Former site of Tianxingfu No.1 Flour Mill

Former site of Tianxingfu No.1 Flour Mill

The former site of Tianxingfu No.1 Flour Mill is a cultural relic protection unit of Jilin Province.

After the outbreak of World War I, Western powers relaxed their economic exploitation of China, leading to a decrease in the import of foreign flour. This allowed the flour milling industries run by overseas Chinese and bureaucrats in the Northeast region to flourish. At that time, Changchun was strategically located as a hub connecting both the South Manchuria Railway and the Chinese Eastern Railway. It was under these circumstances that the Tianxingfu Flour Mill was established.

The former site of Tianxingfu Flour Mill, built in 1917, is located at No. 5 Dongbatai. It was invested in and constructed in Changchun by Liaoning businessman Shao Qianyi with an investment of one million yuan. When production started in 1918, the mill had five American-made flour milling machines, capable of producing 2,000 bags of “Tianguan” brand flour per day. Due to the high quality of the flour, it became widely popular and was even in short supply for a time. Tianxingfu Flour Mill surpassed the Yuchangyuan Flour Mill operated by Wang Jingshan in both production volume and quality. In 1919, Tianxingfu expanded production and purchased seven additional American-made milling machines, raising the daily output to 3,800 bags, making it the largest flour manufacturer in Changchun.

As the business grew, Tianxingfu successively opened branches in cities such as Harbin and Kaiyuan. In 1921, the Tianxingfu Flour Mill in Changchun was renamed Tianxingfu No.1 Flour Mill. In 1924, after the division of the Shao family estate, Tianxingfu No.1 Flour Mill in Changchun came under the sole management of Shao Shenting. In 1927, due to a fire, the factory buildings and production equipment were damaged, forcing a halt in production. In 1945, after the liberation of Changchun, the mill was unable to resume operations due to damaged and missing production equipment, and the building was repurposed. After the liberation of Changchun in 1948, the site was used as the Dongbatai warehouse of Changchun Department Store, later managed by Huasheng Company. The surviving structures of the former Tianxingfu Flour Mill site include the factory building, warehouses, and chimneys, and it is now a key municipal cultural relic protection unit in Changchun.