In 1934 Mao Zedong led some eighty-six thousand communist followers on an epic journey across China to escape the nationalist forces of Chiang Kai-Shek. Tens of thousands died on the year-long retreat, which became known as the Long March. We hear from Zhong Ming, one of the few survivors still alive.

(Photo: Communist leader Mao Zedong (left) during the Long March. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)