Full coverage: 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Red Army's Long March

80 years ago, the Communist Party of China and its Red Army survived what was called a grueling strategic retreat, remembered as the Long March. Loyal countrymen in one of China's poorest provinces, Guizhou, helped Red Army soldiers during the march. Today Guizhou is investing in education to try to establish itself as a global big-data and cloud-computing center.

It might be largely overlooked by foreigners, but Zunyi claims a long history. The second largest city of Guizhou province became a landmark in January 1935 when the “Zunyi Conference” was held - a meeting of the Communist Party of China during the Long March.

It formed a vital turning point as it determined Mao Zedong’s leadership and marked a new stage of development for the Chinese revolution.

The Zunyi Meeting Memorial Museum boasts a collection of historic relics, weaponry used during the Long March, as well as Red Army slogans.

"During the Long March, each literate Red Army soldier was required to write at least one slogan every day, and the illiterate would put a character onto the back of the soldier walking ahead of him and tried to learn it. In this way, the soldiers gradually picked up a number of characters and they could even write articles afterwards," Huang Shuying, guide with Zunyi Meeting Memorial Museum

It is during these days when public education became a priority. Guizhou's Zunyi Normal College, which was established back in 1907. During the long march,  revolutionaries including Mao Zedong and Zhu De held gatherings inside the college's halls.  Many college students joined the army and the party's cause.

"The college has been passing on the Long March spirit in various ways. For example, we include Long March-related content in courses like Music and the Arts. We have also established a research center focusing on "Red Culture"," Professor Wang Gang, director of Red Culure Research Center, Zunyi Normal College, said.

But now, the wind of change is blowing and the college is facing the challenge of modern transformation.

"Our transformation is based on local economic development. We provide support services for local reforms in fields like big data, and equipment manufacturing," Fan Linbo, research director of Zunyi Normal College's Dev't Research Center, said.

One of the school’s projects focuses on how to upgrade traditional agriculture by using modern technologies and Big Data.

Scanning a QR code glued on fruits and vegetables, information is provided about the origin of the produce and the local farmers, nutritional values, and the market price which will help ensure food safety.

It's the first day of school for the freshmen and women at the new campus of the Zunyi Normal College. They start their semester with a short military training. This is the generation which will shape fresh ideas and innovation to turn Guizhou province into a technology powerhouse.

Nurturing technological innovation and entrepreneurship has become crucial for this part of China.

Since 2014, Guizhou province has been building China’s first Big Data pilot zone to lure domestic and multinational high-tech companies.

Three of China’s largest telecom carriers as well as Foxconn have set up data storage centers here.

At a medical showroom using Big Data analysis, the concept of "Internet hospital" is introduced, where patients in remote regions can be diagnosed and treated via their mobile devices by doctors.

Guizhou province reported that its big data industrial value is 200 billion yuan, or some 30 billion US dollars, with a target of a 25 percent increase this year.

"This year, the central government approved the construction of Guizhou's first big data center. The center's work will be focused on sharing big data, the integrated use of big data, and the innovative application of big data," Wang Jun, deputy director of Gui'an New Area Big Data Dev't Leading Office, said.

Guizhou’s ambitions are visibly sky-high. In September, the world's largest radio telescope, the Five-hundred meters Aperture Spherical Telescope - or FAST - located in Pingtang County was inaugurated.

Scientists say the 180 million US dollars project will help research on gravitational waves in the universe, and in the hunt for alien and extra terrestrial life.

In the end, education turns out to be the Milky Way in the galaxy of this part of China.

Making education accessible for all is one of the legacies of the long March. 80 years later, it has become a key pillar for the transformation of Guizhou which is transitioning from one of China's poorest provinces, into a cutting-edge technology hub. With new educational and economic policies focusing on Big Data and cloud computing, it is paving its way into the future.