Former Site of the "Yantou Incident"

Former Site of the "Yantou Incident"

The former site of the "Yantou Incident" is a cultural heritage site protected by Yongjia County.

In the second half of 1931, Lei Gaosheng, commander of the First Regiment of the Red 13th Army, led the regiment in continuing the struggle along the borders of Yongjia, Xianju, and Qingtian. The Nationalist government regarded them as a major threat. The following spring, the Zhejiang Provincial Security Command of the Nationalist government established the "Wenzhou Bandit Suppression Headquarters," with Li Jiesan, commander of the 123rd Brigade, serving as commander. They gathered around 2,000 troops from the 4th and 5th Regiments of the Zhejiang Provincial Security Forces and local militias to carry out a "suppression campaign," and offered a reward of 1,000 silver dollars for the capture of Lei Gaosheng. Under the Nationalists’ frenzied "encirclement and suppression," the operational area of Lei Gaosheng and his comrades gradually shrank. Eventually, they were forced to retreat into the sparsely populated and extremely impoverished mountainous areas of Xiaohengkeng, surviving on wild vegetables and fruits. The Nationalists repeatedly set fire to the mountains, creating an extremely perilous situation. However, Lei Gaosheng remained brave and tenacious, refusing to give up the fight against the enemy. After multiple military "offensives" failed to achieve their goals, the Nationalist forces adopted a strategy of combining suppression with co-optation. They shifted from "launching direct offensives" to using "lures for surrender, feigned recruitment, and planned elimination." Through careful planning, they used the bait of new equipment and favorable provisions to deceive the Red Army into coming down from the mountains. In an extremely difficult situation, Lei Gaosheng planned to take advantage of a feigned "surrender" to buy time, obtain weapons and supplies, and prepare for a future resurgence. On May 23, 1932, he led over 70 men to the Dongzong Ancestral Hall in Yantou. The Nationalist army, under the guise of "inspection and reorganization" and "group photos," separated the Red Army officers and soldiers. They then insanely machine-gunned the Red Army soldiers. Twenty-two soldiers were killed on the spot, while Lei Gaosheng and seven other key members were arrested and taken to Wenzhou City, where they were later executed. This became the tragic "Yantou Incident" in the history of the Red 13th Army.

The former site of the Yantou Incident is located at the Dongzong Ancestral Hall (also known as the Jin Family Ancestral Hall) in Yantou Village, Yantou Town, Yongjia County, adjacent to the ancient village of Yantou and the Lishui Street. Yantou Village lies on the western bank of the middle reaches of the Nanxi River, 34 kilometers from the county seat of Yongjia. The Dongzong Ancestral Hall is situated to the east of Yantou Village, facing south with its back to the north. In front of it are the village road and a lotus pond, to the west is the scenic Lishui Street, and to the east is a parking lot. The ancestral hall is 40 meters long and 26 meters wide, forming a square-shaped structure. The main hall is 21 meters long and 12 meters deep, with two corridors on either side, each 18.3 meters long and 7.5 meters deep, and a central courtyard. Upon entering the gate, there is an ancient stage that is square-shaped, with each side measuring 5.2 meters.

The Dongzong Ancestral Hall, the former site of the Yantou Incident, is a cultural heritage site protected by Yongjia County.

Source: Party History Research Office of the CPC Wenzhou Municipal Committee