Eighty years after the end of the epic Long March by the Chinese Red Army, President Xi Jinping has called for carrying forth the spirit and moving forward in "a new long march" to realize national rejuvenation.

The Long March is an ongoing process, said Xi, who is also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, at a gathering to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Long March.

"A nation that forgets its past will find itself in a blind alley," he said.