Revolution Memorial Room at Xiafeng Palace

Revolution Memorial Room at Xiafeng Palace

The Revolution Memorial Room at Xiafeng Palace is a classic red tourism destination.

In March 1927, Zhang Peinong, a member of the Wenzhou Independent Branch of the Chinese Communist Party and president of the Pingyang County Peasants’ Association, returned to his hometown to organize peasants’ associations across Pumen. He convened a general assembly of association members at Xiafeng Palace in Mazhan, where they jointly established the “Fourth District Peasants’ Association of Pingyang County,” electing Shi Shugan as president. This marked the beginning of a vigorous peasant movement. After the “April 12th” counter-revolutionary coup, Zhang Peinong and others used Xiafeng as a base to organize a peasant armed force—the Red Guards. In the autumn of 1928, Zhang Peinong and Wang Guozhen commanded the Red Guards to launch a night raid on the Pumen Police Substation—Keailou in Pucheng—seizing a batch of weapons and ammunition. In May 1930, some Red Guards members joined forces with the 13th Red Army to attack Pingyang City. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, under the leadership of the Pumen District Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, progressive local intellectuals such as Shi Lipei, Lin Yuzhi, and Ye Yuchai successively joined the Chinese Communist Party. They united a group of passionate youths to participate in progressive organizations like the “Youth Anti-Japanese Salvation Corps,” the “Youth Anti-Japanese Propaganda Team,” and the “Youth Women’s Training Class.” They went deep into towns and rural areas to carry out extensive anti-Japanese propaganda and fundraising activities. In the early days of liberation, the Pumen District Committee set up operations in Xiafeng, using Xiafeng Palace as the main venue for meetings. They mobilized the masses extensively, established organizations such as the Peasants’ Association, the Communist Youth League, the Women’s Federation, and the Militia, and carried out struggles such as rent and interest reduction and anti-tyranny and anti-sabotage campaigns. They also broadly mobilized the masses to join the military and participate in governance. The people of the old revolutionary base areas of Xiafeng, Pufeng, and Bianfeng made significant contributions to national independence and liberation through their long years of revolutionary struggle.

The Revolution Memorial Room at Xiafeng Palace is the site where the “Fourth District Peasants’ Association of Pingyang County” was established. It is located on the eastern side of the foothills of Xiafeng Mountain in Xiafeng Village, Mazhan Town, Cangnan County, adjacent to the Pu Fengzha Bridgehead. The original Xiafeng Palace had five ancient buildings and an ancient stage, facing east and covering an area of 495 square meters. Due to years of disrepair and impending collapse, in 2003, the Cangnan County Party Committee and County Government invested 220,000 yuan to rebuild the site. It was completed and opened to the public on October 1, 2004. The rebuilt memorial room has a construction area of 441 square meters, with main structures including a two-story building of five rooms, a stage, corridors, and wing rooms. Above the main gate of the memorial room is inscribed “Revolution Memorial Room at Xiafeng Palace,” with plaques hanging on both sides: one reading “Former Site of the Fourth District Peasants’ Association of Pingyang County” and the other a bronze plaque reading “Xiafeng Palace in Mazhan as a County Patriotic Education Base.” The second floor serves as an exhibition hall, displaying relevant historical materials divided into five sections.

The Revolution Memorial Room at Xiafeng Palace is a patriotic education base in Cangnan County.

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