Travel Reference
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up a fight, but, after great losses, made a decision to flee. And so, in 1934, the Long March
began. Setting off on a circular route to the north and west, crossing some of the harshest
terrain and mountain ranges in China, they evaded their enemy. It's alleged that the Red
Army walked 12,500 kilometers (8,000 miles) in just over a year and that thousands died
along the way. Around 87,000 soldiers had set off from Jiangxi, but fewer than 10,000 made
it to their final destination of Yan'an in Shaanxi province. But through all of this, Mao at
last began to firm his position at the top of the Communist ladder.
The Long March demonstrated the hatred the two parties had for each other, and yet, at
the end of it, they saw the Japanese as more repulsive than each other. Ever since the early
1930s, Japan had been encroaching on northern China (Manchuria). They had already taken
the Great Wall and were threatening Beiping's security. After an exchange of fire between
Japanese and Chinese soldiers down at Marco Polo Bridge (also known as Lugou Bridge,
about 15 kilometers southwest of Tian'anmen Square), war was declared. So, once again,
the two parties joined forces to wage the second Sino-Japanese war (1937-1945). Japan,
however, quickly took control of Beiping. They proclaimed it the capital of northern China
and revived the name Beijing, yet again.
The city remained under Japanese control for eight years. Compared to other Chinese
cities, however, the Japanese handled it with a fairly soft hand. Historic structures were
generally preserved, the economy grew, and many locals worked in Japanese companies.
As part of the overall plan to humiliate and destroy the confidence of the Chinese people,
however, Japan did decide to attack China's institutes of higher learning. Peking University,
one of China's proudest places of learning, was shut down, and some of its buildings were
even transformed into brothels and bars for the Japanese soldiers. Many of China's oth-
er cities, particularly the southern capital, weren't so “lucky.” Nanjing was gruesomely at-
tacked in what has become known as the Rape of Nanjing (often called the Rape of Nank-
ing). An estimated 300,000-plus Chinese were killed, many savagely raped and tortured,
and it has been argued that this was perhaps the single most atrocious act of genocide in
the World War II period. It has left long-term scars on the entire country. Many Chinese
today, even those born long after the carnage, openly despise the Japanese. Relationships
are gradually improving, however. In Beijing today, there are many bustling Japanese res-
taurants, and you'll find the occasional young Chinese person who looks not to the West for
cultural inspiration but to Japan.
By the end of the war in 1945, tensions flared again between the Nationalists and the
CCP. Though together their efforts eventually led to Japan's surrender in 1945, it had not
