As he took his final steps into Wuqi township in Shaanxi province on Oct 19, exactly 90 years after the Red Army completed its historic Long March there, 74-year-old Hong Kong resident Michael Cheng Chun-Yim drew inspiration to carry on from the soldiers' willingness to risk all through hunger and gunfire.

A year earlier, Cheng had set out alone from Yudu county in Jiangxi province to retrace the Red Army's epic 12,500-kilometer route. Over 300 days, he walked some 5,000 kilometers across eight provincial-level regions, climbing mountains, crossing grasslands, and enduring every kind of weather.

For Cheng, it was more than a test of endurance. "China has developed so rapidly in recent decades," he said. "I wanted to understand my country not from books, but with my own feet."

To him, the Long March is a living historical metaphor. "Our lives are all long marches," he said. "The Red Army showed us what faith, perseverance, and unity can achieve. In today's prosperous times, young people may not face the same hardships, but the Long March spirit can still guide us forward."