The first day of Golden Week in Shanghai brought cool weather and light rain.
Raindrops tapped against the windows, soft and steady.
But the internet wasn't quiet just because the weather turned chilly. In fact, it got even busier. Tons of people decided to stay home and "travel online," which meant way more viewers hanging out.
CCTV really knew how to play this game. At the very least, their promo trailers were god-tier. The preview for Retracing the Long March dropped on National Day, and within minutes it shot to the top of trending lists across multiple platforms, especially short-video apps.
The trailer started normally enough, with Chu Zhi, Jiang Zengyue, and Fang Yi introducing their journey along the Long March route. Nothing unusual there. Then the footage switched to the Red Army crossing the grasslands. The material had obviously been added later—CCTV had mountains of footage from earlier documentaries, so there was no shortage of powerful scenes to use.
The narration was recorded by the historian Cheng Yu. Sure, there were plenty of clout-chasing internet "big Vs" spouting nonsense, but there were still real experts and professors who knew their stuff.
From 1935 to 1936, the Red Army crossed the marshy grasslands on their way into Gannan. This wasn't just wide-open plains. Because of the weather and terrain, the soil became treacherous peat that could swallow anything whole.
🎵"You're the distant road, the light in the mountain fog.
I'm the child walking in your gaze.
You're the clear moon and gentle breeze, I'm the dream you shelter,
Whether we meet or not, I'll hold you for life."🎵
The song played as the screen cut between students doing morning exercises on a modern campus and the desperate march across the grasslands. The students ran in from the left, the Red Army trudged in from the right, and the two groups met at the center of the frame.
One careless step on the marsh meant being swallowed alive. So many soldiers never resurfaced. Even the cooks starved to death—and they were the ones responsible for food supply. The footage showed the Red Army's cooking unit during the Songpan Grassland crossing. The old squad leader, who doubled as instructor, tried his best to take care of the wounded. He set up camp near a pond and fished to give them nutrition. But he only ate the bones himself, refusing to touch a single bite of meat. In another world, that story would become the textbook essay The Golden Fishhook.
🎵"And I'll love the world you loved,
Wish for the smile you wished,
Hold your hand while I stumble,
Please lead me toward tomorrow.
If you once bore the bitter,
I'll live the sweet in your place,
I'll live as your wish,
Never in vain, always brave,
For this flourishing age, every day."🎵
The video shifted to the Xiangjiang Campaign. There's an old saying there: "Don't drink Xiangjiang water for three years, don't eat Xiangjiang fish for ten." Breaking that defensive line had cost a devastating price. Soldiers of the 34th Division held their ground for four days and five nights, forming a wall of flesh and blood. They fought until every bullet and grain was gone. Their commander was none other than Chen Shuxiang, who cut his own intestines rather than be paraded as a captive. Out of the 80,000 soldiers who set out on the Long March, only around 30,000 made it across the Xiangjiang River. The water ran red with blood.
Then the montage sped forward:
1964, China's first atomic bomb test in Lop Nur.
2012, the Liaoning aircraft carrier commissioned after being rebuilt from the Varyag.
2019, the launch of China's first domestically built aircraft carrier.
This was the flourishing age they had dreamed of.
🎵"You're the long river of time, the sky lit with sparks,
I'm the one gazing up, singing you into song.
You're where I came from, you're where my heart returns,
All roads in this world will lead me back to you.
And I'll love the world you loved,
Wish for the smile you wished,
Hold your hand while I stumble…"🎵
The chorus repeated with its core line: "I'll live as your wish."
On screen now was the Battle of Yujiahe. The enemy had dug into favorable ground at Dongshan'ao, making the fight brutally tough. But the Red Army's 25th Corps, led personally by their commander, crushed three enemy regiments and completed the first stage of the retreat. What made it more shocking was that the 25th Corps was the legendary "Child Army." Their average age was fifteen.
Just like Chu Zhi had said at the nameless martyrs' monument, "They were just kids." Yet it was these "Red Army kids," these fallen heroes, who laid the foundation for the peace of today.
The footage cut again, this time to fifteen-year-old students in bright classrooms, reading aloud together:
"The Red Army fears not the Long March's trials,
A thousand rivers, a thousand mountains, we treat as but trifles.
Five Ridges wind like gentle waves,
The Wumeng rises like tiny balls of mud…"
🎵"The rivers and mountains are safe, fireworks are ordinary,
But it's the view you wished to see.
