Red 14th Army Park

Red 14th Army Park

Red 14th Army Park is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

As a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, it is situated on Fushou East Road, Rugao Subdistrict, and covers 17.4 hectares. The park is composed of the Red 14th Army Memorial Hall, the Red Army History Education and Expansion Training Base, and the Rugao Youth Red Army History Education Museum, serving as an important base for promoting revolutionary traditions and providing education in patriotism, collectivism, and socialism. The main structure, the Red 14th Army Memorial Hall, has been listed as a national revolutionary memorial facility and a national defense education demonstration base. It consists of ten sections: the Preface Hall, Dawn over Rivers and Seas, Thunder in the Long Night, Uprising with Axes, Banners Like Paintings, Reform and Innovation, --, Devotion and Loyalty, Spring Wind Amid Wildfire, and the Epilogue Hall. With over 1,300 images, nearly 40,000 words of explanatory text, and more than 600 physical artifacts, it recreates the arduous and moving revolutionary history of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army 14th Army—the only centrally-affiliated Red Army force within Jiangsu during the Land Revolution period.

Rugao is a veteran revolutionary base. In 1930, the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army 14th Army was officially established here, making it the only regular Red Army unit born in Jiangsu during the Land Revolution. Operating right under the nose of the Nanjing Nationalist Government’s central authority, the 14th Army fought in nearly 100 battles of varying scale. Maps housed in both the Chinese People's Revolutionary Military Museum and the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Museum indicate that the Tonghai and Rutai guerrilla zones were among the country’s 15 such zones. The “History of the Wars of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army” offers high praise: “Like other Red Army forces across the nation, the Red 14th Army operating in the Tonghai region carried out land reform in rural areas where enemy control was weak, waged guerrilla warfare, and established rural revolutionary bases. This broke multiple enemy encirclement campaigns, strengthened their own forces, and consolidated and developed the Soviet areas... making varied contributions to the progress of China’s revolutionary war.”

To commemorate this red history of the 14th Army and better inherit and promote its revolutionary spirit, the city began preparations for the Red 14th Army Memorial Hall scenic area in early 2002, with a total investment of 400 million yuan and a site covering 296 acres. In the autumn of 2010, expert groups from the Central Party Literature Research Office, the Central Party History Research Office, and the Chinese Academy of Military Science reviewed and approved the exhibition layout of the memorial hall. In March 2011, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council officially issued a document approving the opening of the Red 14th Army Memorial Hall. In June 2011, the memorial hall officially opened to the public.

Since its inauguration, the memorial hall has remained committed to the mission of “promoting the spirit of the Red Army and dedicating itself to educating through history.” It has continuously strengthened the excavation, organization, research, and promotion of the history of the Red 14th Army. The memorial hall receives 680,000 visitors annually and has accumulated 3.5 million visitors to date, making it a significant red tourism destination in the Yangtze River Delta region. The Red 14th Army Memorial Hall has successively earned honors such as a national patriotic education base, a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, a national classic red tourism scenic spot, a national defense education demonstration base, a Jiangsu Provincial Civilized Unit, a Jiangsu Marxist Mass Learning and Practice Base, a Jiangsu Party Spirit Education Field Teaching Base, and a Jiangsu Quality and Integrity Service Unit. Numerous national leaders have visited the memorial hall for homage and guidance; central and provincial-level institutions including the Central Party School, the Central Party History Office, the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs have organized visits; the National Military Museum, the China New Fourth Army Research Association, the Taierzhuang Memorial Hall, and the New Fourth Army Huangqiao Battle Memorial Hall have sent delegates for exchanges; and descendants of several revolutionary elders have come to pay tribute to their forebears, reminiscing about little-known anecdotes of those revolutionary figures.

The Red 14th Army Memorial Hall was personally designed by Professor Qi Kang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a renowned architectural expert, and professor at Southeast University. The nameplate “Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army 14th Army Memorial Hall” was inscribed by General Zhang Aiping, former commander of the Red 14th Army Brigade, former Minister of National Defense, and former Vice Premier of the State Council. The main gate of the scenic area faces south, with its plaque inscribed by --, former Minister of National Defense. The plaza features 160,000 square meters of green space, with 14 stone relief carvings standing on both sides to the north. The memorial hall building covers an area of 7,860 square meters, stands 15.8 meters tall, and resembles a military flag fluttering in the wind. The five-pointed star at the main entrance is distinctive and powerful in appearance. The windows on the facade are designed to resemble --, embodying the idea that “political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” The entire structure is grand and majestic, rarely seen among national Red Army memorial halls. The Youth Red Army History Education Museum consists of four exhibition halls: “Sparks Igniting the Prairie,” “The Arduous Long March,” “The Mainstay,” and “Passing on the Torch.” It uses a wealth of historical materials to authentically recreate the birth and development of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army, interpreting the great spirit of the Red Army. The Red Army History Education Expansion Training Base takes the Long March as its theme, connecting over 10 sites including “Departure from Ruijin,” “Breaking Through the -- Line,” “Guidance at Zunyi,” “Crossing the Chishui River Four Times,” “Crossing the Jinsha River by Strategy,” “Seizing the Luding Bridge by Force,” “Ethnic Customs,” “Climbing Snow Mountains,” “Crossing Grasslands,” “Meeting in Northern Shaanxi,” and “Yan’an --.” With clear themes and strong experiential elements, it integrates revolutionary history education into expansion training, subtly enhancing red education.

