Hengdian Red Army Long March Expo City

Hengdian Red Army Long March Expo City

The Hengdian Red Army Long March Expo City is a classic red tourism destination, a patriotic education base, and a national defense education base.

The Hengdian Red Army Long March Expo City scenic area is a cultural project with significant political meaning, themed around promoting revolutionary traditions and integrating education, tourism, and leisure. It was developed by the Hengdian Joint Creation, Shared Ownership, Common Prosperity, and Shared Benefits Committee in response to the central government’s call to develop red tourism. The initiative seeks to strengthen education on revolutionary traditions, national defense, especially patriotism, and to foster and shape national spirit, enhancing the patriotic sentiments and national defense awareness of people, particularly the youth. The scenic area spans over 9,000 acres, with 98% being mountainous terrain, and features a total construction area of more than 70,000 square meters. With an investment totaling several hundred million yuan, it has been designated by national, provincial, and municipal authorities as a “Patriotic Education Base,” “National Defense Education Base,” “National Defense Publicity and Education Base,” “National Youth National Defense Education Activity Practice Base,” “Youth Patriotic Education Demonstration Base,” “Integrity Culture Education Base,” “Militia and Youth Military Training Base,” and “Zhejiang Province Youth Red Tourism Classic Scenic Area.”

The scenic area recreates over 40 historical scenes from the Long March based on key meetings, major events, and battles of the Central Red Army, using detailed materials and physical exhibits arranged in chronological order. Starting from Ruijin in Jiangxi, where the Soviet government was located, it depicts the Long March route, the Battle of Xiang River, the breakthrough at Wu River, the Zunyi Conference, the Four Crossings of the Chishui River, the Yi-Hai Alliance, the Storming of Luding Bridge, and the arduous journey across snowy mountains and grasslands, including the reorganization at Bangluo Town and the victorious meeting at Wuqi Town. This condensed representation showcases the challenging and winding journey of the Red Army. The national defense zone uses real weapons and models to comprehensively display the evolution of China’s military equipment through different periods, as well as the development history of the country’s aviation and aerospace industries. The zone is divided into two main areas: the exhibition halls and the military training area. The exhibition section includes venues such as the Parade Museum, Army Heavy Weapons Exhibition Hall, Space Exploration Museum, Modern Warfare Museum, Aircraft Museum, and Civil Air Defense exhibits. The military training area consists of training fields and barracks that can accommodate up to 1,500 people for various comprehensive training activities simultaneously. From the Red Army’s Long March to high-tech modern displays, the area reflects the rapid development of the times, allowing visitors to gain a deeper understanding of the nation’s transformation and to appreciate their current happy lives.

To better fulfill the scenic area’s role in patriotic education, it offers a range of activities including training for Party members and cadres, motivational education programs for students, student military training, the “I Am a Special Forces Soldier” summer camp, traffic safety summer camps, team-building programs, preschool-to-primary transition activities, and parent-child events—meeting the goal of instilling patriotism from childhood. To enrich the variety of activities, the scenic area also provides options such as outdoor cooking, high-altitude challenge courses, and rock climbing.