Children, sleep well,
Like you once loved,
And I'll dream of the reunion you dreamed.
Wish for what you wished, walk the road you walked,
Such love for you, always."🎵
The screen switched between last year's National Day military parade and footage of the Long March's army formations. The uniforms and rifles were different, but what never changed was that these were all the people's troops. The eyes of every soldier shone with the same fierce love for their country.
China's economy had transformed, becoming the world's second largest, the number one industrial nation. With ultra-high-voltage transmission, quantum communication, 5G, and other cutting-edge technologies, China had gained real global influence. None of it wasted the sacrifice of those who came before.
The country was only getting better.
🎵"I'll see the world you never saw,
Write the poems you never wrote.
The moon on the horizon, the thoughts in my heart,
You're always beside me.
A lifetime promised, clear and pure,
Like your youthful face."🎵
The frame froze on photos of surviving veterans of the Long March—Grandpa Xiang, the youngest boy soldier; Grandma Wang, the youngest girl soldier; Grandpa Tu, Grandpa Zhang, Grandma Jian, and more.
Their faces would always remain young.
Comments flooded the screen:
[Please live to 200!]
[Grandpas and grandmas, you've gotta live a long, long time, even better days are still ahead!]
[Long live to 300!]
[Live to 500!]
[Live forever!]
The hashtags trended instantly:
#74YearsOfStruggleSalutingNationalRevival# (pinned post)
#I'llLiveAsYourWish#
#GoldenWeekDayOneTrafficJam#
They topped the hot search charts.
Patriotic education was a must. Letting hostile narratives dominate online had proven dangerous before.
Think of the constant "praise" foreigners got online: Japanese "craftsman spirit," tap water safe to drink, British efficiency, German punctuality, French culture where people supposedly only read books on the subway. The last one might not even be French, but somehow it always ended up as a jab at Chinese readers' habits. Blah, blah, blah.
This time, CCTV nailed the assignment. Retracing the Long March had gripped the entire nation.
"Those soldiers from the 25th Corps looked way too young and thin… were the documentary actors just miscast, or…?" Someone left a comment right after watching.
Replies came quickly, some from actual researchers, others from people who had just googled it:
[It's not miscasting. The 25th Corps was literally the Child Army. Most of them were orphans from the 4th Army. Their parents had already died in battle. The vast majority of rank-and-file soldiers were under 18. Instructors and company commanders were barely 20. Even the overall commander wasn't 30 yet. Given how poor life was back then, of course they looked skinny.]
The original commenter was floored: "What?! That young? How did they even fight in a war? What if they ran into the enemy…"
Another reply: [Funny enough, that's exactly what a certain warlord surnamed Ma thought. He figured kids could be wiped out easily. Instead, he almost ended up a prisoner himself. The 25th Corps fought like hell. Look up their five miracles—like annihilating an entire enemy battalion at Sanyao, or completely wiping out Shaanxi's First Security Brigade at Yuanjia Valley.]
The shock only grew. [Wait, how do you people even know this?!!!]
Three exclamation marks barely captured the mood. It wasn't just the original poster, even people who followed history closely had no idea about some of this. The revelations were staggering.
"I'm fifteen, yesterday I twisted my ankle playing basketball and laid on the couch all day. Compared to the martyrs, I'm trash."
"Trash +1. I thought my exams were killing me, but now? Give me ten more papers, I'll crush them."
"I wish it was fake. So many kids my age died on the Long March. They never tasted chocolate, never sipped lemonade, never played basketball. I cried so hard, because I know it's all true."
On and on the comments went. The preview inspired countless people, and clicks on the full episodes skyrocketed.
CCTV had shot for half a month, edited it into three episodes, and dropped them all at once. The program's views far outstripped their other shows. Director Xi was thrilled. He'd overseen plenty of similar projects, even as chief director of historical documentaries, but no one ever cared before.
Back then, CCTV uploaded an eight-episode Long March doc to their site. The comment section had eight comments. Three were duplicates.
"Honestly, without Chu Zhi, no current celebrity would've agreed to this," Director Xi sighed.
If it had been a main-theme movie, every A-lister would've fought to squeeze in. But a documentary? Half a month of shooting? Even if a star said yes, their agency would never let them.
Director Xi was still clocking overtime during the National Day break, but it felt pretty sweet this time. He finally had results he could show off. After lunch, he logged in and started refreshing Weibo again.