The Red 14th Army Memorial Hall has two floors, featuring eight thematic halls: Dawn over Rivers and Seas, Thunder in the Long Night, Uprising with Axes, Banners Like Paintings, Reform and Innovation, --, Devotion and Loyalty, and Spring Wind Amid Wildfire, as well as a Preface Hall and an Epilogue Hall. It displays over 1,300 images, nearly 40,000 words of explanatory text, and more than 800 physical historical items. Inside the memorial hall stands a large group sculpture of the leaders of the Red 14th Army, with reconstructed scenes of historical events such as the “May 1st” Peasant Uprising, the Battle of Laohuzhuang, and the battle where Yu Xian and three others fought against a thousand. There is also a large exhibition board of Red 14th Army martyrs and a massive photo wall composed of 305 martyr portraits, fully showcasing the revolutionary spirit of the Red 14th Army—“rich in ideals, loyal to the people, willing to endure hardship, and brave enough to sacrifice”—as well as the deep bonds between soldiers and civilians, and among comrades. The exhibition halls use modern audio, visual, and lighting techniques to organically blend flat panels with three-dimensional forms, transforming abstract, static, and silent historical materials into vivid, lifelike, and intuitive historical scenes. With a distinct historical context and combative atmosphere, they make visitors feel as if they are part of the scene.

The Red 14th Army Memorial Hall emphasizes the development and utilization of red resources. It has republished *Recollections of the Red 14th Army* written by Liu Rui-long, then Secretary of the Tonghai Special Committee, and printed red education readers such as *Martyrs of the Red 14th Army* and *Blood Soaked Spring Soil—Eight Successive County Party Secretaries in Gaosha Soil Who Fought On*. It has also produced CDs and picture albums introducing the Red 14th Army, published the *Patriotic Education Newspaper*, guidebooks, and brochures, distributing over 50,000 copies free of charge each year. The memorial hall organizes special red-themed performances and exhibitions such as “The Red Army Spirit · Dreams of Rivers and Seas.” It focuses on targeted education: for Party members and cadres, it conducts centralized training, anti-corruption education, and orientation programs for newly recruited civil servants for government and enterprise units across the province and beyond, and has established joint education programs with the 94642 military garrison and over 120 government and enterprise units in and outside the city. For the general public and tourists, it organizes activities such as revolutionary veterans recounting the history of struggle, “Reliving the Long March” experiential programs, and red film screening weeks. For young people, it has set up volunteer service contact points for the “Learn from Lei Feng” campaign, organizing activities such as “Strengthening the Connection Between Museums and Schools to Build a Second Classroom” and bringing red education into campuses, aiming to inspire love for the Party, the country, and their hometown among youth. Notably, on the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Red 14th Army, the Rugao Municipal Party Committee and Government held a symposium titled “Commemorating the 85th Anniversary of the Founding of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army 14th Army.” More than 10 descendants of Red 14th Army soldiers gathered in Rugao, along with leaders and experts from the National Red Office, the Central Party Literature Research Office, and the Central Party History Research Office, who attended and exchanged views, furthering in-depth research on the revolutionary history of the Red 14th Army and highlighting its contemporary value. Some “highlights” have caught the attention of media adept at spotting news stories. Key national online media outlets such as the Jiangsu Red Tourism Interview Group, the *China Journey* program, *China Tourism News*, *Xinhua Daily*, People’s Net, Sina Net, and China Red Net have all promoted the effective work of the Red 14th Army Memorial Hall. CCTV, Jiangsu TV, and Nantong TV have repeatedly aired documentaries and special programs about the Red 14th Army, widely spreading its spirit.

Leveraging its red resources, the Red 14th Army Memorial Hall scenic area is continuously innovating marketing strategies, increasing promotional efforts, striving to expand its visitor market, actively connecting with tourism administrative departments at all levels to be included in their promotional networks, proactively engaging with local tour operators to be featured in their itineraries and jointly promoted, collaborating with media outlets in and outside the city to produce promotional specials, and widely publicizing through television, newspapers, and the internet to enhance the visibility and influence of the Red 14th Army Memorial Hall. It is also strengthening the informatization of the scenic area, establishing a Red 14th Army website and online museum to showcase the revolutionary history of the Red 14th Army from multiple angles and levels.

Reflecting on the past and present, approaching the Red 14th Army Memorial Hall; walking slowly closer, paying tribute to heroes, touching history, one gains even greater confidence in realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. In the future, the Red 14th Army Memorial Hall scenic area will further explore the region’s unique red cultural resources, deepen the visitor experience of the memorial hall, and strive to create a first-class scenic area rich in connotation. Red culture, adorned with the values of socialism, will shine with even more unique brilliance.