Moscow Sun Yat-sen University
Gan was born in Ningxiang, Hunan Province. He joined the Communist Youth League in 1925, and joined the Communist Party of China in 1926. He went to the Soviet Union in 1927 to study at Moscow Sun Yat-sen University. He came back in 1930, and became political director in Red Six Army Group and Red Two Army Group. He participated in the Long March.