The Zunyi Conference, held during the Long March, is an important event in the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC). From Jan. 15 to 17, 1935, the CPC Central Committee held the Extended Conference of the Political Bureau in Zunyi city in southwest China's Guizhou province. It was on this occasion that Mao Zedong was first elected as the leader of the CPC.
The Zunyi Conference was held at a time when the CPC was resisting the Fifth Anti-Encirclement Campaign of the Kuomintang and shaped the course of the Long March about to unfold. It confirmed the military principles of Mao Zedong, who was elected a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau. It led to the replacement of the rightist command group headed by Bo Gu and Li De with the Central Commanding Group consisting of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Wang Jiaxiang.
The conference saved the Party, saved the Red Army and China's revolution. It was the crucial turning point in the history of the Party, showing the CPC was becoming mature.
