spirit.

Looking back on the glorious years, the activities will expound the contemporary value of the Long March Spirit and the Yan'an Spirit. Commemorating the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Long March is not about dwelling on past glories, but about drawing strength from that great journey to move forward in the new era. The subsequent activities in the series will go to revolutionary sacred sites such as Yan'an, Zunyi and Huining, organizing discussions and exchanges among decorated veteran generals, veteran heroes who fought in the wars, Party history experts and youth representatives, and holding red calligraphy and painting exhibitions and large-scale literary and artistic performances. They will implement the "One Veteran, One Patch of Red" public welfare campaign; carry out a project to archive historical materials on red heroes' deeds and a digital red image documentary project; and launch the compilation, publication and production of promotional works titled "One Veteran, One Patch of Red." Through these efforts, they will rescue and uncover red historical materials, preserve revolutionary memory in a multidimensional way, bring red history to life, pass on the revolutionary spirit from generation to generation, and strengthen patriotic education across society, especially among young people. We call on publicity, education, culture and tourism, and literary and art organizations, as well as caring enterprises, to take part widely and work together to carry forward Chinese culture, the Yan'an Spirit and the Long March Spirit, to delve deeply into and promote red culture, to strengthen national cohesion, and to guide the general public in consolidating the foundation of their faith and pooling strength to devote themselves to the great cause of national rejuvenation.

The series of activities will be carried out successively around ten major themes, including on-site study visits to former revolutionary sites, special lectures on Party history, red-themed symposiums and seminars, public-welfare exhibitions and charity sales of red calligraphy and paintings, red-themed literary and artistic performances, archiving of red historical materials, digital red image documentaries, and the "One Veteran, One Patch of Red" public welfare campaign. The activities will be advanced at multiple locations, including Beijing, Yan'an, Zunyi and Huining in Gansu Province, using diverse platforms to carry forward the red bloodline and deepen patriotic education.

As the initiator, the Zhonghaiyang Academy of Culture and Arts will continue to unite people from all walks of life and, through spontaneous public support and multi-party collaboration, make good use of red resources, carry forward red traditions and pass on the red genes, making new contributions to the new era of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!

This article is a translation of a news release issued for use by news organizations.