Jiajin Mountain, also known as Jiajinshan, lies in Sichuan Province and was the first major snow mountain the Central Red Army crossed during the Long March. In Tibetan, "Jiajin" means "very high and very steep." Local people called it a sacred mountain and believed that even birds could not fly over it.
In June 1935, the soldiers arrived at its foot. The mountain pass stands at an elevation of 4,114 meters, and the main peak reaches 4,930 meters. Short of food and clothing, the Red Army climbed from about 2,200 meters to the pass-through snow, hail, and freezing winds. They used wooden sticks for support, drank chili soup to keep warm, and helped each other forward. Many soldiers died from cold and lack of oxygen. Yet the Red Army finally crossed the mountain, paving the way for its historic meeting with the Fourth Front Army. The crossing of Jiajin Mountain became a powerful symbol of the Long March spirit.
CGTN reporter Wu Bin was led by local Tibetans and takes us along the same path the Red Army used.