New documentary puts Chinese stars through their paces as they attempt to experience the herculean journeys of lauded revolutionaries and endure the same arduous challenges, Wang Ru reports.

New Zealand explorer Josh James and actor Wallace Chung visit the home of a local woman in the foothills of the Jiajin Mountain to learn about the Red Army's experience crossing the area, and taste a bowl of "pepper water" in preparation for their journey. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Chinese Canadian actor Shawn Dou has discovered through filming adventure documentary Journey of Warriors that birch bark tastes "worse than medicine", while some insect eggs, which he thought might be slimy, actually have a surprisingly sweet taste.

Surviving in the wilderness may be a fanciful experience for many adventurers, but for those who had to survive, subsisting mainly on tree bark, traveling through snowstorms in the mountains and hiding from the pursuing enemy with a small amount of equipment for many months during winter, it was not a hobby, but a life-or-death battle.

When you stand in the same place, walk the same road, encounter similar difficulties in similar temperatures as they did, you can really know how courageous and tough our predecessors were

Wallace Chung, actor

This is what the soldiers of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, led by General Yang Jingyu, who established secret camps in the Changbai Mountain, Northeast China's Jilin province, had to endure as they fought with the enemy during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45).

Some modern Chinese stars try to relive the experience of their predecessors from Chinese revolutionary history for the documentary, which began airing on streaming site Tencent Video on Nov 9 and on Discovery Channel on Sunday.

Coproduced by Tencent Video, China Intercontinental Communication Center and Discovery Channel, among others, the six-episode documentary features the adventures of Chinese stars Wallace Chung, Dou, Zhang Xinyu and Yan Xujia, with New Zealand explorer Josh James, who is also a host of several Discovery Channel adventure programs, and is set in dangerous places related to the history of the Chinese revolution.

"Since ancient times, legends about heroes exist wherever human beings congregate. Respecting heroes is the common spiritual gene of people across the world, regardless of differences in time, race and beliefs," says Wang Ao, general director of the production. "The Chinese revolution, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, has many immortal moments, and each of them has heroes who struggled or sacrificed for the nation's liberation and freedom. We want to pay tribute to them."

A scene in the documentary Journey of Warriors shows Josh James (left) and Shawn Dou talk about how to get supplies in the Changbai Mountain. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Over the course of several days, Dou and James followed the footprint of General Yang in the Changbai Mountain, which is freezing in winter. During the trip, without food or water, they try to find his secret camps and reach an appointed destination, while evading the pursuit of a veteran, drafted in to try and help replicate the situation that faced Yang and his companions.

For Dou, an outdoor sports enthusiast who once reached the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, this adventure was special because it relates to history.

"We got to know Yang's experience in the wild, including how to get food and build shelters. We ate ginseng, birch barks and insect eggs that we found in the forest, and made a fire to boil snow water in bowls we made from the birch barks for drinking, since eating snow directly is not healthy," says Dou.

"But Yang and his troops didn't have such a luxury, as they couldn't make fires for fear that the light and smoke would alert the enemy to their position. It must have been really tough," he adds.

James and Wallace Chung (right) share a fish they cooked on their journey to cross the Wujiang River, retracing the footprint of the Red Army during the Long March. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Yang separated his troops into small groups to engage the enemy in bushfighting, and saw their number fall from 60 to seven and, eventually, to only himself. Finally, in 1940, he died in a fierce skirmish after fighting alone for five days without any food. After his death, Japanese soldiers cut open his stomach, and found only tree bark, cotton batting and grassroots within－not a single grain of rice.

James is impressed by Yang's story. "It was amazing that Yang managed to not only survive, but also coordinate and lead the army. When I am having a bad day, I think of Yang and the trials and tribulations he had to endure, and my bad day doesn't feel so bad anymore. He was a very courageous man and is an inspiration to me."

Hong Kong actor Chung and James retraced the path of the Red Army over the snowcapped Jiajin Mountain in Southwest China's Sichuan province during the Long March (1934-36). They had to endure a lack of oxygen, extreme cold and other difficulties to traverse the mountain.

"I'm an enthusiast of outdoor activities and adventure, and I felt more motivated to participate after learning about the meaning of this trip," says Chung.

With an altitude of more than 4,000 meters, Jiajin Mountain has precipitous topography, dangerous rocks and changeable weather. According to local people, even birds cannot fly over the mountain, but it became the first large snow mountain that the Red Army soldiers crossed.

James and Chung read a book introducing the Red Army. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Chung and James tried to imitate part of the Red Army's process for crossing the mountain, down to details like drinking a bowl of "pepper water" in the foothills in preparation for the later coldness they would meet.

"I learned that the Red Army soldiers tried their best to use their limited resources. For example, when hiking over the snowcapped mountain for a long time, people's eyes can hurt without goggles to mitigate the glare of the light hitting the snow. But the soldiers didn't have such equipment, so they would hang two small bunches of horsetail hair in front of their eyes, which acted in a similar way, so that they could protect their eyes," says Chung.

According to Wang, there are few photos or videos that illustrate revolutionary history, including that of the Long March and the deeds of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, so people's understanding of these events is very limited.

That is why they were keen to get firsthand experience. "When you stand in the same place, walk the same road, encounter similar difficulties in similar temperatures as they did, you can really know how courageous and tough our predecessors were. And you get a magical feeling of communicating with them through the decades," says Chung.

Speaking about the adventure, Dou says we need to learn the willpower of our predecessors. "Nowadays, some people want to find shortcuts whenever they face difficulties, instead of facing up to them. In the long run, when they finally face the obstacles they cannot avoid, they will collapse. We must conquer the obstacles we are destined to meet in life."

After filming the documentary, Wang says he considered how to inherit the courage of those heroes and pass it on to the next generation.

"People become courageous for a reason, and that is a starting point. Heroes are remembered not only because of the bravery they show, but also the love and justice upon which their actions are based. That's what makes their acts meaningful," says Wang.

Contact the writer at wangru1@chinadaily.com.cn