Inherit the Red Spirit, uphold the Red Culture. “Largest rock-carved flag on a mountain”｜ Certified by WRCA World Record Certification
On March 27, 2023, a rock carving depicting the flag of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army was erected in Derong County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China, covering an area of 1,936.57 square meters. Verified by the WRCA, the rock-carved flag successfully set the world record for “Largest rock-carved flag on a mountain.” World Record Certification (WRCA) Certification Officer Maxim and WRCA’s Chinese representative announced the results of the verification in both English and Chinese.
Certification Officer Maksim presented the certificate of WRCA World Record Certification to Ze Langchu, Deputy District Mayor of Derong County, and Zhao Qingtai, Director of WRCA’s China Declaration Center, presented Zhou Quan, Minister of Publicity, with tea as a gift.
On the morning of March 27, guests from all walks of life gathered around Derong County Museum to witness this historical moment in Derong County. Among them: Wang Yuqiong, Standing Committee Member of the Ganzi CCP Prefectural Committee and Minister of Propaganda; Huang Jin, Deputy Governor of the People’s Government of Ganzi Prefecture and Secretary of the Derong CCP Committee; Yang Zijiang, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Diqing Prefecture Committee and secretary of the Shangri-La Municipal Committee and other distinguished leaders and the World Record Certification (WRCA) official team.
Upon receipt of this statement, World Records Certification (WRCA) has conducted each verification process strictly in accordance with the principles of global certification standards, namely fairness, impartiality and openness. The record team communicated closely with the applicant and performed numerous verification works to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of the declared data. Then, after rigorously comparing the declaration data worldwide, WRCA verified that the declaration data reached the best in the world and approved the project for that declaration. Eventually, the certification officer from the UK headquarters paid an on-site inspection, confirmed the actual data and then declared the valid world record.
One of Mao Zedong’s well-known poems vividly depicted the Long March, and the full text of the poem was engraved next to the flag:
The Red Army does not fear the trials of the Long March,
Ten thousand cliffs and torrents hold light.
The Five Ridges curl like gentle waves
And the majestic wumeng roll by, balls of clay.
Warm the sheer cliffs lapped by the waters of the Golden Sands,
Cool the iron chains that span the river Dadu.
Minshan’s thousand li of snow merrily crossed,
The three armies march on, every face ablaze.
Climbing snow mountains, traversing grasslands, none of these harsh natural conditions impeded the Red Army’s path. The spirit of the Long March embodies the Chinese national spirit of unremitting self-improvement and is the cornerstone and soul of the revolution.
Since the construction of the Ganzi section of the Long March National Cultural Park, Derong County has focused on the target positioning of “construction of the western sun valley and the south gate of Ganzi” to exploit its geographical advantages, resource advantages and late – development advantages and promote construction of the Long March National Cultural Park. In 2022, Derong County started construction of the Rock Military Flag project. The luminous rock military flag was deeply carved into the cliff beside the Jinsha River, creating the most beautiful red scenery around the Jinsha River area.
Ganzi is the place where the Red Army went through the Long March, the Long March went through 15 districts in Ganzi and lasted almost 15 months, the total mileage reached 5,787 kilometers, creating the glorious history with “the longest time”, “the greatest range’ and ‘the longest distance’. On December 29, 2022, the Ganzi Prefectural Party Committee fully started construction of the Long March National Cultural Park, investing 10 billion yuan and building 190 projects. Over the past year, the Ganzi section of Long March National Cultural Park has been actively promoted, and Ganzi’s work has been highly appreciated by the National Long March National Cultural Park leadership group.
The flag of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army carved in the rock is an important vehicle to carry on the spirit of the Long March and inherit excellent culture. The flag on the cliffs beside the Jinsha River was completed in August 2022 with an area of 1936.57 square meters to commemorate the invasion of Derong County by the Red Army Second Front on May 7, 1936. Site verification by official World Record Certification (WRCA) staff confirmed it as the “Largest Rock Carved Flag on a Mountain” and included in the WRCA World Records Global Database.