Eating a Big Orange: [Thanks to everyone on the team for pulling together and finishing Retracing the Long March. Let's cherish the present and do our part. Every one of us is fighting for China's rise. @JiangJiangSendsTheMoon_ @FangYi_ @RetracingTheLongMarchOfficial #I'llLiveAsYourWish#]
He reposted it on his own account. Two things about the broadcast caught even this seasoned old hand off guard. First, the Little Fruits showed serious restraint, telling other fans not to spam goofy comments under a video like this. Second, Fang Yi suddenly picked up a wave of new fans because of the show. Director Xi almost laughed out loud. Last time CCTV tried making someone trend, it was on China's Best Songs.
The reasons weren't complicated. Fang Yi got caught secretly crying on camera, and he kept looking out for Chu Zhi and Jiang Zengyue, especially the former. Fans always feel extra grateful to anyone who takes care of their favorite.
"Goddess Jiang always replies first,"
"Waaah, the uncle just wanted to cry in peace, why'd you have to keep filming,"
"Fang Yi: you'd better have a reason,"
"Feels like Xiao Jiu, Rou Rou, and Uncle Fang have perfect variety chemistry, I hereby grant you three the Leaf Village's Three Gourds…"
That gourd joke came from a story in Shangbao Village, Ning County. Ten thousand Red Army soldiers passed through without disturbing a soul. The villagers cooked for them with open hearts, and the army only ate half a pumpkin. When they left, they placed six copper coins to pay for it. Why do people call the Red Army the people's army? That's why.
The crew made their own lunch that day, so the three guests got pumpkin porridge. Fang Yi muttered, "I've never eaten this much squash. My stomach's about to turn into one." That's how the show's "Three Gourds" meme started.
The three "gourds" had no National Day break. Jiang Zengyue was the "bitter" gourd. She had no way to talk about it on air, but the brand sponsoring her long-running talk show suddenly posted a statement supporting Z-independence. The backlash was instant, and the program might be canned.
Fang Yi was the "veggie" gourd. He was filming a new MV, but every time the camera pointed at him, he stiffened up, so most of his shots were the back of his head.
That left Chu Zhi as the "south" gourd, busy down south and bouncing between multiple locations in a single day, from Chedun Film Park to the Bund, Yuyuan Garden, Qibao Old Street, and the Expo Museum.
The last stop didn't need interior access. They only needed the Expo Museum's playful exterior as a backdrop.
Back home that night, he immediately watched the full Retracing the Long March. All three episodes took a little over two hours. Maybe they were keeping runtimes tight, because a few meaningful moments from filming ended up in the bloopers, like the story of an elderly man with dementia who couldn't remember much of anything, yet he kept repeating, "The Red Army are good people, they're really good people." During the chaos years, the Red Army saved him, gave him food and a bit of money. He'd forgotten everything else, but he remembered that.
"When I retire, I'm definitely going to walk it," he said to himself, setting a retirement goal. He'd always felt grateful in his past life, but never thought about actually walking it. You don't really understand until you see it for yourself.
He did some math. A healthy solo hiker can manage a little over forty kilometers a day. The Long March was roughly twenty-five thousand li. That'd still take about a year. No way he'd have that kind of time before retirement.
He washed up and pulled the curtains tight. The new place wouldn't be ready for a while, and he didn't want to stay in a hotel. He was still at the old place, which meant, given what had happened, he had to protect his privacy.
Fresh and clean, he opened his laptop. The corner clock read 1:43. He decided to finish work first.
Chu Zhi
Akenda Bell
Sail Band
Lee Stanton…
It was the performer list for the Qatar World Cup opening ceremony. Looked like Ghazi drafted it himself, since he'd put Chu Zhi at number one. No way he'd be first if they'd sorted by alphabet or rank.
Number two was Akenda Bell, the new-era pop king with 171 million in cumulative global album sales. Tons of Grammy nominations, only one win.
On the Forbes Celebrity list, Chu Zhi always edged him out, but when it came to Western popularity, Chu Zhi couldn't touch him yet.
"For the opening show, and I'm closing the stage? You sure this is okay?" He scrolled to the end and sighed. His fan Ghazi really did believe in him.
He'd been too busy with Retracing the Long March and hadn't checked messages. His "We Will Rock You" proposal had been rejected. The reasoning was blunt. If a stadium full of fans started stomping in unison, the place might collapse.
