Chinese central government on Tuesday sent thousands of books to rural areas in eight central and western provinces along the route of the Long March 70 years ago.

The books will be donated to 1,550 village libraries in these provinces such as east China's Jiangxi Province and northwestern Shaanxi Province.

Each library will receive nearly 3,000 books on politics, laws, history, literature, art, science, health, management, education, sports, dictionaries and practical technologies.

In addition, each library will get nearly 1,600 discs on films, TV series, cartoons, songs and others.

The project of setting up village libraries along the Long March-related provinces was launched by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee this year amid a string of activities to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the historic event.

The Long March is a famous military maneuver carried out by the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army from 1934 to 1935 led by the Communist Party of China to combat the Kuomintang regime.

The project aims to enrich the cultural life of villagers and foster "new-type" farmers who will be equipped with knowledge of culture, technology and management.

"We must be fully aware of the significance of the project from the perspective of building a new socialist countryside and a harmonious society," said Ouyang Jian, deputy head of the Publicity Department, at a donation ceremony held in Ruijin, Jiangxi, where the Long march began.

(Xinhua News Agency October 11, 2006)