The Long March of 1934–35 covered roughly 9,000 kilometers and reduced the Communist forces from around 86,000 to fewer than 8,000 survivors by the time they reached Yan'an. By 1996, the CPC had made the march a cornerstone of official founding mythology, and commemorative issues tied to its anniversary were as much political ritual as numismatic product. China's silver commemorative program of the 1990s was aggressively marketed to Western collectors, and mintages were carefully managed to sustain that market.
The Long March of 1934–35 covered roughly 9,000 kilometers and reduced the Communist forces from around 86,000 to fewer than 8,000 survivors by the time they reached Yan'an. By 1996, the CPC had made the march a cornerstone of official founding mythology, and commemorative issues tied to its anniversary were as much political ritual as numismatic product. China's silver commemorative program of the 1990s was aggressively marketed to Western collectors, and mintages were carefully managed to sustain that market.