2026 China Momentum Large-Scale Media Research Tour kicks off in E China's Jiangxi

The 2026 China Momentum Large-Scale Media Research Tour officially kicked off in Yudu county, east China's Jiangxi Province, on May 11. Centered on the theme "Forging Ahead on the Long March of the New Era," this year's tour has dispatched 31 research teams to destinations across the country.

The 2026 China Momentum Large-Scale Media Research Tour officially kicks off in Yudu county, east China's Jiangxi Province, on May 11. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

It was from Yudu county that more than 80,000 Chinese Red Army soldiers set out on the Long March, the epic trek of roughly 12,500 kilometers. Today, Yudu is keeping the revolutionary heritage alive through more engaging approaches.

On the banks of the Yudu River, a performance, titled "Farewell," recreates the autumn of 1934, when local residents in Yudu saw off troops led by the Communist Party of China as they set out on the Long March.

According to Fang Yuhua, deputy curator of the Culture Center of Yudu County, many of the volunteers participating in the performance are descendants of Chinese Red Army soldiers.

Every weekend, student guides can be seen at the memorial park marking the starting point of the Central Red Army's Long March. Yudu is home to more than 2,500 such student guides, who provide over 10,000 guided tours each year.

Villagers pick chili peppers in Tantou village, Yudu county, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Shi Yu)

The once well-known Red Army village of Tantou has developed a selenium-rich vegetable industrial park. At the park, chili peppers, cucumbers, and other produce are packed into cold-chain trucks, labeled with traceable QR codes, and shipped directly to supermarket shelves in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

In 2025, the village's collective income reached 3.55 million yuan (about $522,325), over 40 times that of 2018. Today, Yudu has 186 demonstration bases for selenium-rich agriculture, with total output surpassing 3.8 billion yuan.

A worker works at the smart spinning workshop of Wetex Group Co., Ltd. in Yudu county, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Shi Yu)

At the smart spinning workshop of Wetex Group Co., Ltd., fully automated production lines are running at full speed. On a digital platform that incorporates AI and digital twin, real-time data on production progress, orders, and energy use is displayed, enabling efficient management, controlled risks, and full product traceability.

So far, 109 enterprises above the designated size in Yudu have completed digital upgrades, accelerating the transformation of the traditional textile and garment industry toward greater intelligence and modernization.

Launched in 2024, the China Momentum Large-Scale Media Research Tour has run for two consecutive years. In 2025, a total of 319 reporters visited 175 cities. Leveraging multimedia platforms and the 18 foreign-language channels of People's Daily Online, the program produced more than 900 multimedia works, reaching a combined cross-platform audience of over 1.8 billion.