On Feb. 15, 1972, American journalist and writer Edgar Snow died of cancer in his home in Eysins, Switzerland. Snow is considered an "old friend" of the Chinese people. Snow was the first Western journalist to report the realities of the Communist Party of China. His work not only contributed to the Chinese revolution and construction of the nation, but also to American people's understanding of China.

Edgar Snow (L) and Mao Zedong

Snow arrived in China in 1928, managed to visit the revolutionary area in northwest China in 1936, interviewed a number of top Chinese communist leaders, including Mao Zedong, and finished his work the following year. 

"Red Star over China" is one of his most important works. John K. Fairbank, who wrote the introduction to Snow's book, commented that it not only provided the first connected history of Chairman Mao and his colleagues and where they had come from, but it also outlined the nation's future prospects.

His work contributed not only to the revolution and construction of the new China, but also to US people's understanding of China.

Today, Snow's tomb is situated across from the Weiming Lake of Peking University. The tombstone is carved in both English and Chinese with the words, "Edgar Snow, American friend of the Chinese people."