Even when Ghazi said he could reinforce the venue, no one wanted to risk it. Tens of thousands stomping in sync is no joke.
The fix was simple. Make that song the promo theme, then write another for the live stage. Two songs for one World Cup sounded great. He immediately sent over a Latin-style track, The Cup of Life.
Most people don't recognize the title at first, but the moment they hear that "go, go, go, ole ole ole," they get it. It's one of the three most successful World Cup anthems ever.
Next on his to-do list was the Saint Petersburg Cultural Forum recommendation sheet for October. One candidate stood out, Ma Qi, a Manchu singer from the domestic hi-fi circle. Average viewers didn't know his name, and his songs weren't widely popular, but TV galas and programs loved inviting him, and his fee wasn't cheap.
The reason was simple. His low notes were on another level. Singing low well is actually harder than singing high, and once you get it, the sound just feels rich and magnetic.
Chu Zhi played two tracks and nodded. He sent an email to the forum's culture committee. If Ma Qi wasn't interested, he could refuse. An invitation wasn't a summons.
Next item, the wish-grant event. "Chu's Little Bunny Wife" had asked for a proposal VCR. Wang Yuan investigated it, and everything checked out.
He always wanted to pull a blind box at night. So why was he clinging to his 34 Personality Coins like a miser? Because the main coin sources, like [I Love Carbs], [Ruthless Butcher], [Face King], and [Smoke Emperor], took at least a year to farm. Only Charity King could still be pushed, which meant coin drought. He had to save.
A lot of artists worked straight through the holiday. One of them was his old pal, Zheng Bro.
"No wonder foreign scholars say Chinese civilization's like a culture that absorbs everything." That was Zheng Huo's first impression.
He was recording his final farewell album. The guy was a walking cheat code. He sang rock for decades and still hadn't blown his voice. Even so, this year he finally felt his limits.
Better to bow out with dignity than get booed off stage. He'd announced it months ago. It was a huge deal in the music circle.
He'd planned to watch at 1.5x speed, but after a few minutes, he slowed it back down. He found that little bro Chu kept lowering his own presence so the focus stayed on Cheng Yu's narration of the Long March.
"Our people's history is a history of heroes," Zheng Huo murmured.
He rubbed his glasses and muttered, "I'm getting old. Even my lashes are short now. Can't block the dust."
Movies, not stars, own National Day. It's the second biggest box office season after Spring Festival, and this year's slate was loaded. The promo lines were everywhere. "Three comedy kings unite, laugh your way through the holiday," "Action at its peak, punch the tiger," "Horror sci-fi, a different kind of space terror." Big budgets, bankable leads.
Studios burned cash on offline and online marketing. No one expected a CCTV doc like Retracing the Long March to carve out real space on the internet. That was rare.
For people on vacation, the paid time off started running out on day one. For the wage slaves who didn't get a break, it barely made a difference. Blink, and it was October 7. Clinging to the holiday's tail, As Wished dropped on every platform, free as always.
They'd chosen the very end of the holiday to avoid cannibalizing the show's traffic. Plenty of viewers had already rewatched the trailer a dozen times just to hear the song again. Honestly, the preview alone made people cry. Too many replays and it got hard to bear.
Fans were over the moon. Finally, it's here, and thank God we never gave up.
"Jiu-yé opens his mouth and it's the sound of a great nation," "I love this song so much," "Another one for infinite loop," "Your hand, I stumble while holding, please lead me toward tomorrow"…
The most common line in the comments was, "This flourishing age is exactly as you wished."
It cruised to number one on every new-song chart with zero pressure. The National Day box office closed at 4.5 billion. Nightmare City led with 910 million, and Twin Heroes vs. Tiger Fist followed with 860 million. The three-comedians mega-movie turned out awful. It opened at 230 million and crawled to 510 million by the end of the week.
Why mention the box office? Because poor Chu Zhi stole half a day off, felt like catching a movie, and randomly bought a ticket to, you guessed it, Tiger Fist…
===
The saying, "三年不饮湘江水,十年不食湘江鱼" (sān nián bù yǐn Xiāngjiāng shuǐ, shí nián bù shí Xiāngjiāng yú), which translates to "Don't drink the Xiang River water for three years; don't eat the Xiang River fish for ten years," is a visceral and haunting folk proverb.
It refers to one of the most brutal and catastrophic events of the Chinese Communist Party's Long March (1934-1935): the Battle of the Xiang River.