Scott No: -
Serial number: 2016-31
Values in set: 6
Date of issue: Oct 22, 2016
Denomination: 780 fen
Designer: Shen Yaoyi
Size of stamps: 50 * 30 mm
Perforation: 13
Sheet composition:
16 for Sheet I (6 Values);
9 for Sheet II (2 Values, 2 Stamp Sets)
Size of sheet:
240 * 150 mm for Sheet I;
210 * 130 mm for Sheet II
Printing process: Offset
Printing House: Henan Provincal Post Printing Works

On October 22, 2016, China Post issued a set of six commemorative stamps entitled The 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Long March of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army.

In October 1934, due to the erroneous leadership of Left dogmatism within the Party, the Central Red Army failed to repel the Kuomintang’s Fifth Encirclement Campaign. To preserve its vital forces, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was forced to lead the main force of the Central Red Army in evacuating the Central Revolutionary Base Area and embark on a strategic shift. Between November 1934 and November 1935, the 25th Red Army, the Fourth Front Army of the Red Army, and the Second and Sixth Army Groups (later reorganized into the Second Front Army of the Red Army) successively withdrew from the revolutionary base areas of Hubei-Henan-Anhui, Sichuan-Shaanxi, and Hunan-Hubei-Sichuan-Guizhou respectively, and set out on the Long March.

During the Long March, armed with unshakable faith, indomitable will, unwavering perseverance and fearless heroism, the Party and the Red Army defeated the Kuomintang troops numbering hundreds of thousands who pursued, intercepted, encircled and blocked them. They overcame the mistakes of Left dogmatism and Right separatism within the Party, endured harsh natural conditions such as snow-capped mountains and marshlands, and suffered the agonies of cold, hunger, injuries and exhaustion. Supported by the masses along the route, they fought arduous battles across 15 provinces, covering a total distance of 65,000 li (25,000 li for the Central Red Army alone). In October 1936, the three main forces of the Red Army achieved a victorious rendezvous in the Shaanxi-Gansu region, bringing this unparalleled great feat to an end.

The Long March is a miracle wrought by the Communist Party of China leading the Red Army, writing a glorious chapter in the history of the Chinese revolution. The spirit of the Long March endures forever. Today, the CPC is leading the Chinese people on a new great Long March of reform, opening-up and socialist modernization. The heroic deeds and immortal spirit of the Red Army will inspire people of all ethnic groups to strive relentlessly for the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

This set of stamps was designed by the renowned painter Mr. Shen Yaoyi. With his profound affection for the Long March and romanticist artistic techniques, he depicts the magnificent feat of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army eighty years ago. The stamp designs integrate realistic and freehand brushwork: the figures in the foreground are rendered realistically, enabling viewers an intuitive perception of historical scenes; while houses, lofty mountains, trees and skies in the background adopt freehand style. The overall design features prominent central subjects and vivid imagery, accurately conveying the theme of the stamp set.