Known as the red grassland, Hongyuan County in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province holds the distinction as China's only county named in honor of the Long March. Premier Zhou Enlai bestowed this designation in 1960 to eternally commemorate the Red Army's strategic relocations between 1934 and 1936 that broke through encirclement by Kuomintang forces.

The county encompasses roughly 747,000 hectares of alpine meadows, forming one of western Sichuan's largest unbroken grasslands. Much of the famed grassland crossing from the Red Army's challenging trek falls within modern Hongyuan boundaries. Beyond its vast meadow views, the area's signature feature remains its Maiwa yak herds that stretch across the horizon.

The Maiwa yak, a valued plateau breed from the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, derives its name from the Maiwa Tribe in Hongyuan, its primary origin. As Aba's only fully pastoral county, Hongyuan maintains over 470,000 yaks, with 86 percent improved via selective breeding programs.

The yak sector forms the county's economic foundation, complete with a modern industrial chain, according to Garang Phuntsog, Director of the Hongyuan County Animal Husbandry Center.

The yak revolution

From 1935 to 1936, the Red Army's first, second and fourth front armies stayed on the northwest Sichuan Plateau, now Aba, for 16 months. Though local herders produced barely enough grain and livestock for survival, Tibetan, Qiang and other ethnic groups fully backed the Red Army. Records show they provided over 15,000 tons of grain, more than 200,000 yaks and livestock, plus over 5,000 young volunteers who joined the northward march.

Local historian Yang Wenming, who has researched the Long March in the region for over three decades, noted that Tibetans have depended on yaks for generations as the sole highland animals supplying meat, milk, hides and transport. These yaks proved vital during the Long March, serving as mounts, providing meat for the grassland crossing and offering hides against the cold.

Yaks helped pull the Red Army from danger, Yang added. Mao Zedong later called this the yak revolution in his 1936 talk with journalist Edgar Snow and in discussions with Tianbao, an early Tibetan Red Army member who rose to key leadership roles in Xizang.

Gonbo Huaching, Executive Vice President of the Party School of the CPC Hongyuan County Committee, described the yak revolution as a lasting spiritual asset for ethnic areas like Aba. It captures the shared national community built during those 16 months of joint struggle across snow peaks and marshes, where lives and fates intertwined.

Powering local development

Since 1949, policies such as ethnic regional autonomy, increased fiscal support, highway expansion, 15-year free education, Maiwa yak chain funding, ecological payments, housing and healthcare initiatives, plus pairing with Zhejiang Province have advanced the region.

Yaks now propel strong economic growth in Hongyuan. In Lower Halama Village of Anqu Township, 238 households manage over 20,000 Maiwa yaks. Village Party Secretary Zebenjia explained that Hongyuan hosts Sichuan's largest live yak market, allowing direct sales. High-quality yak milk sells to local dairies at 7 yuan per kg, well above standard rates, providing steady household income.

With government project support totaling 14.68 million yuan, the village has blended grazing with tourism and strengthened collective economies. In 2025, collective revenue reached 1.15 million yuan, half paid as dividends to residents.

Under national grassland husbandry pilots, Hongyuan has invested over 600 million yuan to build infrastructure for seed breeding, livestock improvement, processing and cultural tourism.

Garang noted the county will emphasize grassland protection while advancing from fine yak raising to profitable product sales, expanding processing, logistics and tourism to raise resident incomes.

Chen Zhimin, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Hongyuan County Committee and head of the Publicity Department, reflected that the Red Army's Long March hardships led to today's united and prosperous ethnic life on the grasslands, fulfilling the purpose of those past sacrifices.