"On the night of March 30th, 1936, leaders of the Second and Sixth Red Army Corps gathered here to hold an important military conference, which we now call Panxian Meeting. The meeting mainly discussed whether to stay in Panxian to build a new revolutionary base or to leave and head north to join the main force. The final decision was to move the army to meet with the Central Red Army in Ganzi, in Tibet."
Some experts say the Panxian Meeting was a turning point for the Second and Sixth Red Army Corps during the Long March. The right decision pledged them dispensing the difficult situation and of course led to the triumphant joining of all the forces of the Red Army. So some people see this meeting as being equally significant to the Zunyi Meeting, which nominated Mao Zedong as the leader of the communist party and the Red Army.
The squeaky wooden stairs led me to the second floor where I found myself going back in time to decades prior. The rooms were arranged in their original way. One of them was the meeting room with only a dark rectangular wooden table and several square chairs surrounding the table. On the table there was an old kerosene lamp. It seemed as though they had just finished their meeting last night. In another room, a service cap and a satchel were hanging on the wall. The scarlet five-pointed star on the cap, which was the sign of the Red Army, looked brilliant in contrast with the grey blue crash of the cap. A simple desk stood by the window. I was nearly in a trance when I saw all of this, imaging there was a general sitting there writing a letter under the dim lamplight.
Sounds of laughter of children downstairs drew me back to reality. Time has flown. Now it is already the seventieth year since the success of the Long March. This special piece of memory is fading out of people's minds, especially the youth. We need such places to remind us that the Long March really happened, and it was not only a legend or a story.
Chengguan is at peace, and so are its dwellers. People go in and out, but the small town stands there still, a witness to history forever.
Thank you, Manli, for this refreshing journey. With that, we come to the end of today's China Horizons. We hope you have enjoyed it. As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome. You can send us a letter at English Service, China Radio International, Beijing, China, postal code 100040, or an e-mail to horizons@crifm.com. You can also visit our website at www.crienglish.com and listen to our show online. I'm Wang Lu. Thanks for joining us. Goodbye for now.
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Director: Liu Chi