Journey West | In This Historic Building, the Course Was Set

A journey to the west, and a quest to understand how China became the nation it is today. Driven by curiosity about China’s path of development, Tayyab, a young man from Pakistan, set out from Beijing for Zunyi, Guizhou.

At the Site of the Zunyi Meeting, he reflected on the historic turning point choice more than 90 years ago that decided the nation’s future course. Along Yangliu Street, he walked among storied architecture and everyday neighborhoods, witnessing how that history remains woven into the fabric of contemporary life.

From a pivotal historical crossroads to the vibrant reality of everyday life today, he sought to uncover an answer: when confronted with daunting complexities and an uncertain road ahead, how did people find their true direction and press forward with unwavering conviction?

Today, the special series “Discoveries in the West” presents: “In This Historic Building, the Course Was Set.”

On September 30 in Beijing, as Tayyab packed his luggage, he placed a copy of Red Star Over China into his pack.

Over 90 years ago, American correspondent Edgar Snow traveled west from Beijing, determined to discover a China unfamiliar to most people at the time, later documenting his observations in Red Star Over China. Today, more than nine decades on, Tayyab is setting out westward from Beijing on a journey of discovery, heading for Zunyi, Guizhou.

Originally from Pakistan, Tayyab is a doctoral student in Aerospace Engineering at Peking University. Growing up, whenever an airplane flew overhead, he would wonder: how can an object of such immense weight actually take flight? His quest for an answer led him into Aerospace Engineering.

After he arrived in China to live and study, another question arose in his mind: how could a nation of 1.4 billion people, having endured so many hardships and crises, progress step by step to become what it is today?

“I’m not merely interested in the final outcome, but in why it happened.”

Studying aeronautics taught Tayyab to look past surface phenomena into fundamental principles; seeking to understand China prompted him to trace the actual path this country has traveled. Guided by these two driving questions, he embarked on his westward journey, seeking answers right from a pivotal turning point in history.

Tayyab’s visit to Zunyi started at the Site of the Zunyi Meeting.

Stepping into this small two-story building, he saw the restored setting of the conference room: a rectangular conference table positioned in the middle, surrounded by wood-framed rattan chairs. More than nine decades ago, it was right here that a three-day meeting was held, ultimately achieving the great turning point that saved the Party, the Red Army, and the Chinese revolution at their darkest hour.

Tayyab turned to the guide and asked, “When they sat in this room, did they know their decisions would change the course of China’s history?” The answer was: they did not.

In January 1935, the Central Red Army faced an existential crisis during the Long March. Following the Battle of Xiangjiang, the Red Army had suffered devastating losses, leaving its onward path fraught with peril. Convened at this precarious moment, the Zunyi Meeting reshaped the military leadership and strategic orientation, serving as a decisive pivot in the history of China’s revolution.

Viewed in hindsight, the profound historical weight of the meeting is crystal clear. But for the people gathered in that room, history offered no predetermined answers. Amid shifting and perilous realities, they had to redefine their direction, even as the ultimate destination of their choices remained unknown.

In the gallery, photographs of Red Army officers and fighters drew Tayyab’s attention. Reading through the biographical plaques, he discovered that many were surprisingly young—younger than himself, with some enlisting at just 16.

He paused before the pictures, unable to take his eyes away. Figures who previously existed only in historical narratives now took on real, tangible faces. Many, sharing the same youth he enjoys today, were already carrying the weight of momentous decisions that decided the destiny of their entire movement.

Tayyab began to realize that the Long March was never a victory tale with a predetermined ending. Rather, it was the journey of a group of people striving against the odds to carve out a way forward when the road ahead was shrouded in darkness.

For an army in dire straits, before pressing forward, the very first question to answer was: which direction to take?

Leaving the historic site, Tayyab encountered an entirely different world. Surrounding the old complex, cafés, cultural souvenir shops, and street-food stalls lined the streets amid steady streams of tourists. Nearby, local elders gathered on the roadside, singing familiar tunes.

Seeing such profound historical heritage existing right alongside the effortless rhythms of daily life took Tayyab by surprise.

Inside a cultural souvenir store, he picked up a few creative keepsakes unique to Zunyi’s revolutionary history. The shop owner told him that people take away far more than just keepsakes—they carry with them the enduring revolutionary spirit those items represent.

Not far away, a circle of seniors was singing. Upon learning that Tayyab was from Pakistan, they warmly greeted him and even taught him to sing “Today Is Your Birthday, My China.”

One of the seniors, born and raised in Zunyi, shared her lifelong wish to pass down this revolutionary heritage. Whenever she joined the singing, she would bring along her three-year-old granddaughter.

Reflecting on her bond with the city, the grandmother said with heartfelt emotion: “Only when I know where my roots are can I walk a better path forward.” Her words resonated deeply with Tayyab.

“I never expected that in Zunyi, the very birthplace of history, the heritage sites, and the artifacts could be so intertwined with modern life,” Tayyab reflected. “There are no dividing walls, no separation—history simply lives right alongside bustling shopping streets and ordinary daily routines.”

In Tayyab’s eyes, these ordinary moments offer history another voice. It does not stay confined to exhibition halls and printed pages; it flows forward through the lived experiences and collective memory across generations.

It led him to a deeper realization: wasn’t this peaceful everyday reality precisely what those young fighters struggled so relentlessly to secure?

Later, Tayyab drove to the banks of the Xiangjiang River. Looking out across the cityscape, he began to piece together everything he had witnessed throughout the day: the weathered conference table and chairs inside the historic site, the youthful faces of the Red Army commanders and fighters in the photographs, the warm hum of daily life in the streets, and the bright smiles and songs of the local people...

These diverse moments came together to give him a tangible, deeply personal feel for Zunyi.

The Zunyi Meeting marked a monumental turning point in history, yet a turning point is merely a beginning; the crisis did not vanish overnight.

Even harsher ordeals still awaited the Red Army. If the meeting was about deciding on a course, the immediate question became: could this chosen course endure the harsh test of reality? The ultimate trial would not take place within conference walls, but on the battleground itself.

Ahead on his journey, Tayyab will head toward a formidable strategic gateway—the historic Loushan Pass... (Reported by Ye Wen, Luo Zhaojun, and Zhang Guangwei)

Journey West | In This Historic Building, the Course Was Set