Former Site of the Yangzhou Special Branch of the CPC

Former Site of the Yangzhou Special Branch of the CPC

The Former Site of the Yangzhou Special Branch of the CPC is a classic red tourism attraction.

The Former Site of the Yangzhou Special Branch of the CPC is located at No. 492 Wenchang Middle Road in Yangzhou City, bordered by the Xiaoqinhuai River to the east, Wenchang Middle Road to the south, and Zhenyuan Restaurant to the north.

In September 1927, the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the CPC approved the establishment of the “Yangzhou County Independent Branch of the CPC,” which was renamed the “Yangzhou County Special Branch of the CPC” in December 1927. This was the earliest Communist Party organization in Yangzhou. The Special Branch’s area of operation included both the urban area of Yangzhou and the rural parts of Jiangdu County, later expanding to Yizheng, Liuhe, and Taizhou. According to a report submitted by the Yangzhou Special Branch to the Provincial Committee in August 1928: the directly administered organizations of the Yangzhou Special Branch included six branches and eight groups in the urban area, comprising the Yangzhong Branch, Yaoyang (Match Factory) Branch, Incense Industry Branch, Rickshaw Pullers Branch, Old City Branch, and New City Branch, with a total of 45 party members. The West District Special Committee (responsible for rural work) oversaw the Zhangzhuang Branch, Shuanglishu Branch, and Xinyizhuang Branch, with 24 party members. The Guocun Branch had 2 members. In total, there were 71 party members. By the end of August 1928, the Provisional County Committee of the CPC Yangzhou was formed on the basis of the Special Branch. The Special Branch’s headquarters were initially located at No. 7 Banqiao, and later moved to No. 29 Banqiao nearby to the south, which is now by the Xiaoqinhuai River east of Zhenyuan Restaurant.

After the liberation, with the city’s construction and development, the original office building at No. 29 had been demolished. However, by the early 1980s, although the exterior of the building at No. 7 Banqiao had changed somewhat, the four-room, two-winged bungalow that had been used for branch activities still remained. The house was situated on the west bank of the Xiaoqinhuai River, built along the river, and was a small building with blue bricks and tiles. In 1984, during the expansion of Zhenyuan Restaurant, it was approved for demolition and relocation to be preserved in situ within the restaurant. In January 2007, the Municipal Construction Bureau and the Cultural Relics Bureau erected a monument at Zhenyuan inscribed with “Former Site of the Yangzhou Special Branch of the CPC.” In 2008, after the renovation of Zhenyuan Restaurant, the monument was moved outside the restaurant, adjacent to Wenchang Middle Road.