Longyan， located in west Fujian Province， was one of the starting points of the Long March of the Red Army led by the Communist Party of China （CPC） between 1934 and 1936. It was also an essential part of the central revolutionary base area in the early 1930s， one of the earliest revolutionary bases of the CPC， and is home to the site of the Gutian Conference in 1929 that established the CPC’s absolute leadership over the army. Its abundance of CPC-related historical resources makes the city a popular tourist destination today.

Red memories

As the CPC prepares to celebrate its centenary on July 1， enthusiasm for learning the Party’s history is high among those interested in its revolutionary culture.
　　In March 1929， the Fourth Army of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army， the forerunner of the People’s Liberation Army， led by Mao Zedong， marched to Fujian in an attempt to establish a new revolutionary base. To ensure the success of the Party and its armed forces， Mao and other leaders presided over the Ninth Party Congress of the Fourth Army in Gutian， Shanghang.
　　In October 2014， a military political work conference was held in Gutian. President Xi Jinping， also General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission， said the Party should focus on the importance of political work in building a strong military. The new Gutian conference was another milestone in the strengthening of China’s national defense and military in the new era.
　　Gutian has invested heavily to preserve its revolutionary past. At the Gutian Conference Memorial Hall， the first newspaper published by the Red Army and other historical items are on show. In addition， new technologies such as augmented and virtual reality help bring “red memories” to life for visitors.
　　“All the facilities at the site [of the conference] are displayed as they were back then，”said Zeng Hanhui， Curator of the memorial hall. He added that every exhibit records historic changes， which brings to life stories of the Party’s efforts to overcome difficulties and forge ahead.
　　In 2019， more than 5.6 million people visited Gutian. Despite the COVID-19 epidemic， daily tourist arrivals to the area exceeded 10，000 during this year’s Spring Festival holiday in February， according to the local government.
　　Relying on its revolutionary cultural resources， Gutian has introduced training and study tours to the site of the Gutian Conference. “Every year， we receive more than 100，000 people who come for Party history education，” said Qiu Weiqin， Deputy Secretary of the CPC Committee of Shanghang. 　　The growth of red tourism， which refers to visiting historical sites with a modern revolutionary legacy， has prompted Gutian to better utilize its natural resources and scenery to consolidate the results of poverty alleviation efforts and the green development of the countryside.


　　“We are improving the infrastructure while protecting the environment，” Qiu said. He added that the local government has made great efforts to upgrade roads and stores to give Gutian a new look.
　　In 2015， a high-speed railway station opened in Gutian， and the number of bus routes was increased to take tourists directly to red tourism destinations in Shanghang and Longyan at large.
　　The improvement in transportation infrastructure has provided great convenience for tourists from near and far away， Qiu said， noting that great attention has been paid to the preservation of Gutian’s environment and that high-rise buildings are banned to ensure visitors can enjoy its natural scenery.
　　Shanghang is focusing on developing an economy based on Gutian’s red tourism resources and ecotourism activities in the Meihua Mountains， where the town is located.

A green revolution on ‘red’ land

As a part of its tourism development strategy， Longyan has attached great importance to curbing soil erosion.
　　During the 13th Five-Year Plan （2016-20） period， the city treated 164，000 hectares of land in the fight against soil erosion， which was 153 percent of the planned target， according to local authorities. The area of eroded soil in the city dropped from 132，813 hectares in 2015 to 114，880 hectares in 2020， with its proportion in total cultivable land down from 6.98 percent to 6.03 percent.
　　Changting County， in particular， has reduced the area of land suffering soil erosion from 26，400 hectares， or 8.53 percent of total cultivable land， in 2015 to 21，000 hectares， or 6.78 percent， in 2020， transforming itself to a national-level demonstration area of ecological progress.
　　Longyan has reduced the area of eroded soil in each of its seven districts and counties to below 7 percent of cultivable land and got them removed from the provincial list of regions with serious soil erosion.
　　In the assessment of water and soil conservation work carried out by the Fujian Provincial Government in 2020， Longyan ranked first among all cities in the province for the third year in a row. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period， Changting， Shanghang and Yongding District of Longyan were included in the national water and soil conservation project， with their practices and experiences duplicated nationwide. 　　In Changting， for instance， a system has been put in place to coordinate related activities of the departments of finance， development and reform， water resources， forestry， natural resources and environmental protection， and a state-owned company specializing in addressing soil erosion was set up. Moreover， the county has attracted 410 million yuan （$63.96 million） of private investment in the work since 2012.
　　It has also readjusted its orientation of industrial development， focusing on key industries， including the intensive processing of rare earth minerals， textile and clothing， culture and tourism， modern agriculture， medical equipment manufacturing， e-commerce and new energy， and healthcare services.
　　All investment projects should， however， first meet environmental requirements. Since 2012， Changting has rejected more than 30 projects due to environmental concerns， with a total possible investment of 9 billion yuan （$1.4 billion）， according to official statistics. BR