The Memorial Boat of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China

The Memorial Boat of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China

The Memorial Boat of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China is a classic site of red tourism.

In 1959, based on the recollections of Wang Huiwu, a direct witness who arranged the boat for the First National Congress in Jiaxing at that time, the Nanhu Revolutionary Memorial Hall replicated a silk-screen boat model and sent it to Beijing for approval by a representative of the First National Congress. Later, a painted pleasure boat was built according to the model as the Nanhu Revolutionary Memorial Boat for public veneration. In 1964, a representative revisited Nanhu. Boarding the painted pleasure boat, he was filled with emotion and composed a poem: “The voice of revolution spread from the painted boat, / The birth of the Party celebrated workers and peasants; / I return again on Tomb-Sweeping Day, / Amid misty rain to revisit the old traces.”

This replica “Red Boat” not only combines the strengths of Wuxi’s silk-screen boats and lantern boats, but also features exquisitely carved patterns on the screens and air vents, such as flowers and opera characters, rendered vividly. Since its completion, this “Red Boat” has remained moored southeast of the Yuewu Tower on Nanhu Lake. Xu Jingwei said that in September 1959, his father and two others attended a boat-building celebration held at the “Nanhu Revolutionary Memorial Hall” in Jiaxing. They were awarded certificates and banners. The local government once approached the Wuxi Red Flag Shipyard, hoping his father would stay to work there, but the shipyard, considering his exceptional talent, ultimately declined.

At the end of July 1921, the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China moved from Shanghai to a painted pleasure boat on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing, where it continued and concluded, solemnly declaring the birth of the Communist Party of China. This painted pleasure boat thus earned an everlasting place in the annals of the Chinese revolution — the name “Red Boat,” becoming a symbol of the origin of the Chinese revolution.

The “Red Boat” is the “mother ship” of the Communist Party of China. The “Red Boat Spirit” is an invaluable treasure for educating today’s Communists, serving as a precious resource and spiritual wealth to enhance the Party’s governance capabilities and maintain its advanced nature. As the Communist Party of China marks 90 years of struggle, it is essential to fully explore and utilize this unique political resource, continuously leveraging its positive role in “learning from history to guide the present and educate people for governance.”

One day at the end of July 1921, on the vast misty waters of Nanhu Lake, a medium-sized single-cabin painted pleasure boat was moored. More than ten young people from out of town convened aboard from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. On this small boat, they passed the “Communist Party of China Manifesto” and the “Resolution on Current Practical Work,” elected the central leadership body, and solemnly declared the birth of the Communist Party of China. Facing the stormy skies, at the close of the meeting, they raised a powerful cry of the era: Long live the Party ! Long live the world’s working class ! Long live the Third International ! Long live Communism ! Silent beneath the lake’s mist, the waters bore witness to this groundbreaking moment amidst the gloom.

To better commemorate this special moment, Yang Hongwu, a master of arts and crafts from Hebei Province, spent over five months meticulously carving a peach pit boat sculpture titled “The Red Boat of Nanhu.” This piece uses high-quality olive pits as material and is modeled after the painted pleasure boat on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing, delicately portraying the historic moment when the delegates of the First National Congress founded the Communist Party of China aboard the boat. The original painted pleasure boat on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing is 16 meters long and 3 meters wide, divided into front, middle, and rear cabins, with the First National Congress held in the middle cabin. Though only 3.9 cm long, 1.4 cm wide, and 1.3 cm tall, the peach pit boat replicates the structure of the original, featuring front, middle, and rear cabins, along with spacious interiors, the lines of the cabin roof tiles, cabin windows, and mast all rendered in detail.