China Uses Immersive Tech and Music to Mark Long March Anniversary

As China marks the 90th anniversary of the Long March’s victory, commemorations are presenting the 1934–36 journey through music, immersive technology, historical tourism and exhibitions. A new symphonic choral work, Towards the Light, draws on visits to sites in Jiangxi, Guizhou and Shaanxi and is scheduled to premiere in October before performances in Yan’an and Beijing in November. In Guizhou, a digital art museum uses immersive storytelling to connect visitors—many of them young people—with Long March history, while guided experiences invite visitors to retrace parts of the route on foot. A Beijing exhibition offers a historical overview through photographs, documents, artifacts and artworks.
The eight-movement symphonic choral work is organized around images of light, with sections titled “Glimmer,” “Flame,” “Dawn,” “Morning Glow,” “Starlight” and “Glory,” before its finale, “Towards the Light.”
The Guizhou Long March Culture Digital Art Museum had received more than 2.4 million visits by July, with young people accounting for about 60 percent; on some days it draws more than 20,000 visitors.
The Beijing exhibition includes 357 photographs and charts, 1,061 cultural relics and documents, and 73 artworks.
A CGTN report highlights the physical conditions of the march, asking what it was like to cover thousands of kilometers in thin straw sandals and describing primitive mountain trails in Huangping and historical reenactments at Loushan Pass.
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