I would recommend this manhua to anyone who is looking for a story with a non-traditional “strong” female protagonist, evolving characters, a realistic plot, and a slow-burn romance that isn’t just shoved in your face.

Currently my favourite manhua which is surprising as I have a tendency to steer away from stories with female protagonists due to the way that they are often treated in these types of stories.

Song of the Long March is a story about a young princess, Yongning, whose family has been killed during a coup. The princess disguises herself through crossdressing to escape notice. Unlike in many series, the crossdressing becomes an important feature in the story, rather than just being used for comedic purposes.

Yongning is never treated as being lesser than men by the author and is often seen as being superior in both strategy and strength (even after her gender is revealed). Despite this, the author does not do what many crossdressing series do and treat the character as if she were merely another male character. The author often touches on themes such as princess Yongning going through puberty.

The manhua isn’t very romance oriented, but when it does appear, it is very natural and is entwined with the plot rather than just being an add-on.
Further, unlike many stories, princess Yongning is given the chance to form relationships with other strong female characters, rather than being limited to only interacting with male characters, or only having surface-level relationships.

Regarding the plot, the story is largely realistic, dealing with many themes such as revenge, friendship, romance, and death. This is not the type of story where the protagonist always succeeds in their endeavours, although it might seem like this at first glance. It is also not a typical story where all the protagonist’s problems can be solved with “friendship” and “loyalty.” Yongning faces her share of failures throughout the story and learns from them.

Truly a great manhua and, unlike many that I have read, I can truly say that I’m glad I decided to pick this one up.