The Chinese government has allocated more than a quarter of a
billion yuan to maintaining commemorative sites of the Red Army, as
part of the 70th anniversary of the Long March.
Forty-one national key memorials for Long March martyrs have
received at least 260 million yuan (US$32.5 million) for
maintenance, the Ministry of Civil Affairs told Xinhua on
Thursday.
The sites were located in 18 provinces and regions, including
six in East China's Jiangxi Province, one of China's revolutionary
bases, said Dai Aijiao, of the ministry's special care and
placement department.
Maintenance would be carried out on monuments, memorial halls,
pagodas and pavilions of Red Army martyrs which were poorly
preserved, aiming to build a solemn and instructive atmosphere with
clear themes.
The work is scheduled to be completed by Oct. 22, according to a
statement issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Ministry of
Finance.
The Long March was a famous military maneuver carried out by the
Workers' and Peasants' Red Army from 1934 to 1936 led by the
Communist Party of China to combat the Kuomintang regime.
Though many soldiers died on the way, the Red Army finally
arrived at Yan'an in western Shaanxi Province after the 25,000-li
(12,500-kilometer) trek, where the new headquarters of CPC was
established.
Last year the government spent 30 million yuan (US$3.75 million)
to renovate 44 commemorative sites for martyrs of the War of
Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945).
(Xinhua News Agency September 22, 2006)