Artworks capture struggles of Red Army in Long March

Journey and Footprints, an artwork by a group of students from the Central Academy of Fine Arts. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The high-altitude Ruoergai Grassland in northern Sichuan province attracts tourists today for picturesque wetlands and diverse wildlife. More than 80 years ago, however, the scene was less tranquil－the Red Army fighting against harsh terrain and weather during the Long March, a military retreat the Communist Party of China conducted from 1934-36.

Historical records show the grassland claimed some 10,000 Red Army soldiers, who died of illness, starvation, coldness and other reasons.

Last September, Zhang Lujiang, a professor of Beijing's Central Academy of Fine Arts, and a team of young teachers and students, visited Red Army sites in the area. They spent two weeks retracing the route that Red Army soldiers undertook to survive the hostile natural environment while finding a gateway to the north to evade the Kuomintang army's pursuit.

Zhang's team returned to Beijing's studios and painted a group of oil canvases, titled Red Army's Recipes, which are now on show at a grand exhibition at the capital city's National Art Museum of China.

Art Rally of the Long March shows dozens of artworks in various mediums, including paintings, sculptures, animations, videos and designs, which artists at the CAFA produced over the past year to reinterpret the spirit of the Long March.

Teachers and students worked in groups to retrace some of the routes.

The exhibition is the latest of several shows since last year to mark the 80th anniversary of the completion of Long March.