The spirit of the Long March is a legacy of the Chinese people which should be carried forward in building a modern and harmonious socialist country, Chinese President Hu Jintao said on Monday.

Hu made the remarks while visiting an exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of the Long March, which opened at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution on Monday.

The exhibition shows more than 580 pictures, 440 pieces of cultural relics, 180 publications, 25 art works, 52 graphs and three large-scale murals, all revealing the spirit of the Red Army during the Long March.

The exhibition is a live textbook of revolution history for cadres and the people, especially the youngsters, Hu added.

The Long March was a famous military maneuver carried out by the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army from 1934 to 1936 led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) to combat the Kuomintang Regime.

Although many soldiers died along the way, the Red Army finally arrived at Yan'an in western Shaanxi Province after the 25,000-li (12,500-kilometer) trek, where the new headquarters of CPC was later established.

Other top officials who visited the exhibition on Monday included Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Zeng Qinghong, Huang Ju, Wu Guanzheng, Li Changchun and Luo Gan.

(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2006)