Intrigued by the momentous historic impact of the Long March, crops and crops of foreign Long March fans have mushroomed in the past 70 years. They examine closely the whole course of the Long March with their unique angle of view and ponder the influence of the Long March spirit over China and the rest of the world.

　　Ed Jocelyn, doctor of history from Britain and co-author of Two-man Long March, trekked more than 300 days along the trail of the Long March done by the First Front Army in those years and claimed that he must have a deep understanding of the moving stories took place during the Long March…The Long March was so tough, then how the rank and file of the Red Army felt about joining the Red Army, and why they did rise in revolution and carry it through to the end. These were all what he wanted to find out.

　　A fairly good number of foreign scholars would like to relate the Long March spirit closely to the rising of a host of Chinese leaders represented by Mao Zedong and to the robust growth and vigorous development of the Communist Party of China. They believe that the Long March spirit has not only honed the Red Army, but also nurtured a new generation, ensured the viability and growth of the Communist Movement in China, and made a profound and far-reaching impact on the history of China and the future of the world.

　　Many foreigners joined this year's event of retreading the route of the Long March to commemorate the 70^th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army's Long March. The answer to why the Long March that took place 70 years ago can still kindle the ardor of these people probably lies in the following remarks by the American writer Agnes Smedley, to wit, that the Long March is a great epic in the history of revolutionary wars, and far more than that.

　　The Republic of Korea (ROK) and other Asian nations also take the Long March spirit seriously. Zhao Zaijiu, president of the ROK-based Chinese TV, observes that the Long March stands out as a miracle in the history of mankind and a historic record as well, testifying how the Communist Party of China led the Chinese revolution to victory. The Long March spirit, which was born of the Long March, epitomizes the pride and indomitable will of the Chinese people. People can detect from this spirit the potential that China will play a central role in the modern world history.

　　As it is rightly expressed in the full-length TV film The Long March by a well-established Italian journalist with the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army's 25,000 li Long March as the lead-in, that the Long March was a historical event that astonished the whole world. Today, the Second Long March of economic development is well underway in China. What will the new Long March bring to China? The Italian journalist's answer to this is: a more developed economy and a happier life for the people.

　　The Long March spirit is of spiritual wealth for the Chinese people, and for the peoples all over the world as well.

　　By Zhang Tiannan

　　(Sept 6, PLA Daily)