Wang Quanying, who has died at the age of 105, was the last surviving woman to have taken part in the Long March – the epic fighting retreat
Born in 1921 into a poor Tibetan family in Jinchuan county, Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province, Wang endured a difficult childhood. She lost her parents at the age of 1 and was raised by her uncle until she was 5. She then worked as a child laborer for a local landlord, doing heavy farm and household work.
At the age of 14, she was deeply inspired by the disciplined and people-oriented conduct of Red Army soldiers after they arrived in Jinchuan in 1935. She volunteered to join the troops, undertaking logistical and medical duties, including guiding marches, cooking, transporting grain and caring for wounded soldiers during the Long March.
In March 1936, Wang became separated from the main force during fierce battles against Kuomintang troops in Danba county. Stranded with injured comrades, she tried to rejoin the troops by crossing snowcapped mountains barefoot and surviving on wild plants in freezing temperatures.
Separated from her unit in fierce fighting near Danba in 1936, she crossed the snow-capped mountains on foot, surviving on wild plants and losing a toe to frostbite, before settling anonymously in Wenchuan county, where she lived quietly for decades. Her service was only officially recognised in the 1980s.
