Long March museum gets rare objects

A museum dedicated to the Long March of the Red Army, which is due to open in mid-May in China, has received more than 270 items donated by the relatives of the Red Army soldiers.

The museum, funded by entrepreneur Fan Jianchuan, will form part of the Jianchuan Museum Cluster, which has more than a dozen museums in Dayi county in Sichuan province -- one of the largest private collections of historical objects in China.

The donated items include military coats, bugles, memoirs and autograph albums, Xinhua news agency reported.

The 4,000 sq metre museum will feature around 1,000 artifacts, including audio and video anecdotes of personal experiences of the veterans of the 12,500-km Long March.

The strategic military manoeuvres led by the Communist Party of China marked the turning of the tide in China's civil war, and formed the basis of the eventual Communist victory in 1949.

The Long March passed through much of Sichuan province, which witnessed many important battles.