In 1934, thousands of young Chinese idealists began one of the history’s largest grassroots efforts: a strenuous voyage across the countryside that invigorated peasants, gave birth to political leaders like Mao and launched modern China. It was the Long March, the mythic creation story of revolutionary China. Seventy years later, after development left a heavy footprint on the land and skies, thousands of students begin a new voyage across the countryside: the “Green Long March.”
The inaugural march in 2007 — composed of two thousand students from 43 universities that ranged across 22 provinces and 10 natural reserves — spread across the countryside on ten routes. Their mission: to conduct surveys on the country’s environmental damage, spread awareness and offer conservation ideas to rural citizens.
A vivid snapshot of the voyage is offered in “The Road Ahead: The First Green Long March,” which had its Manhattan debut this week at the Asia Society (it won top honors at the Queens International Film Festival).
– from treehugger